The Bluebird, The Wabash Railroad's Regional Success

The Wabash Railroad is another of the many smaller Class I systems whose passenger operations are sometimes lost or forgotten about because of the surrounding larger competition who better marketed their trains with, usually, more/finer on board amenities. However, the Wabash had not only one well-known train but also one that was fairly successful, the Bluebird (which should not be confused with the Nickel Plate Road’s noted blue and white livery dubbed the “Bluebird”).

This train served the St. Louis-Chicago market and turned out to be so successful that the Wabash had to order additional equipment to meet demand! Interestingly, even though the train was quite successful, it never lasted all that long. Wabash was late to the streamliner craze and when the Norfolk & Western purchased the railroad in 1964, the Bluebird had only been in operation a little over 10 years, although its name remained on the timetable until Amtrak took over operations in 1971.

While the Wabash Railroad was never a large carrier its legendary status far surpasses its size. The Wabash was a midwestern carrier connecting Buffalo, New York with cities such as Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City and Omaha. At its peak it was only a little over 2,000 miles in length but its bridge line status, markets it served, and high speed freight service made it a quite successful railroad, especially during its latter years. Eventually the Wabash was swept up in the merger mania beginning in the late 1950s and after a long stint of PRR ownership it eventually became part of the sprawling N&W system in the 1960s.

Following its latest grand dreams going awry and the Great Depression, which found the railroad once again (and for a final time) reorganized as the Wabash Railroad Company, the Wabash began to be known as a high-speed Midwestern rail artery and became highly diversified in its traffic base ranging from auto parts to produce, a trait that many continue to remember it for even today.

The Wabash Railroad never had an extensive passenger fleet although it did provide high-quality service with names like the Banner Blue Limited and Midnight Special. Most legendary, however, was the Wabash Cannon Ball, which operated between Detroit and St. Louis. The train's status was so popular with the general public that it survived right up until Amtrak in 1971 after the N&W attempted to discontinue it in the 1960s!

The Bluebird was the Wabash’s late entrance into the streamliner revolution, with the railroad debuting the St. Louis-Chicago train in 1950. The uniqueness of the train, and factor that ultimately made it very successful, was its use of four Vista-Dome cars varying from coaches to diner-lounges. The lightweight, streamlined equipment used on the Bluebird all came from the Budd Company with E7s and E8s from EMD used for power.

For a regional operation the Bluebird was a very stylish train that featured a striking livery of dark blue and gray in conjunction with the stainless steel of the Budd cars. The interior of the train was just as elegant and classy with various blues used throughout.

While the Illinois Central is often credited with offering some of the finest passenger operations in the Midwest the Wabash actually did quite well competing against it between Chicago and St. Louis. The Bluebird made a round trip each day between the two cities and had a sister train, the Banner Blue, which carried out daytime services.

Interestingly, the Wabash’s trains outlived their owner. In 1964 the railroad became part of the Norfolk & Western, which, not known for extensive passenger operations itself was disinterested in continuing to run most of the Wabash’s trains. Most of the Wabash’s passenger equipment was used on other N&W trains although a semblance of the Bluebird remained on the scheduled timetable (although it has been cutback to Decatur, Illinois in 1968) until the end when Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail operations in 1971.

For more reading on streamliners like the Bluebird you might want to also consider the book Streamliners: History of a Railroad Icon from renowned author Mike Schafer who covers in detail most of the well-known and remembered “classic” passenger trains to operate in the country. If you have any interest in such you should very much enjoy Mr. Schafer’s book.

Also, for a superb general history of passenger trains consider the book American Passenger Train from Mike Schafer. Using plenty of colored photographs complemented with lots of good information, if you are interested in passenger trains or would like to learn more about them this book will get you started.