Chicago & North Western fully streamlined its 400 in 1939, but the postmark on this postcard showing the train crossing the Mississippi on the Stone Arch Bridge is dated 1949. The bridge itself was built by the Great Northern Railway, … Continue reading
This Milwaukee Road note page says, “Route of the Super Dome Hiawathas and Western ‘Cities’ Streamliners.” This dates it to later than October 30, 1955, when Union Pacific shifted its passenger trains from the C&NW to the Milwaukee for their … Continue reading
Playing on the “progress” theme of Chicago’s 1933 Century of Progress fair, the Milwaukee Road presented its version of what would soon be called a streamlined passenger car. It has roughly the same profile of future streamlined cars, instead of … Continue reading
This piece of on-board stationery shows that the Pacific Limited advertised in yesterday’s brochure was an old train even in 1940. The stationery has logos for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, held in San Francisco in 1915 to celebrate the 1914 opening … Continue reading
After the Super Chief received its domes on January 29, 1951, no further trains became domeliners until 1952, when domes were added to several minor trains: the Missouri Pacific Texas Eagle and Missouri River Eagle in July; the Wabash City … Continue reading
Here are a few items passengers might encounter on board one of the Olympian Hiawathas. First is a sticker that someone might apply to their luggage, more as a souvenir than as an identifier. Here’s a postcard of the Olympian … Continue reading
The SkyTop observation cars for the Olympian Hiawatha have been fittingly described as among “the most distinctive cars ever built.” I say “among” because, at first glance, the six Olympian cars resemble four observation cars built for the Twin Cities … Continue reading
Rather than buy E units from General Motors or similar PAs from Alco, the Milwaukee elected to pull the Olympian Hiawatha with locomotives made by Fairbanks-Morse, a newcomer to the locomotive business. Fairbanks-Morse dated back to the early nineteenth century, … Continue reading
On the heels of the streamlined Empire Builder, the Milwaukee Road introduced the Olympian Hiawatha to its Seattle-Chicago run on June 29, 1947. Yet only some of the cars were streamlined on that date, as the Milwaukee had not yet … Continue reading
On October 30, 1955, the Union Pacific abruptly shifted its passenger trains from the Chicago & North Western to the Milwaukee Road for the portion of the trip between Omaha and Chicago. According to Rank & Kratville’s heavy tome on … Continue reading
