The Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha was a marvel in it's day. Named for the swift footed American Indian of story and song, it did the trip from the Twin Cities to Chicago in only 6 1/2 hours, at speeds well over 100 mph at times. The train first began in 1935 to great reviews and patronage well above the Milwaukee Road's expectations. It's orange and maroon paint scheme was a nice surprise from the drab green of so many other passenger trains of the time. It quickly became the favorite train in the "Twin Cities" corridor over the Burlington Route's Zephyrs or the Chicago & Northwestern's 400. So much so the train's consist of 6 passengers cars expanded to 7 cars and again to 9 cars by 1937 with an upgrade in equipment with 2 full new sets of passenger cars. By 1939, they again upgraded the train's equipment with 6 new 4-6-4 Baltic (Hudson) Style Locomotives, and 4 new sets of passenger cars for a morning AND afternoon version of the Hi. No other passenger train around has been upgraded so swiftly as the Hiawatha. It was definately ahead of it's time. For this complete re-equipping, the whole train would be designed front to back by famous Industrial Designer Otto Kuhler.
The standard consist of the 1939 Hiawatha was the Steam Locomotive and Tender, an Express-Tap, four Coaches, a Diner, two Parlor Cars, and the Parlor-Observation car (also called a Beaver Tail). Whereas the locomotives were constructed for the Milwaukee by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) - The Milwaukee Road built most of their own Passenger Cars in their own shops in Milwaukee, WI. The cars for the Hiawatha were no exception. Just some of the Art Deco features Otto Kuhler installed on the 1939 Hiawatha were the 7 horizontal ribs on the outside of the cars, the various porthole and oblong windows, and lots of interior design details.
THE LOCOMOTIVE
The Milwaukee Road Streamlined Baltics were a locomotive that many feel owned the title "Queen of Steam." The Milwaukee had six 4-6-4 F-7 Style Baltics built for the 1939 Hiawatha (numbered 100 thru 105). They were the pinnacle of Art Deco style and design at the time. Some of the Art Deco features on the locomotive were the many horizontal lines, the "Emerald City" style windows, and the 7 ribs on the Tender that continued thru onto the Passenger Cars. The Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha Baltics were coal burners (whereas the earlier Hiawatha 4-4-2 Atlantics burned oil), and with their massive 84 inch drive wheels, were capable of maintaining 100 mph for long lengths of time. An unofficial record recorded one of the six locomotives at over 124 mph...
Photo of the 1939 Hiawatha in all her glory
THE EXPRESS-TAP
The first car of the consist was usually the Express-Tap. It was basically 1/3 baggage car and 2/3 lounge. There were a total of four built for the 1939 Hi, numbered 153-156. The bar section was right up against the bulkhead to the baggage area, followed by the cocktail lounge with four circular red-and-cream ashtray tables. Then the eight booth Tap Room seating 32 people took up the remainder of the car. One unique feature of the cars were that all the windows in them were portholes. A bulkhead in the car would light up the next stop in the trip for the patrons in the car enjoying a few "adult" beverages.
The picture below is of the Express-Tap from a Hiawatha consist on October 18, 1940 in Chicago.
Here's two views of the interior of the car at the front of the bar area...
THE COACHES
There were 16 Coaches constructed for the 1939 Hiawatha. They were numbered 437-452. Each standard consist of the Hiawatha would include four coaches that immediately followed behind the Express-Tap. Each Coach had 28 reclining 2-person seats. The Men's Smoking Lounge at the rear of the car had 9 seats while the Woman's Smoking Lounge in the front had only 4. Floors were linoleum and the cars had plenty of wood veneer and trim in all of them.
Below is one of the coaches from the consist in Chicago on October 18, 1940.
Here's the interior of a coach section of a dormitory car from the Milwaukee Road's Olympian. The 1939 Hiawatha coaches were almost practically identical in interior design.
