The Milwaukee Road's Hiawathas

by Gruber, John E.

• ISBN13: 9780760323953
• ISBN10: 076032395X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-15
• Publisher: Voyageur Pr

Summary

In 1935, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad-better known as the Milwaukee Road-introduced a new passenger service, one of the nation's first regularly scheduled streamlined passenger trains. Traveling from Chicago to Milwaukee and the Twin Cities-the train traveled routes steeped in native lore, and thus was called the Hiawatha. By 1945, there were three routes-the Twin Cities Hiawatha, the North Woods Hiawatha, and the Midwest Hiawatha-and the Hiawathas became known as the "Fastest Trains in America," clocking over 100 miles per hour on daily runs. This authoritative, illustrated history follows the Hiawathas as they powered into American railroad legend. Veteran railroad writer and photographer John Gruber gives a detailed account of the trains from 1935 to 1971. He examines their motive powerthe early fleet of steam locomotives that first wore the streamlined Hiawatha shrouds and the diesel engines that followed in the 1950sas well as their distinctive rolling stock, such as the classic ""Super Domes"" and the observation cars known as Skytop Lounges. Dozens of black-and-white archival images and period color photographs recreate the Hiawathas' heyday, capturing the texture of the time in details such as uniforms, car interiors and terminals, stations, and routes. Accompanied by period ads, design drawings, and route maps, this history offers a dramatic visual record of the railroad's bygone glory days.

Author Biography

John Gruber is a respected railroad photographer, author, editor, and historian. In 1994 he received the prestigious Railway and Locomotive Historical Society’s lifetime achievement award for photography. Gruber is currently the president of the Center for Railroad Photography and Art. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Train and Its Legend

Developing and Styling the Train

Locomotives: A Different Approach

Passenger Cars: A Key to High Speed

Workers Remember the HiawathaDays

Epilogue The Friends of the 261 Sources

Index

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