Illinois Central's "Green Diamond"
Another of the early pioneering streamliners, sometimes overlooked, was the Illinois Central's Green Diamond. The train carried many characteristics of Union Pacific's first streamliner, the M-10000. It was not be mere coincidence; the Diamond was built by the same company as the M-10000 and at the time UP had a controlling interest in the IC.
The Diamond ushered Illinois Central into the streamliner era. The railroad quickly embraced the new concept as it would eventually boast an entire fleet of such trains, such as the Panama Limited and City of Miami.
While the choice of green for the Diamond is understood (a nod to the green used in the railroad's diamond herald), it was somewhat interesting considering the railroad is best known for its chocolate and orange livery.
The Diamond was one of the last of its kind when constructed and remained part of IC's early fleet for many years.
Finally, as the railroad acquired increasingly more new equipment and power through the 1940's, rolling stock which was non-articulated and could be added to any train, it was retired in 1950. Unfortunately, the trainset was not preserved.
A rare, original color photograph of Illinois Central's first streamliner, the "Green Diamond," probably taken in the early 1940's. While the location is not known given the overhead catenary it may have been taken along the IC's electrified commuter trackage in Chicago.
Whether the Illinois Central entered the streamliner era on its own accord after seeing the sleek new entries introduced by UP and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (the Pioneer Zephyr) or through direct oversight by Union Pacific is unknown.
Whatever the case, soon after those two trains were introduced to the public in early 1934 the IC set after its own streamliner. Just as UP had contacted Pullman-Standard about the construction of its train, IC did the same and as mentioned above the two designs were remarkably similar.
The Green Diamond was a five car, articulated trainset whose power-car featured a large, bulbous grilled nose and crew cab located on top in a turret-like fashion.
Related Reading...
Illinois Central, "The Main Line Of Mid-America"
The City of New Orleans
The City of Miami
The Panama Limited
The consist included a mail-baggage car, reclining seat coach, coach-buffet, and a diner-lounge. The train was fully air-conditioned and while the interior design was subtle included classic Art Deco of the period.
Some of the most noticeable differences from UP's streamliner included the Diamond's Cor-Ten steel construction as opposed to aluminum and a standard diesel engine for power, built by Electro-Motive that offered 1,200 horsepower (the M-10000 featured a Winton Engine gasoline engine).
The train's exterior was clad in a striking two-tone green livery (listed as a Cypress Green below the windows and a Cedar Green above) offset with an aluminum trim that really stood out against the dark paint.
Illinois Central's "Green Diamond" is inspected by the general public as it lays over at Chicago & North Western's Lake Front Depot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (located at 918 East Wisconsin Avenue), circa 1936. Photo colorized by Patty Allison.%2C%20circa%201936.%20%20Photo%20colorized%20by%20Patty%20Allison.){kind=link}
The name Green Diamond had a great significance to the company as it was the Illinois Central's longtime logo. The train debuted to the public in March, 1936 and received incredible fanfare just as the UP's and Burlington's streamliners two years earlier.
For the next two months between April and May the IC had the train go on a publicity tour around its system between the Midwest and Southeast covering 7,000 miles in the process and visiting such towns as Detroit, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Milwaukee.
After this was completed the train officially debuted on May 17, 1936 departing Chicago's beautiful Central Station at 5 P.M. and arrived at St. Louis Union Station nearly five hours later at 9:55 P.M. Total distance between the two cities was around 294 miles.
A Pullman-Standard/Winton Engine Company builder's photo of Illinois Central's "Green Diamond" circa 1936.
The Illinois Central was also quick to tout this fast schedule with its most famous advertisement stating, "Enjoy the fastest service ever offered and the supreme luxury of America's smoothest riding train.
Air-conditioned...radio in every car...Stewardess...Delicious inexpensive meals as low as; breakfast 25 cents, lunch 35 cents, and dinner 40 cents." For the next 10 years few changes were made to the train as it continued to see relatively high ridership, particularly during the conflict of World War II.
The first significant changes came in September, 1946 when the Diamond lost its flagship status on the Illinois Central as newer streamliners were introduced like the City of Miami and the Panama Limited.
Green Diamond Timetable
(The below Green Diamond timetable is dated effective June of 1938. For more information about the Diamond, including its consist, please click here.)
| Read Down Time/Leave (Train #51) | Milepost | Location | Read Up Time/Arrive (Train #50) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 PM (Dp) | 0.0 | 1:50 PM (Ar) | |
| 5:07 PM | 5.1 | 1:43 PM | |
| 5:10 PM | 6.5 | 1:39 PM | |
| 5:51 PM | 54.4 | 12:51 PM | |
| 108.5 | 12:03 PM | ||
| 7:08 PM (Ar) | 147.1 | 11:31 AM (Dp) | |
| 7:10 PM (Dp) | 147.1 | 11:29 AM (Ar) | |
| 7:29 PM | 167.6 | ||
| 7:55 PM | 191.8 | 10:47 AM | |
| F 9:45 PM | F 9:02 AM | ||
| 9:55 PM (Ar) | 294.2 | 8:55 AM (Dp) |
Part of the Diamond's fast decline was simply its make up; as a fully articulated trainset none of the equipment could easily be interchanged, swapped with other runs, or even used in through service on other railroads.
In early 1947 the trainset was sent to the IC's Paducah Shops for a major overhaul, part of which was a reconfiguration of the articulation so that the equipment could be interchanged and powered by regular diesel locomotives.
In April the work was complete and while the train, now powered by an EMD E7, still carried its two-tone livery it was no longer officially recognized as the Green Diamond.
Illinois Central's train #22, the "Green Diamond," led by GP9 #9190 is stopped at the depot in Springfield, Illinois on May 5, 1966. This scene has changed considerably today. Roger Puta photo.
Additionally, its old routing was changed as it now served Jackson, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana being renamed as the Miss-Lou. The trainset was officially retired in early August, 1950.
However, the Diamond continued to serve the Chicago-St. Louis corridor with traditional equipment and the IC's classic orange and chocolate brown passenger livery until May 19, 1968. The next day it was renamed the Governor's Special and truncated to Springfield, Illinois.
By then, intercity passenger service across the country was in rapid decline. Within three years most privately run such operations would be handed over to Amtrak. Today, IC's former City of New Orleans survives as part of the national carrier's network.
Header Photo: Drew Jacksich
SteamLocomotive.com
Wes Barris's SteamLocomotive.com is simply the best web resource in the study of steam locomotives.
The amount of information found there is quite staggering; historical backgrounds of wheel arrangements, types used by virtually every railroad, preserved and operational examples, and even those used in other countries (North America and beyond).
It is difficult to truly articulate just how much material can be found at this website. It is a must visit!
Researching Rights-Of-Way
A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way.
Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that.
If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer.
It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. Just type in a town or city and click on the timeline of maps at the bottom of the page!