The ''Thoroughbred'' 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. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...

operated by the

Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Ra ...

(Monon) between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

and

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

via

Monon, Indiana Monon is a town in Monon Township, White County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,777 at the 2010 census. Geography Monon is located on U.S. Route 421, about north of Lafayette. According to the 2010 census, Monon has a tot ...

. It operated from 1948 to 1967. The ''Thoroughbred'' was the last passenger train operated by the Monon. It was named for the

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse breeds This article is a list of horse and pony breeds with articles on Wikipedia, and also includes terms for types of horse that are not necessarily standardized breeds but are often labeled as breeds. While there is no scientifically accepted defi ...

, a nod to the horse racing heritage of Louisville.

History

Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

new Monon president John W. Barriger III embarked on a program to renew the Monon's passenger service, long neglected. The centerpiece of this program was a group of 28 surplus hospital cars originally built by the

American Car and Foundry Company ACF Industries, originally the American Car and Foundry Company (abbreviated as ACF), is an American manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches und ...

(ACF) in 1944–1945 for the U.S. Army. The Monon rebuilt these cars in their shops, creating enough lightweight coaches, parlor-observation cars, dining cars and mail/

baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passeng ...

s to create three new streamliners: the Chicago- Indianapolis ''

Hoosier Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate, but "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem " ...

'' and '' Tippecanoe'', and the Chicago-Louisville ''Thoroughbred''. The ''Thoroughbred'' made its first run on February 15, 1948, replacing the ''Day Express''. Monon discontinued the ''Thoroughbred'' on September 30, 1967. It was the final passenger service on the Monon, although

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's '' Hoosier State'' utilized part of Monon's route between Indianapolis and Chicago.

Route

The route length was ; the train operated as #5 (southbound) and #6 (northbound) and used

Dearborn Station Dearborn Station (also referred to as Polk Street Depot) was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at ...

in Chicago.

References

External links

1951 timetable
{{Monon named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway Railway services introduced in 1948 Railway services discontinued in 1967