The ''Midwest Hiawatha'' was a passenger train on the

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

, one of many Milwaukee Road trains with a ''

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 ...

'' name. The service began December 11, 1940 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 ...

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

and

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

, through northern Illinois and

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and South Dakota. Initially the train used Atlantic 4-4-2 steam engines and cars freed by the 1938 re-equipping of 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 ...

s'', including the distinctive Beaver Tail parlor-observation cars. In 1940 the train covered between Chicago and Omaha in 480 minutes. Unlike the competition between Chicago and the Missouri River, the ''Midwest Hiawatha'' was scheduled during daylight, which helped boost patronage. For most of its history, it carried coaches for both Omaha and Sioux Falls with tap-diners and parlor services generally run between Chicago and Sioux Falls. The two sections of the train split at

Manilla, Iowa Manilla is a city in Crawford County, Iowa, United States, along the West Branch of the Nishnabotna River, West Nishnabotna River. The population was 775 at the time of the 2020 United States census. History Manilla is working to bolster its dec ...

. The final trips for the ''Midwest Hiawatha'' were on October 29, 1955. The next day the

assumed operation of

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

's '' City of San Francisco'', ''

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

'', '' City of Denver'', '' City of Portland'' and '' Challenger'' trains. The ''Midwest Hiawatha'' became two Sioux Falls–Chicago coaches which combined with the ''Challenger'' in Manilla. The Milwaukee Road dropped the name altogether in April 1956, when the eastward was rescheduled to leave Omaha at 2:45 AM CST.

References

External links

* {{Milwaukee Road named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Milwaukee Road Railway services introduced in 1940 Railway services discontinued in 1956