Twin Cities Hiawatha

For the current Hiawatha Chicago-Milwaukee Amtrak passenger train, see Hiawatha (Amtrak).

Hiawatha Twin Cities Hiawatha Morning Hiawatha Afternoon Hiawatha
One of the 1935 beavertail observation cars at Union Station (Chicago) in 1943.
Overview
System	Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road)
Status	Ceased operation
Locale	Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Termini	Chicago, Illinois Minneapolis, Minnesota
Train number(s)	5–6 (Hiawatha, Morning Hiawatha) 100–101 (Afternoon Hiawatha)
Operation
Opened	May 29, 1935
Technical
Line length	421 mi (678 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Operating speed	max: 112.5 to 125 mph (181.1 to 201 km/h)
Route map Legend Distance Station 0 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 (240 km) Columbus 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 (390 km) Tomah, WI 256 mi (412 km) Sparta, WI 281 mi (452 km) La Crosse, WI Mississippi River (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

The Twin Cities 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 in Minnesota. 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.

History

See also: Hiawatha (passenger train)

The first Hiawatha trains ran in 1935. By 1947, there were five other routes carrying the Hiawatha name. The Hiawatha inaugurated service between Chicago and the Twin Cities on May 29, 1935, on a regular, daily 6 hour schedule covering 410 miles (660 km). The first Milwaukee Road Hiawathas were streamlined lightweight trains designed to meet competition from the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's (Burlington Route) Twin Cities Zephyrs and Chicago and North Western Railway's Twin Cities 400. Unlike the diesel-powered Zephyrs, the Hiawatha trains were pulled by steam locomotives, though the trains were by no means slow or old-fashioned. The four brand-new class A locomotives had streamlining styled 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 train to in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h). The train's two sets of cars were also new and featured three coach cars, one parlor car (Ishkoodah or Minnewawa) and one parlor-lounge-observation car (Nokomis or Wenonah).

Like the Burlington Pioneer Zephyr and Union Pacific Railroad's M-10000 City of Salina, spectators regularly lined the tracks to watch the streamlined Hiawathas and the Milwaukee Road train quickly became an icon of streamlining. Unlike the competition, the Hiawatha train was not articulated and could be changed in length, depending on service needed.

Due to its great economic success, in October 1936 the Milwaukee Road completely re-equipped the Twin Cities Hiawathas with a new ‘1937’ Hiawatha based roughly on the 1935 design It featured a baggage-‘Tip Top Tap’ car, coaches, a dining car, two parlor cars (Iagoo, Sahwa, Shada, Wawa), and a new beavertail parlor-observation car (Omeme, Opeche).

In September 1938, the train was re-equipped again with the rib-sided ‘1939’ Hiawatha with its famous finned beaver-tail observation car was designed by noted industrial designer Otto Kuhler. In addition, with train lengths increasing to nine cars, the class A locomotives could no longer keep to the required schedule, and so were replaced with the new class F7 4-6-4 “Hudsons”.

From January 21, 1939, the Twin Cites Hiawatha was replaced by two trains — the Morning Hiawatha (trains 5 and 6), and the Afternoon Hiawatha (trains 100 and 101).

With the delivery of the 1938 trainsets, the original 1935 Hiawatha equipment was reassigned to the Chicago to Omaha/Sioux City route where it ran as the Midwest Hiawatha. Another train, The North Woods Hiawatha, ran with older cars from earlier series also.

Two sets of passenger diesel locomotives were purchased 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 were loaded out to 15 car consists, and one of the 1942 cars painted in patriotic red, white & blue proclaiming “Buy War Bonds.” The train was 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 equipment.

Route

The Twin Cities Hiawatha was the main line route From Chicago, Milwaukee to St. Paul and Minneapolis. On the original route, 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 operating in 1935, the line was already equipped for cab signaling, which would light a system of white, green, or red lights inside the locomotive. A whistle would also activate if the red signal came on.^[1]

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.^[2] Today, the Hiawatha name still lives on with Chicago-Milwaukee Amtrak Hiawatha Service.^[3] The Amtrak Empire Builder traverses the original route of the Twin Cities Hiawatha also between Chicago-Minneapolis-St. Paul.

See also

• Hiawatha (passenger train)
• Hiawatha (Amtrak)
• Twin Cities 400
• Empire Builder

References

1. ^ "Steam Still Rules the Rails". Popular Mechanics 64 (4): 512–513. October 1935. http://books.google.com/books?id=wN8DAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA510&dq=milwaukee%20road%20hiawatha&lr=&pg=PA512#v=onepage&q=milwaukee%20road%20hiawatha&f=false. 
2. ^ Goldberg (1981), 30-31.
3. ^ Amtrak Hiawatha Service

Bibliography

• Goldberg, Bruce (1981). Amtrak: The First Decade. Silver Spring, MD: Alan Books. 
• Scribbins, Jim (1970). The Hiawatha Story. Milwaukee: Kalmbach Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-89024-018-3. 

External links

• 1945 Hiawatha advertisement
• Milwaukee Road Hiawathas in 1938
• The Milwaukee Road Historical Association