Milwaukee Road’s Twin Cities Hiawatha, 1935-1938

Fred Klein, 2013

The Milwaukee Road had intense competition for the Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul passenger service from the Chicago Burlington and Quincy and Chicago and Northwestern railroads. To jump ahead of the competition, the railroad made its own individualized, streamlined train. In the mid 1930s both speed and style mattered. The Milwaukee sought to build its own lightweight standard-sized passenger cars in its Milwaukee shops that were individually coupled, unlike the articulated trains of the mid 1930s from the UP and CB&Q. Because diesel engines were in their infancy, the Milwaukee ordered some speedy 4-4-2 Atlantics from Alco, and hired Otto Kuhler to design a streamlined Art Deco locomotive shroud for the new train. The Hiawatha trains debuted on May 29, 1935 only months after CB&Q’s Twin Cities Zephyrs and C&NW’s Twin Cities 400. The train numbers were 100 eastbound and 101 westbound. The art deco styling of the Hiawatha gave it a sense of style and speed that the other railroads could not match and made the train the most popular at the time. I consider this train near the pinnacle of the best in streamlined trains, and the logo of the Hiawatha runner (on the side of the tender) one of the best art deco designs ever made.

 

The 1935 Hiawathas were so popular that longer trains were needed. A 9-car Twin Cities Hiawatha was added in October 1936 powered by a 4-6-4 Hudson locomotive and with home-built rib-sided passenger cars (also unique to the Milwaukee Road). The Hudsons had similar art deco styling but with a redesigned frontal crest. The original 1935 train used on the Twin Cities ran until 1938, but became the Midwest Hiawatha (Chicago to Omaha and Sioux City) in 1940. The Twin Cities Hiawathas went through many incarnations of equipment until they were discontinued in 1971 with the arrival of Amtrak. The last Atlantic locomotive was retired in 1951.

 

In the 1930s and 40s, the Milwaukee Road built its own unique equipment that was unlike that of other railroads. That means models of the streamlined trains can’t just be repainted versions of universal models and must be made for MILW trains. Fortunately, Fox Valley Models made the entire 1935 train as it initially ran. The initial 1935 trains had Atlantic locomotives #1 and #2, a “tap” buffet-lounge car, 3 coaches, a parlor car and a “beaver tail” parlor-observation car. A fourth coach was added in June 1935 and a fifth in August 1935. Express-baggage cars were built at the same time and were added in August 1935. The model consist pictured below includes the original train, two add-on coaches and an express car. Locomotives #1 and #2 initially had a plain-sided tender, but locomotives #3 and later had the speedy runner Hiawatha (who was rumored to be able to out-run his own arrow) on the tender side. The runner logo was added to locomotives 1 and 2 in 1937. The Hiawatha runner is the signature design for the train.

 

 

A 1935 colorized postcard showing the original Twin Cities Hiawatha of 1935.

 

A Hiawatha train from the late 1930s. Locomotive #3 was a 4-4-2 Atlantic that also pulls the model train below. The first car is an express car with rib sides that was made starting in 1936.

 

The original Hiawatha train from May 1935 before the additional coaches were added later that year. This is the exhibition train passing through Edgerton, Wisconsin.

 

The original Hiawatha train from May 1935 showing the beaver-tail observation car. This was a streamlined marvel in the gritty industrial landscape of Chicago. Alfred W. Johnson photo.

 

 

A posed portrait of the 1935 exhibition train outside Chicago. This is the original May 1935 train. Milwaukee Road photo.

 

The consist of the prototype train (as augmented by two add-on coaches) is from Scribbins’ book The Hiawatha Story, which matches the Fox Valley model set exactly. I use the Atlantic locomotive #3 with the Hiawatha runner on the tender side, which became available months after the launch of the train, and was used in the locomotive pool when a 4-4-2 was suitable.

 

 

 

Locomotive, express and lounge-diner

 

The Hiawatha runner on the tender dates the 4-4-2 Atlantic locomotive to 1936, even though the rest of the train was launched in 1935. The express car was added in August 1935 and the “tap” lounge car was part of the original May 1935 train. All cars on this train and the locomotive were unique to the Milwaukee Road. The excellent prototypical models are from Fox Valley.

 

Coach section

 

The Twin Cities Hiawatha carried five coaches. The prototype cars were built in the Milwaukee Road shops and were designed to go at 80-120 mph speeds on roller bearing trucks. These are Fox Valley models.

 

Coach, parlor and observation cars

 

Above are the fifth coach car, a parlor car, and a “beaver tail” observation car. These are Fox Valley models.

 

 

 

References

Gruber, John and Brian Solomon, The Milwaukee Road’s Hiawathas, Voyageur Press, 2006.

Odegard, Gordon, Milwaukee Road Hiawatha, the original Hiawatha introduced in 1935, Model Railroader, January 1984, page 112. This article details the train and has a wonderful color center spread.

Schaefer, Mike and Joe Welsh, Classic American Streamliners, Motorbooks International, 1997.

Scribbins, Jim, The Hiawatha story, Kalmbach Publishing, 1970.

 

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