The ''Arrowhead'' was a daily passenger train operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

(the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) between

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. After two years of operation, service was extended from Superior to

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, Minnesota.

Description

The ''Arrowhead'' began on April 16, 1975, as a daily all-coach train between Minneapolis and Superior, Wisconsin, with no intervening stops along the route. This service replaced the

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

''Badger'' and ''

Gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They ar ...

'' trains that were terminated in 1971. The ''Arrowhead'' departed Superior in the mornings and returned in the evenings; its schedule allowed an easy connection to the ''

North Coast Hiawatha The ''North Coast Hiawatha'' was a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington. The train was a successor to the Northern Pacific Railway's '' North Coast Limited'' and '' Mainstreeter'' ...

'', which offered daily service from Minneapolis to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. A bus covered the final to Duluth. Both the state of

and the Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission provided financial support for the train. Initially the ''Arrowhead'' carried an on-board cafe. In November 1975 Amtrak added

Sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, Minnesota, and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, Minnesota, as intermediate stops (the same stops that had been on the predecessor ''Gopher'' express train), and augmented the train's consist with a lounge car and a baggage car. A schedule change to the ''North Coast Hiawatha'' broke the northbound connection to the ''Arrowhead'' from Chicago beginning in October 1976; the southbound connection was unaffected. A major change came in February 1977: Amtrak extended the ''Arrowhead'' to Duluth, eliminating the bus connection. The entire schedule flipped; the ''Arrowhead'' departed Minneapolis in the morning and returned from Duluth in the evening. Gone was any same-day connection to Chicago. The ''Arrowhead'' also gained one of the new

Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger car (rail), passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Budd Metroliner, Me ...

"Amcafes" and Amfleet coaches. Another schedule change in January 1978 restored a same-day connection to Chicago with the combined ''

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great North ...

''/''North Coast Hiawatha''. Amtrak also increased Friday service: a morning and evening train from Minneapolis with a mid-day and late night return from Duluth. On April 30, 1978, Amtrak replaced the ''Arrowhead'' and the ''

Twin Cities Hiawatha The ''Twin Cities Hiawatha'', often just ''Hiawatha'', was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (also known as the Milwaukee Road), and traveled from Chicago to the Twin Cities. The origina ...

'' (a Chicago–Minneapolis train) with the ''

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude t ...

'', a Chicago–Minneapolis–Duluth sleeper. The ''Arrowhead'' was one of the last trains to use Minneapolis' Great Northern Depot; Amtrak shifted all

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

service to the Midway station in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

References

{{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Passenger rail transportation in Minnesota Passenger rail transportation in Wisconsin Railway services introduced in 1975 Railway services discontinued in 1978

Description

See also

References