Beaver Tail (railcar)

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Beaver Tail

Midwest Hiawatha last version of Beaver Tail observation car.jpg

An advertisement depicts a third-generation Beaver Tail car on the rear of the Midwest Hiawatha in the 1940s.

Beaver Tail observation car interior.jpg

The interior of a Beaver Tail on the Midwest Hiawatha.
In service 1935–1961
Manufacturer Milwaukee Road
Constructed 1934–1938
Number built 8

The Beaver Tails were a fleet of streamlined parlor-observation passenger cars built by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("the Milwaukee Road") between 1934–1938. They served as the observation cars on the famous Hiawatha trains from 1935 until 1948, when they were displaced by the new Skytop Lounge. The cars' name was derived from the distinctive flat, sloped rear of the car.

Streamliner

A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles. As part of the Streamline Moderne trend, the term was applied to passenger cars, trucks, and other types of light-, medium-, or heavy-duty vehicles, but now vehicle streamlining is so prevalent that it is not an outstanding characteristic. In land speed racing, it is a term applied to the long, slender, custom built, high-speed vehicles with enclosed wheels.

Observation car passenger car with windows or viewing platform at one end

An observation car/carriage/coach is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the last carriage, with windows on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure. The cars were nearly universally removed from service on American railroads beginning in the 1950s as a cost-cutting measure in order to eliminate the need to "turn" the trains when operating out of stub-end terminals.

Passenger car (rail) Piece of railway rolling stock to carry passengers

A passenger car is a piece of railway rolling stock that is designed to carry passengers. The term passenger car can also be associated with a sleeping car, baggage, dining, railway post office and prisoner transport cars.

Contents

Design

The Beaver Tails were constructed in three distinct batches, corresponding to the introduction of the Hiawatha in 1934 and its first two reequippings in 1936 and 1938. In total eight cars were built, all in the Milwaukee Road's own shops. The first generation seated 24 in the rear area, plus separate men's and women's lounges. [1] :31 In the 1936 edition the lounges were replaced by "small toilet rooms"; there was lounge-style seating for 26 plus seating for 12 in the rear (dubbed the "solarium"). [1] :43 The final version (pictured at right), built in 1938, was designed by the renowned Otto Kuhler. While retaining most aspects of the original design, Kuhler added ribbing along the sides and fins in the back. In another innovation Kuhler added an exterior-facing sofa to the solarium portion of the car. Seating capacity increased to 28 in the lounge area and 17 in the solarium. [1] :44-57; 259

Otto Kuhler American designer

Otto August Kuhler was an American designer, one of the best known industrial designers of the American railroads. According to Trains magazine he streamstyled more locomotives and railroad cars than Cret, Dreyfuss and Loewy combined. His extensive concepts for the modernization of the American railroads have repercussions onto the railways worldwide until today. In addition he was a prolific artist of industrial aesthetics and of the American West in general.

The cars, like the rest of the Hiawatha equipment set, were painted in orange, maroon, and gray. The name derived from the distinctive flat, sloped rear of the car. [2] :23 The Milwaukee Road coined the name itself and used it in publicity beginning in February 1935, three months before the Hiawatha debuted. [1] :22

Service history

The first two Beaver Tail cars, the Nokomis and Wenonah, entered service on the original Hiawatha in 1935. On the re-equipping of the Hiawatha in 1936 they moved to the North Woods Hiawatha , and then finally to the Chippewa-Hiawatha in 1938. The Milwaukee Road removed the Beaver Tails in September 1951; the two cars were converted to storage cars the following year. [1] :131; 194-200

<i>Hiawatha</i> (train) fleet of trains in Chicago

The Hiawathas were a fleet of named passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad between Chicago and various destinations in the Midwest and Western United States. The most notable of these trains was the original Twin Cities Hiawatha, which served the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The train was named for the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

<i>North Woods Hiawatha</i>

The North Woods Hiawatha was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad between New Lisbon and Minocqua, Wisconsin. It operated from 1936 until 1956. The North Woods Hiawatha was the first new route to adopt the Hiawatha brand.

The Chippewa consisting of mostly conventional consist components, and later known as the Chippewa-Hiawatha, with a streamlined consist was a passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It operated from 1937 to 1960. The Chippewa-Hiawatha was one of several regional trains to carry the "Hiawatha" brand.

The second two cars, the Omeme and Opeche, were completed in 1936 and entered service on the Hiawatha. Like the cars they displaced, they were replaced after two years when in 1938 the Hiawathas were again reequipped. The cars later saw service on the Midwest Hiawatha before being retired in 1952. [1] :259

<i>Midwest Hiawatha</i>

The Midwest Hiawatha was a passenger train on the Milwaukee Road, one of many Milwaukee Road trains with a Hiawatha name. The service began December 11, 1940 between Chicago's Union Station and Omaha, Nebraska, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, through northern Illinois and Iowa and South Dakota.

The third and final batch comprised four cars: the Earling, Merrill, Miller, and Mitchell. The four cars were introduced with a second daily Hiawatha between Chicago and the Twin Cities, leading to the creation of the Morning and Afternoon Hiawathas . [1] :59 After the arrival of the Skytop Lounges in 1948 the Beaver Tails saw service on the Midwest Hiawatha and Chippewa-Hiawatha. [1] :150-151 All were out of service by 1961. [1] :259

Skytop Lounge

The Skytop Lounges were a fleet of streamlined passenger cars with the parlor-lounge cars built by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and sleeper-lounges built by Pullman-Standard in 1948. The cars were designed by famed industrial designer Brooks Stevens. The fleet included both parlor-lounges and sleeping cars. The lounges entered service in 1948 on the Twin Cities Hiawatha, while the sleeping cars were used on the long-distance Olympian Hiawatha. In 1964 the Milwaukee Road sold the sleeping cars to the Canadian National Railway, which operated them until 1977. The parlor cars continued in service with the Milwaukee Road until 1970, when they were retired.

