City of Denver (train)
The City of Denver in 1940.
|
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| First service | June 18, 1936 |
| Last service | April 30, 1971 |
| Former operator(s) |
Union Pacific Railroad Chicago and North Western Railway Milwaukee Road |
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 ("C&NW") handled the train east of Omaha, Nebraska; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") 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.
By the end of 1935 the Union Pacific already operated four articulated streamliners: the M-10000 (City of Salina), M-10001 (City of Portland), M-10002 (City of Los Angeles), and M-10004 (City of San Francisco). In December the Union Pacific and C&NW announced a new Chicago–Denver "highspeed" service, to be served by a pair of trainsets enabling daily service, the M-10005 and M-10006. The projected running time of 16 hours was a full nine hours faster than the best schedule at that time. The new trains had a maximum speed in excess of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) and would average 65.5 miles per hour (105.4 km/h) over the 1,048-mile (1,687 km) trip. This would make it the fastest scheduled long-distance train in the United States. The Union Pacific emphasized that the improved schedule would "save a business day."
...
Wikipedia