Twin Cities Hiawatha

The Twin Cities Hiawatha, often just Hiawatha, was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (also known as the Milwaukee Road), and traveled from Chicago to the Twin Cities. The original train takes its name from the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. There are a number of Hiawatha-themed names within the city of Minneapolis, the terminus of the original train. The first Hiawatha ran in 1935; in 1939 the Milwaukee Road introduced a second daily trip between Chicago and Minneapolis. The two trains were known as the Morning Hiawatha and Afternoon Hiawatha, or sometimes the AM Twin Cities Hiawatha and PM Twin Cities Hiawatha. The Milwaukee Road discontinued the Afternoon Hiawatha in 1970 while the Morning Hiawatha continued running until the formation of Amtrak in 1971.

Hiawatha
Twin Cities Hiawatha
Morning Hiawatha
Afternoon Hiawatha
The Morning Hiawatha in 1964
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleMidwestern United States
First serviceMay 29, 1935
Last serviceApril 30, 1971
Former operator(s)Milwaukee Road
Route
StartChicago, Illinois
EndMinneapolis, Minnesota
Distance travelled421 mi (678 km)
Service frequencyDaily (1935-1939)
Train number(s)5–6 (Hiawatha, Morning Hiawatha)
100–101 (Afternoon Hiawatha)
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speedmax: 112.5 to 125 mph (181.1 to 201.2 km/h)
Route map
Distance
 Station
0 mi (0 km)
 Chicago
18 mi (29 km)
 Glenview
Illinois/Wisconsin border
86 mi (138 km)
 Milwaukee
118 mi (190 km)
 Oconomowoc, WI
131 mi (211 km)
 Watertown, WI
150 mi (241 km)
 Columbus, WI
178 mi (286 km)
 Portage, WI
195 mi (314 km)
 Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin River
214 mi (344 km)
 Mauston, WI
221 mi (356 km)
 New Lisbon, WI
240 mi (386 km)
 Tomah, WI
256 mi (412 km)
 Sparta, WI
281 mi (452 km)
 La Crosse, WI
Mississippi River (WI/MN border)
(La Crosse Rail Bridge)
308 mi (496 km)
 Winona, MN
341 mi (549 km)
 Wabasha, MN
354 mi (570 km)
 Lake City, MN
371 mi (597 km)
 Red Wing, MN
391 mi (629 km)
 Hastings, MN
Mississippi River
(Hastings Rail Bridge)
410 mi (660 km)
 Saint Paul
Mississippi River
(Short Line Bridge)
421 mi (678 km)
 Minneapolis
(Milwaukee Depot)

Stations in italics added later

History
See also: Hiawatha (train)
A postcard depicts the distinctive original Class A in 1935.

In the 1930s three railroads fiercely competed for daytime passengers on the Chicago–Minneapolis/St. Paul corridor: the Milwaukee Road, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (the Burlington), and the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW).[note 1] Each managed the roughly 400-mile (640 km) trip between the two cities in 10 hours, at an average speed of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). In 1934 each of the railroads committed to introducing new services which would reduce the travel time to 6½ hours to St. Paul. The Burlington introduced the Twin Cities Zephyr, a diesel-powered streamlined trainset, while the C&NW's Twin Cities 400 used refurbished steam locomotives and conventional passenger equipment. The Milwaukee Road ordered new steam locomotives from American Locomotive Company and constructed new passenger cars in its own shops. All three trains entered service in 1935.[1]

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 Beaver Tail parlor-observation car. The new cars featured fluted sides, in contrast to the smooth sides of the 1935 edition. The regular consist was nine cars.[5]

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
The "Afternoon Hiawatha" in 1956.

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 DL-107 locomotives, the #14, and a back to back pair of EMD E-6, the #15. The Twin Cities Hiawatha was partially equipped in May 1942 with coaches, two diners, and two 'Tip Top Tap' cars which ran with the 1939 Beaver Tails and parlors. Older series of cars were modified with skirting to run with the newer consists. During the following War years, the trains had as many as 15 cars, and one of the 1942 cars painted in patriotic red, white & blue proclaiming "Buy War Bonds". Trains were so full that people had to sit on suitcases or stand in aisles.

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.

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.[8]

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 North Coast Hiawatha; three days a week the train continued to Seattle, otherwise it terminated at Minneapolis. In 1977 Amtrak again established a Twin Cities Hiawatha as a daily Chicago-Minneapolis train, but ended this service in 1978 with the introduction of the North Star, a Chicago-Minneapolis-Duluth sleeper.[9] Today, the Hiawatha name still lives on with Chicago-Milwaukee Amtrak Hiawatha Service, and Amtrak's Empire Builder traverses the original route of the Twin Cities Hiawatha between Chicago and St. Paul.

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 cab signaling that lit white, green, or red lights in the locomotive cab. A whistle would sound if the red signal came on.[10]

The current route now is owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The current Amtrak Empire Builder in the Chicago to St. Paul portion follows this route.

Notes
  1. Chicago-Twin Cities service was also provided by the Chicago Great Western, Soo Line, and Rock Island railroads. These railways did not attempt to challenge the end-to-end speeds of the Burlington, Milwaukee, and C&NW.
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References
  1. Scribbins 1970, pp. 13; 22–23
  2. Scribbins 1970, p. 26
  3. Mann 1935
  4. Solomon 2003, p. 35
  5. Scribbins 1970, p. 40
  6. Scribbins 1970, pp. 43–44
  7. Kratville 2002, p. 97
  8. Sanders 2006, p. 174
  9. Goldberg 1981, pp. 30–31
  10. 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Kratville, William (2002). Railroads of Omaha and Council Bluffs. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738520421. OCLC 51932124.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mann, Charles F.A. (September 17, 1935). "Most Powerful Diesel Ready for Rail Service". Meriden Daily Journal.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Scribbins, Jim (1970). The Hiawatha Story. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company. LCCN 70107874. OCLC 91468.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Solomon, Brian (2003). Railway Masterpieces. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 9780715317433. OCLC 52695896.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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