Hiawatha (train)

The Hiawathas were a fleet of named passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (also known as the Milwaukee Road) 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.

The first Hiawatha trains ran in 1935. By 1948, five routes carried the Hiawatha name:

The Twin Cities Hiawatha was the original Hiawatha, beginning service between Chicago and the Twin Cities on May 29, 1935. The Hiawatha used-styled streamlined Class A 4-4-2 steam locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company and was intended to compete directly with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's (Burlington Route) Twin Cities Zephyrs and Chicago and North Western Railway's Twin Cities 400.

The Milwaukee Road added a second train to the route on January 21, 1939, and the two trains were known as the Morning Hiawatha and Afternoon Hiawatha, although the brand Twin Cities Hiawatha was often employed. In 1947–1948 the Milwaukee Road again re-equipped its major passenger routes with new lightweight equipment. The Morning Hiawatha (trains 5 and 6) and Afternoon Hiawatha (trains 3 and 2) continued to operate between Chicago and Minneapolis until the latter train was discontinued on January 23, 1970. The last runs of the Morning Hiawatha were on April 30, 1971, immediately prior to the introduction of Amtrak.

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