THE DINING CAR
The 1939 Hiawatha had four Diners numbered 109-112. A standard consist of the Hi had the Diner immediately behind the Coaches and in front of the Parlor Cars. Because of the design of the trucks (wheel sets) underneath the Hiawatha's Passenger Cars, the patrons enjoyed one of the smoothest rides on rails. Even the coffee cups had a patented design to reduce splashes. The Hiawatha's were famous for the meals served on them. The four tables nearest the Kitchen was a café area for light meals during non-dining times. There was a small curtain on each side of the car that could separate the café from the main dining area.
Again, below is the diner from October 18, 1940 in Chicago.
Here's some views of the interior of the
train's Dining Car
THE PARLOR CARS
The 1939 Hiawatha had six Parlor Cars constructed for it. Instead of car numbers, the Parlors were instead named for people. They were the Chandler, Hiland, Sewall, Whittemore, Hanson, and Manchester. The Parlors would normally be behind the Diner in a standard consist. Externally, the Parlor Cars were very close in external appearance to the 1939 Hiawatha's Coaches. The only difference being they had two large windows on the right side at the rear for the Men's Smoking Lounge instead of three smaller windows in that area in the Coaches. They had 24 rotating recliners instead of the 2-person seats that the Coaches had and had carpeted floors instead of the linoleum that covered the floors of the Coaches.
Below is one of the Parlor cars on October 18, 1940's Hiawatha.
THE PARLOR-OBSERVATION (BEAVER-TAILS)
Probably the most famous of the passenger cars in the consist of the 1939 Hiawatha were the "Beaver-Tail" Parlor-Observation Cars. There were four Parlor-Observation Cars constructed for the 1939 Hiawatha - the Earling, Merrill, Miller, and Mitchell. They were of course, at the rear of the train after the standard Parlor Cars, and gave the rear of the train as much class as the front. Like the standard Parlors, they had two rows of rotating recliners instead of the traditional fare of 2-person seats as the Hiawatha's Coaches had. But at the end of the Beaver Tail, the back of the car sloped downward, giving the appearance of the "Beaver Tail." The rear of the car had two huge windows facing out back with seats and couches facing the rear window allowing patrons the ability to watch the scenery rush away from them at speeds of over 100 mph. The moon visors/fins were not just for looks but helped keep the sun out the their faces. Mr. Kuhler hit the jackpot on the beaver-tails.
And below is the Beaver-Tail from the Chicago October 18, 1940 consist.
Below is another photograph of a Beaver-Tail.
Here's a few shots inside a Beaver-Tail...
Sadly, the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha is no more. They discontinued service in 1971 when Amtrak took over the U.S. Passenger Train operations. The passenger cars over the years have been sold off, modified, or simply scrapped. Also, all six Baltic's were scrapped by 1954 when the railroad had completely converting their trains from steam to diesel power. Of the four 1939 Beaver Tails, only one survives today that we're aware of, being the Earling. It was converted to a Storage/Tool Car in the 1950's, loosing much of her appeal. The windows were covered, the interior gutted, and the rear end shopped to match the other end. Fortunately, the Friends of the 261 purchased her and she's now a tool car for excursions they run out of Minneapolis. Here she is in a photo from June, 2002 on a run behind Milwaukee Road #261 (one of 3 surviving Steam Locomotives of the Milwaukee). She still retains her ribs which reveal her 1939 era Hiawatha origins...
Below is another shot of the Earling in June 2001. The Friends of the 261 have also added porthole windows to the baggage doors since this photo was taken.
I hope you enjoyed this trip on the Hiawatha, it was my pleasure to bring it to you.
"Swift of foot was Hiawatha.
He could shoot an arrow from him,
And run forward with such fleetness,
That the arrow fell behind him."
- Longfellow
Photograph and diagram credits: Many of the photos used are from The Hiawatha Story by Jim Scribbins, Milwaukee Road East by Patrick Dorin, and The Milwaukee Railroader, official magazine of the Milwaukee Road Historical Society. The color diagrams and floorplans are from the January 1996 issue of Model Railroader Magazine.
