The Glory of the Milwaukee Road’s Passenger Trains: Speed, Innovation, and the Hiawatha Legacy

Published: June 29, 2026

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad—universally known as the Milwaukee Road—stood out among American railroads for its aggressive pursuit of high-quality passenger service. While many carriers treated passengers as a necessary but unprofitable sideline, the Milwaukee invested heavily in speed, distinctive equipment, and marketing. Its signature Hiawatha streamliners of the 1930s and 1940s became legends for their blazing speeds and elegant design. The railroad’s transcontinental Olympian (later the Olympian Hiawatha) offered a scenic alternative to the northern transcon routes. Even in its final decades, the Milwaukee hosted Union Pacific’s famous City streamliners and the Challenger.

Nearing the end of its career one of Milwaukee Road's high-speed 4-4-2's (Class A) departs Madison, Wisconsin with eastbound train #14, the "On Wisconsin" (Madison - Chicago), during December of 1950. This secondary service featured coaches, a diner, buffet-parlor, lounge, and parlor-solarium. Bill Middleton photo.

Early Passenger Operations: A Core Business

For most of its existence, the Milwaukee Road treated passenger service as one of its highest priorities. In the company’s earliest years, virtually any line with freight service also offered passenger trains—an essential public service in an era before widespread automobiles.

By 1880, just 30 years after the first train ran under a predecessor company, passenger revenues reached $3.2 million—24 percent of the railroad’s total revenues. Express and mail added another $1 million. By 1888, passenger revenues had nearly doubled to $6 million (35 percent of total revenues), and the railroad carried 7.9 million passengers that fiscal year.

The marquee route ran between Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Minneapolis—“The Fast Mail Line.” In 1888, two major passenger trains operated daily in each direction on this corridor. Train 1, departing Chicago at 5:30 p.m., was a “vestibuled train” with Pullman buffet drawing-room sleeping cars and parlor/dining cars. Its counterpart left Minneapolis at 6:50 p.m. Both covered the route in about 14 hours 40 minutes. Other trains offered similar services on slightly slower schedules.

Sleepers could also be found on many secondary routes: Chicago–Omaha, Chicago–Sioux City, Dubuque, Prairie du Chien; St. Paul/Minneapolis to Savanna, North McGregor (later Marquette), and Aberdeen; plus various Wisconsin and Iowa branches. Suburban service around Chicago was already developing, with multiple daily locals to Evanston and Dunning.

Longer-distance trains included the Arrow (Chicago–Omaha with extensions), Copper Country Limited (via the former Milwaukee Road to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula), Pacific Limited, Southwest Limited, and others. Many branch lines saw only a single daily passenger train each way, but the network was vast and comprehensive.

Milwaukee Road E9A #38C leads a passenger extra at Arlington, Wisconsin in June, 1967. Rick Burn photo.

The Olympian and the Pacific Extension

The completion of the Milwaukee’s Pacific Extension in 1909 opened a new chapter. Passenger service to the Pacific Northwest began shortly thereafter. The Olympian debuted in May 1911 as one of two all-steel luxury trains (along with the Columbian) running between Chicago and Seattle/Tacoma. It featured beautifully painted yellow-orange cars with maroon trim and gold lining, electric lighting, and interiors finished with expensive carved hardwoods.

Initial running time was about 72 hours; this was later cut. By the 1920s and early 1930s, the Olympian received new Pullman cars with lounges and sleepers. A 1933 timetable showed 60 hours 45 minutes westbound and 59 hours eastbound. It was the only remaining transcontinental train in the Milwaukee’s timetable by then. The Columbian was discontinued in 1931 but revived postwar as a Chicago–Tacoma train (1947–1955).

Other notable name trains of the era included the Pioneer Limited (Chicago–Twin Cities), Sioux, Varsity (Madison–Chicago), On Wisconsin, Tomahawk, and Marquette.

Milwaukee Road Bipolar E-4 has the eastbound "Olympian Hiawatha" boarding at Deer Lodge, Montana on April 29, 1958. Richard Wallin photo. American-Rails.com collection.

The Streamliner Era and the Birth of the Hiawathas

The mid-1930s brought crisis. Rail passenger patronage plummeted due to the Great Depression and rising automobile use. Railroads responded with speed and new technology. In the Chicago–Twin Cities corridor, the Chicago & North Western launched its 400 in January 1935. The Burlington’s Twin Zephyrs (diesel-powered articulated trains) followed in April 1935 and were doubled within weeks due to enthusiastic public response.

The Milwaukee Road entered the race on its own terms. Rather than adopting diesel or articulated equipment like its rivals, it chose steam power and full-size, non-articulated trains. On May 29, 1935, the Hiawatha (trains 100/101) inaugurated service between Chicago and the Twin Cities. The six-car consist included a “Beaver Tail” parlor-observation car (with its distinctive rounded tail), a “Tip Top Tap” lounge car, and four coaches. It was an immediate and overwhelming success; the train quickly grew to seven, eight, and then nine cars.

