The ''Chippewa'' consisting of mostly conventional components, and later known as the ''Chippewa-Hiawatha'', with a

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...

consist was a

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("Milwaukee Road") between

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 ...

and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

. It operated from 1937 to 1960. The ''Chippewa-Hiawatha'' was one of several regional trains to carry the "

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

" brand.

History

The Milwaukee Road introduced the ''Chippewa'' on May 28, 1937, after an inspection tour of the new rolling stock for residents along the route. The new train featured streamlined coach equipment and a 6-hour running time, two hours faster than previous services. Its original northern terminus was

Iron Mountain, Michigan Iron Mountain is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Michigan. The population was 7,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 7,624 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Located in the state's Upper Penin ...

, north of Chicago in

. The trains operated daily, carrying number 21 northbound and 14 southbound. The northern terminus was extended twice: first to Channing on October 18, 1937 and then finally in March 1938 to Ontonagon, on the southern shore of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

. In the fall of 1948 the Milwaukee Road re-branded the train ''Chippewa-Hiawatha'' and upgraded its equipment, including Beaver Tail parlor cars. Dieselization followed in 1950. After that the train was downgraded as the Milwaukee Road's passenger service contracted. Service north of Channing was deemed unprofitable and ended on December 29, 1953. Parlor service ended north of Milwaukee in 1956. In April 1957 the train's name reverted to the ''Chippewa''. Despite public support for the service, the Milwaukee Road discontinued the train altogether on February 2, 1960.

Equipment

Midwest Hiawatha last version of Beaver Tail observation car

Much of the ''Chippewa''s equipment came second-hand from its more famous cousin. The original ''Chippewa'' operated with two coaches, a

railway post office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service and used specifically for staff to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO w ...

(RPO),

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

, and

parlor car A parlor car (or parlour car outside the U.S.) is a type of passenger car (rail), passenger coach that provides superior comforts and amenities compared to a standard coach. History Parlor cars came about on United States railroads to address ...

. As part of a reshuffling of equipment on the Milwaukee Road in late 1948 the ''Chippewa'' received the " Beaver Tail" parlors made famous by the original ''

''. Motive power was provided by Class A 4-4-2

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s between Chicago and Milwaukee, and by the Class F3

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

s north.

Dieselization Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (US: gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, ...

came in 1950 with Erie-builts from

Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded in 1823 as a manufacturer of weighing scale, weighing scales, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinder ...

. Later diesels included

EMD E7 The E7 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. 428 cab versions, or E7As, were built from February 1945 to April 1949; 82 booster E7Bs were built from March 1945 t ...

EMD FP7 The EMD FP7 is a , B-B dual-service passenger and freight-hauling diesel locomotive produced between June 1949 and December 1953 by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, ...

s, and finally

EMD GP9 The EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Diesel, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1963. The GP9 succeeded the EMD GP7, GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, inco ...

s. The train received newer equipment in 1948, including third-generation Beaver Tail parlors. These cars were removed in 1951 along with the full dining car. Between 1950 and 1952 a Doodlebug replaced conventional equipment between Channing and Ontonagon.

References

* * * {{Milwaukee Road named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger rail transportation in Michigan Passenger rail transportation in Wisconsin Passenger trains of the Milwaukee Road Railway services introduced in 1937 Railway services discontinued in 1960