The ''Green Diamond'' was 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 ...

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

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

between

Chicago, Illinois 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 ...

and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. It operated from 1936 until 1968. It was the Illinois Central's first streamliner. Initially it operated with Illinois Central 121, the last of the 1930s fixed-consist articulated streamliners built in the United States. After 1947, the ''Green Diamond'' operated with more conventional streamlined equipment until its discontinuance. The name honored the "green diamond" in the Illinois Central's logo as well as the ''Diamond Special'', the Illinois Central's oldest train on the Chicago-St. Louis run.

History

The ''Green Diamond'' first ran in regular service on May 17, 1936. It was the Illinois Central's first streamlined passenger train and proved popular with the traveling public to the point that demand outstripped the streamliner's fixed capacity. The ''Green Diamond'' covered the from Chicago to St. Louis in 4 hours 55 minutes, averaging . The ''Green Diamond'' required a single consist to operate, departing Chicago for St. Louis in the morning and returning that same evening. The name honored the "green diamond" in the Illinois Central's logo as well as the ''Diamond Special'', the Illinois Central's oldest train on the Chicago-St. Louis run. Kankakee IC Aug 1964 3-02

Conventional equipment with expanded seating capacity replaced the articulated streamliner in 1947. After the discontinuance of the ''Daylight'' and ''Night Diamond'' on October 27, 1958, the ''Green Diamond'' became the Illinois Central's last train between Chicago and St. Louis and its departure from St. Louis moved up to mid-afternoon. On May 20, 1968 the Illinois Central truncated the train's route to

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

and renamed it the ''Governor's Special'', a name which, if nothing else, suited the new terminus. The ''Green Diamond'' had operated just over 32 years.

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 ...

did not continue the ''Governor's Special'', which ended revenue service on April 30, 1971. However, Amtrak has provided '' Lincoln Service'' between Chicago and St Louis along a different route, as well as operating the ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, t ...

'' on a longer route since the 1980s.

Equipment

Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

constructed the ''Green Diamonds original fixed consist, which included a power car, baggage/mail car, coach, coach-dinette, and kitchen-dinette-parlor-observation car. The cars were numbered 121-125. The coach seated 56, while the coach-dinette seated 44 in the coach section and the dinette area had seating for 16. The parlor car had seating for 22. It was the last fixed-consist train built in the 1930s for a railroad in the United States. The equipment was painted in a "bright two-tone green paint scheme." Motive power was provided by EMC Winton 201-A 16-cylinder engine. A second generator within the power car provided electricity for the lights, while a separate steam generator heated the train. The train's interior was

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

, as was popular in the period. In 1947 the Illinois Central replaced this trainset with a set of conventional cars. The four coaches came new from Pullman-Standard, while the remainder the Illinois Central rebuilt from heavyweight cars in its own shops: Additional rebuilt baggage, baggage-dormitory, and mail/express cars were added to the ''Green Diamonds equipment pool in 1947-1948. The original articulated consist was reassigned first to the ''Daylight'' and then the ''Miss Lou''. Service cutbacks in 1967 led to the removal of the parlor-observation car and the replacement of the dining car by a cafe-lounge. In June 1968, service between Springfield and St. Louis was discontinued and the remaining segment of the former ''Green Diamond'' was renamed the ''Governor's Special''. As the ''Governor's Special'' the typical consist was a cafe/bar coach and two other coaches.

References

External links

1938 timetable

{{IC named trains Passenger trains of the Illinois Central Railroad Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1936 Railway services discontinued in 1968