Power came from four streamlined Class A 4-4-2 Atlantic locomotives (Nos. 1–4), built by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) to Milwaukee specifications. These were the first locomotives built specifically for regular operation over 100 mph and the first fully streamlined steam engines for regular service. Historian Jim Scribbins noted that only steam was deemed capable of handling the full-size train to which the railroad was committed.

A May 15, 1935, test run with a dynamometer car saw locomotive No. 2 reach 112.5 mph over a 14-mile stretch between Milwaukee and New Lisbon, Wisconsin—the fastest authenticated speed by a steam locomotive at the time. Regular operation routinely exceeded 100 mph, and the trains averaged high speeds end-to-end despite stops.

The name Hiawatha came from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem and suggestions by Milwaukee employees and an Alco official. It evoked the legendary Indian figure and local landmarks like Minnehaha Falls.

Success led to expanded service. By 1938–1939, a third daily Hiawatha (the Morning Hiawatha) joined the fleet, hauled by streamlined Class F7 4-6-4 Hudson locomotives. The railroad introduced new generations of lightweight, streamlined cars built in its own shops. Beaver Tail observations gave way to Skytop Lounge cars in later years.

Regional Hiawatha-branded trains also appeared, most notably the Chippewa-Hiawatha (Chicago–Green Bay–Ontonagon), which received Beaver Tail cars in 1948 before dieselization in 1950. It was downgraded and discontinued in 1960. Other regionals included the Varsity, On Wisconsin, Tomahawk, and Marquette.

Postwar Refinements and the Olympian Hiawatha

After World War II, the Milwaukee continued investing in passenger equipment. In 1947, the heavyweight Olympian was reborn as the streamlined Olympian Hiawatha (trains 15/16), running Chicago to Tacoma/Seattle on a 43½-hour schedule. Industrial designer Brooks Stevens contributed to the distinctive styling. The train featured Skytop solarium observation-lounge cars with extensive glass for panoramic views and sleeping compartments forward. Full-length Super Dome cars were added in 1952–1953.

The Olympian Hiawatha presented an unmistakable image with its orange-and-maroon livery (later influenced by the UP partnership) and Fairbanks-Morse diesel power. It competed with the Great Northern’s Empire Builder and Northern Pacific’s North Coast Limited but faced growing challenges from air travel and highways.

Partnership with Union Pacific (1955–1971)

In the mid-1950s, Union Pacific found itself in a strong position at its eastern gateway. However, the Chicago & North Western was deferring maintenance on its Omaha–Chicago line. In 1955, UP canceled its contract with the C&NW and shifted its West Coast passenger trains—the City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, City of Denver, City of San Francisco, and the Challenger—to the Milwaukee Road.

The Milwaukee received the passenger contract east of Omaha/Council Bluffs and hoped it would also capture freight (it largely did not). Some equipment pool cars were painted in the Milwaukee’s version of UP’s yellow-and-gray scheme; the railroad later adopted yellow more broadly for durability. The Challenger was sometimes combined with the Milwaukee’s Midwest Hiawatha east of Omaha and appeared in timetables as the Challenger-Midwest Hiawatha.

The partnership brought additional traffic but could not reverse the broader decline. The Challenger was eventually discontinued or consolidated, and the City trains merged into combined operations. When Amtrak arrived in 1971, it selected other carriers for most long-distance routes, ending Milwaukee Road intercity passenger service on its Omaha route.

Milwaukee Road's "Afternoon Hiawatha" at St. Paul Union Depot; September, 1962. Rick Burn photo.

Decline, Amtrak, and Legacy

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Milwaukee operated two daily Hiawathas each way on the Chicago–Twin Cities corridor. The Morning Hiawatha and Afternoon Hiawatha survived until Amtrak’s takeover on May 1, 1971. The Olympian Hiawatha was discontinued in 1961 (one of the earliest major postwar casualties), with remnants operating as unnamed trains until the late 1960s.

Rising costs, highway competition, and the shift to air travel made long-distance passenger service increasingly unprofitable. The Milwaukee Road’s passenger operations, once a point of pride and innovation, could not be sustained privately.

Yet the legacy endures. The Hiawathas represented the pinnacle of steam-era streamliner design and operation—full-size trains, record speeds, and unique cars like the Beaver Tail and Skytop. Some Skytop and Super Dome cars later served on Canadian National trains. Suburban commuter services around Chicago continued and are now operated by Metra as the Milwaukee District lines. Amtrak’s Hiawatha corridor service between Chicago and Milwaukee carries the famous name forward today, and the Borealis (launched 2024) adds another daily round trip on parts of the old route.

The Milwaukee Road’s passenger story is one of bold choices: steam Atlantics instead of diesels in 1935, full-size trains instead of articulated sets, and distinctive designs that prioritized both speed and passenger experience. As Tom Murray’s book and the historical record show, these trains left an indelible mark on American railroading—one of innovation, elegance, and the pursuit of the fastest, most comfortable ride possible.

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