Twin Cities Hiawatha
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The Twin Cities Hiawatha, often just Hiawatha, was a
History
In the 1930s three railroads fiercely competed for daytime passengers on the Chicago–Minneapolis/St. Paul corridor: the Milwaukee Road, the
The first Hiawatha ran between Chicago and the Twin Cities on May 29, 1935, on a daily 6½ hour schedule over the 410 miles (660 km) to St. Paul.[2] The four new class A locomotives had streamlining by Otto Kuhler, were oil-fired to reduce servicing time en route, and were some of the fastest steam engines ever built, capable of powering their five-car trains at sustained speeds more than 100 mph (160 km/h). Patronage was good and the consist grew from five cars to as many as nine.[3][4]
In October 1936 the Milwaukee Road re-equipped the Hiawatha with new "1937" Hiawatha trains, improving on the 1935 design. They had a baggage-‘Tip Top Tap’ car, four coaches, a dining car, and three parlor cars, including a new
In September 1938 the train was re-equipped again with the "1939" Hiawatha with its famous finned Beaver Tail observation car, designed by noted industrial designer Otto Kuhler. Kuhler also styled the new Class F7 4-6-4 “Hudsons” which displaced the Class As.[6]
Two Hiawathas
From January 21, 1939, the Twin Cities Hiawatha became two trains: the Morning Hiawatha (trains 5 and 6), and the Afternoon Hiawatha (trains 100 and 101). With the delivery of the 1939 trainsets, the original 1935 Hiawatha equipment was reassigned to the Chicago to Omaha/Sioux City route where it ran as the Midwest Hiawatha.[7] Another train, The North Woods Hiawatha, ran with older cars from earlier series also.
In June 1941 the two afternoon trains were scheduled for six hours fifteen minutes between Chicago and St. Paul and another half hour to Minneapolis; the eastward morning train took five minutes more, and the westward made more stops and was scheduled for eight hours fifteen minutes to Minneapolis.
Two sets of passenger diesel locomotives appeared in 1941: a back to back pair of Alco/GE
In 1947–1948 the Milwaukee Road again re-equipped its major passenger routes with new lightweight cars. The new Morning Hiawatha and Afternoon Hiawatha were inaugurated with diesel-powered trains designed by Brooks Stevens. The new trains included the Skytop parlor observation cars. These four cars had a drawing room and swiveling parlor seats, and at the rear there was a lounge area with an expanse of windows. (One of these cars, #186 Cedar Rapids has been restored and is owned by a Minneapolis-based organization that operates the Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive.) The new trains made their debut on May 29, 1948, the thirteenth anniversary of the first Hiawatha.
In 1952 the Milwaukee Road took delivery of ten "Super Dome" cars. Six were assigned to the Olympian Hiawatha and two each to the Morning and Afternoon Hiawathas. Both trains had coaches, a Super Dome lounge car, dining car (sometimes a Tip Top Tap car), Valley-series parlor cars, and the distinctive Skytop lounge observation car. Starting in 1955, with the Milwaukee Road handling the Union Pacific "Cities" trains between Chicago and Omaha, passenger equipment was painted in the Union Pacific armour yellow and harbor-mist grey with red Scotchlite striping. The rest of the fleet was painted this way, except for the heavyweight commuter cars in Chicago.
On July 18, 1960, the eastbound Afternoon Hiawatha struck a truck in the crossing in Newport, Minnesota, and derailed.[8][9] Dozens of passengers on the train to Chicago suffered minor injuries, but only ten were hospitalized overnight.[8]
The Afternoon Hiawatha ended on January 23, 1970. The Morning Hiawatha continued until the formation of Amtrak, making its last run on April 30, 1971. Amtrak retained a single Chicago-Minneapolis frequency with the Burlington Northern's Empire Builder, which was re-routed over the Milwaukee Road's line through Milwaukee to St. Paul.[10]
Amtrak
Amtrak brought back the name Twin Cities Hiawatha as a Chicago-Minneapolis service on January 16, 1972. On June 12 that year Amtrak combined this service with the
Amtrak is also planning to start a new train service called the
Route
The Twin Cities Hiawatha ran on the railroad's main line from Chicago and Milwaukee to St. Paul and Minneapolis. Originally only five intermediate stops were made between Milwaukee and St. Paul. Later other stops were added, as well as Glenview, Illinois, between Chicago and Milwaukee. When the Hiawatha began in 1935 about half the line had
The current route, consisting of five subdivisions, is now owned by the Soo Line Railroad, an in-name-only division of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
- C&M Subdivision – Chicago to Milwaukee
- Watertown Subdivision – Milwaukee to Portage, Wisconsin
- Tomah Subdivision – Portage to La Crosse, Wisconsin
- River Subdivision (Canadian Pacific Railway) – La Crosse to St. Paul
- Merriam Park Subdivision – St. Paul to Minneapolis "Short Line"
The current Amtrak Empire Builder in the Chicago to St. Paul portion follows this route.
Notes
- Chicago Great Western, Soo Line, and Rock Islandrailroads. These railways did not attempt to challenge the end-to-end speeds of the Burlington, Milwaukee, and C&NW.
References
- ^ Scribbins 1970, pp. 13, 22–23
- ^ Scribbins 1970, p. 26
- ^ Mann 1935
- ^ Solomon 2003, p. 35
- ^ Scribbins 1970, p. 40
- ^ Scribbins 1970, pp. 43–44
- ^ Kratville 2002, p. 97
- ^ a b "Hiawatha Passengers Escape Death in Bad Derailment". Fergus Falls Daily Journal. July 19, 1960.
- ^ CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE, ST. PAUL AND PACIFIC. Minnesota. Newport (No. 3887). Interstate Commerce Commission. July 18, 1960
- ^ Sanders 2006, p. 174
- ^ Goldberg 1981, pp. 30–31
- ^ Popular Mechanics 1935, pp. 512–513
- "Steam Still Rules the Rails". Popular Mechanics. 64 (4). October 1935.
- Goldberg, Bruce (1981). Amtrak--the first decade. Silver Spring, MD: Alan Books. OCLC 7925036.
- Kratville, William (2002). Railroads of Omaha and Council Bluffs. OCLC 51932124.
- Mann, Charles F.A. (September 17, 1935). "Most Powerful Diesel Ready for Rail Service". Meriden Daily Journal.
- Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
- OCLC 91468.
- Solomon, Brian (2003). Railway Masterpieces. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. OCLC 52695896.