Kate Shelley 400

The Kate Shelley 400 was a short-lived streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway between Chicago, Illinois and Iowa. The train drew its name from the CNW's popular Twin Cities 400, so-named for making the 400-mile (644 km) run from Chicago to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 400 minutes, and Kate Shelley, a young woman who in 1881 risked her life to save a passenger train from a washed-out bridge.[1]^:148 The C&NW introduced the Kate Shelley to fill the void left by the Union Pacific Railroad's famed "City" streamliners, which had moved from the CNW's route to that of the Milwaukee Road. The Kate Shelley made its first run in October 1955. Initially it operated to Boone, Iowa, but this was cut back in 1956 to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and then again in 1957 to Clinton, Iowa, just across the Mississippi River. The CNW dropped the name altogether on July 23, 1963, though the unnamed trains #1 and #2 continued running until the formation of Amtrak in 1971, when they were discontinued.[2]^:53

Kate Shelley 400
The Kate Shelley 400 at DeKalb station in December 1964
Overview
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Illinois and Iowa
First service	October 1955 (1955-10)
Last service	July 23, 1963 (1963-07-23)
Former operator(s)	Chicago and North Western Railway
Route
Start	North Western Terminal, Chicago, Illinois
End	Boone, Iowa (1955–56) Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1956–57) Clinton, Iowa (1957–63)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	Except Sundays: 1, 2 Sundays: 11, 12
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map 0 Chicago 8.6 mi 13.8 km Oak Park 35.5 mi 57.1 km Geneva 58.3 mi 93.8 km DeKalb 74.8 mi 120.4 km Rochelle 97.9 mi 157.6 km Dixon 109.5 mi 176.2 km Sterling 123.8 mi 199.2 km Morrison Illinois Iowa 138.1 mi 222.3 km Clinton

References

1. Schafer, Mike; Welsh, Joe (2002). Streamliners: History of a Railroad Icon. Saint Paul, MN: MBI. ISBN 0-7603-1371-7. OCLC 51069308.
2. Scribbins, Jim (March 1997). "The 400". RailNews: 44–53. Archived from the original on 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2013-05-18.

External links

• The Kate Shelley 400 at DeKalb, Illinois, in 1967 on Flickr