Related Research Articles

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States

For the railroad that operated between 1857 and 1879, see St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.

<i>Hiawatha Service</i> Train route between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Hiawatha Service, or Hiawatha, is the name of an 86-mile (138 km) train route operated by Amtrak on the western shore of Lake Michigan, although the name was historically applied to several different routes that extended across the Midwest and to the Pacific Ocean. As of 2007, fourteen trains run daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, making intermediate stops in Glenview, Illinois, Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The line is partially supported by funds from the state governments of Wisconsin and Illinois. After the closure of the Bradley Center in April 2018, the Hiawatha Service was immediately given the title of "Best Bar in the Midwest."

Beavertail can mean:

Milwaukee Road 261 preserved 4-8-4 steam locomotive

Milwaukee Road 261 is a 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company, (ALCO), in Schenectady, New York in July 1944 for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad. It was used for heavy mainline freight work until being retired by the railroad in 1954. Instead of being cut up for scrap, the 261 was preserved and donated to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1958. Today the locomotive is owned, operated, and maintained by Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization Friends of the 261, which runs seasonal excursion trains using the 261. The steam engine, restored in 1993, has logged more than 25,000 miles (40,000 km) under its own power since that time.

<i>City of Denver</i> (train)

The City of Denver was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. It operated between 1936 and 1971. From 1936–1955 the Chicago and North Western Railway handled the train east of Omaha, Nebraska; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad handled it thereafter. The train was the fastest long-distance train in the United States when it debuted in 1936, covering 1,048 miles (1,687 km) in 16 hours. For almost its entire career its principal competitor was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Denver Zephyr. When Amtrak assumed operation of most intercity trains in the United States in 1971, it discontinued the City of Denver, preferring to use the Burlington's route between Chicago and Denver.

<i>City of Los Angeles</i> (train) Union Pacific passenger train

The City of Los Angeles was a streamlined passenger train between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California via Omaha, Nebraska, and Ogden, Utah. Between Omaha and Los Angeles it ran on the Union Pacific Railroad; east of Omaha it ran on the Chicago and North Western Railway until October 1955 and on the Milwaukee Road thereafter. The train had number 103 westbound and number 104 eastbound.

Dome car panoramic coach with en external dome

A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car, sleeping car or observation. Beginning in 1945, dome cars were primarily used in the United States and Canada, though a small number were constructed in Europe for Trans Europ Express service, and similar panorama cars are in service on Alpine tourist railways like the Bernina Express.

<i>Olympian Hiawatha</i>

The Olympian and its successor the Olympian Hiawatha were passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. The Olympian operated from 1911 to 1947 and was, along with its running mate the Columbian, the first all-steel train to operate in the Pacific Northwest. The streamlined Olympian Hiawatha operated from 1947 to 1961 and was one of several Milwaukee Road trains to carry the name "Hiawatha." The Olympian Hiawatha was designed by industrial designer Brooks Stevens and included the distinctive glassed-in "Skytop" observation-sleeping cars. It later featured full-length "Super Dome" cars.

<i>Challenger</i> (train) passenger train

The Challengers were named passenger trains on the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chicago and North Western Railway. The economy service ran between Chicago, Illinois, and the West Coast of the United States. The trains had full Pullman service and coach seating and were an attempt to draw Depression-Era riders back to the rails. Food service was advertised as "three meals for under a dollar a day."

<i>Twin Cities Hiawatha</i>

The Twin Cities Hiawatha, often just Hiawatha, was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, and traveled from Chicago to the Twin Cities. The original train takes its name from the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. There are a number of Hiawatha-themed names within the city of Minneapolis, the terminus of the original train. The first Hiawatha ran in 1935; in 1939 the Milwaukee Road introduced a second daily trip between Chicago and Minneapolis. The two trains were known as the Morning Hiawatha and Afternoon Hiawatha, or sometimes the AM Twin Cities Hiawatha and PM Twin Cities Hiawatha. The Milwaukee Road discontinued the Afternoon Hiawatha in 1970 while the Morning Hiawatha continued running until the formation of Amtrak in 1971.

Super Dome (railcar)

The Super Dome was a Dome car built by Pullman-Standard for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1952. The ten Super Domes were the first full-length dome cars in revenue service, first operating on the Olympian Hiawatha and Twin Cities Hiawatha in late 1952. Although a mixed blessing in passenger use, the cars garnered much publicity for the Milwaukee Road and several remain in operation.

<i>Varsity</i> (train)

The Varsity was a train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad over a 140-mile route between Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin.

<i>The Hiawatha Story</i>

The Hiawatha Story is a 1970 non-fiction book on railroad history by Jim Scribbins, then an employee of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The book covers the history of the Milwaukee Road's most famous passenger train, the Hiawatha, from its creation in 1934–1935 up through 1970. The book also covered the various other Milwaukee Road trains which carried the name "Hiawatha."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Scribbins, Jim (1970). The Hiawatha Story . Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Company. LCCN   70107874. OCLC   91468.
  2. ↑ Schafer, Mike; Welsh, Joe (1997). Classic American Streamliners. Osceola, Wisconsin: MotorBooks International. ISBN   978-0-7603-0377-1.
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