Cleveland, O. to La Crosse, Wis. June 1949

Note1: This blog entry concerns historical US passenger rail schedules. For all current long distance passenger rail schedules for the USA, visit the Amtrak web site.

Note2: See this post for the return portion of this Cleveland/La Crosse round trip.

It's clear that the trip will be split into two parts at Chicago. For Cleveland to Chicago, there are two choices, the New York Central and the Nickel Plate (a.k.a. New York, Chicago, and St. Louis, but nobody calls it that). Both railroads use LaSalle St. Station in Chicago.


For Chicago to La Crosse, the choices are the Burlington (a.k.a. the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy), the Milwaukee (a.k.a the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific, a.k.a the Milwaukee Road), and the Chicago & North Western. The Burlington and Milwaukee both use Chicago Union Station (CUS), as does the Pennsylvania Railroad, but you can't take the Pennsy west from Cleveland. So, LaSalle St. and a Chicago station transfer it is.

Here are the possibilities:

New York Central (NYC)

Train. No.	Name	Lv. Cleve.	Ar. Chi.	Notes
19	Lake Shore Limited	6:05 am	11:59 am	Lounge/Buffet New York to Chicago, Sleepers (double bedroom, roomette, section, drawing room, compartment) New York and Boston to Chicago, parlor car (NYC) Cleveland to Chicago, dining, coaches
35	Iroquois	11:15 am	5:00 pm	Lounge/buffet + sleepers (roomette, double bedroom, section, drawing room) Boston to Chicago, dining, coaches
73	Prairie State	4:00 pm	9:50 pm	Tavern Lounge Coach + parlor car + observation parlor car (NYC) Cleveland to Chicago, dining, coaches
43		5:40 pm	12:30 am	Diner Lounge Cleveland to Toledo, coaches
9	Chicago Mail	10:35 pm	5:55 am	Coaches, Sleeper (14 section) Toledo to Chicago xSat
89/5	Forest City/Mohawk	12:45 am	6:55 am	Sleepers (section, drawing room, compartment) New York and Buffalo to Chicago, Lounge/buffet + 7 sleepers ( section, roomette, double bedroom ) Cleveland to Chicago (open 9:30pm), coaches

The Twentieth Century Limited (the NYC's best known train) and many of the Central's other New York and Boston to Chicago flyers come through Cleveland in the middle of the night and don't stop there. To serve the Cleveland market, NYC has two dedicated night trains: the Forest City (train numbers 89 and 290) between Cleveland and Chicago, and the Cleveland Limited (train numbers 57 and 58) between Cleveland and New York. Neither train is strictly all-Pullman, but they both cater very heavily to Pullman passengers.

New York, Chicago, and St. Louis (NYC&St.L, Nickel Plate)

Train. No.	Name	Lv. Cleve.	Ar. Chi.	Notes
7	Westerner	8:15 am	2:55 pm	Sleepers (section, drawing room, compartment) + diner lounge + coaches New York (via DL&W) and Buffalo to Chicago
5	Nickel Plate Limited	10:55 pm	6:40 am	(Open 9:00 pm in Cleveland) Sleepers (single bedroom, roomette, sections) + diner/lounge Cleveland to Chicago, Sleeper (section, drawing room) + coaches New York (via DL&W) and Buffalo to Chicago

Chicago Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q, the Burlington)

Train. No.	Name	Lv. Chi.	Ar. LaCrosse	Notes
21	Morning Zephyr	8:15 am	12:22 pm	Vista Dome Parlor Car and drawing room (CB&Q) + Vista Dome coaches + dining Chicago to Minneapolis
49	Empire Builder	1:00 pm	5:21 pm	Buffet/Obs/Lounge + sleepers (drawing room, duplex roomette, double bedroom, section) + dining + lounge-coffee shop + day-nite coaches Chicago to Seattle and Portland
23	Afternoon Zephyr	4:00 pm	8:07 pm	Vista Dome Parlor Car and drawing room (CB&Q) + Vista Dome coaches + dining Chicago to Minneapolis, no checked baggage to/from intermediate points
45		9:00 pm	5:48 am	Coaches Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul
51	North Coast Limited	11:00 pm	4:54 am	(Avail 10:00 pm in Chicago) Buffet/Obs/Lounge + sleepers (double bedroom, roomette, duplex roomette, compartment) + tourist sleepers + day-nite coaches + coach + dining Chicago to Seattle and Portland
53/47	Oriental Limited/Black Hawk	11:15 pm	5:23 am	(Avail 10:00 pm in Chicago) Obs/Lounge + sleepers (double bedroom, section, drawing room, compartment) + tourist sleepers + coaches + dining Chicago to Seattle and Portland, sleepers (drawing room, double bedroom, section) + coaches Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific (CMSt.P&P, the Milwaukee Road)

Train. No.	Name	Lv. Chi.	Ar. LaCrosse	Notes
55		1:30 am	9:35 am
5	Morning Hiawatha	10:30 am	3:32 pm	Skytop Lounge + drawing room parlor cars + dining + tap/buffet + coaches Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis
101	Afternoon Hiawatha	1:00 pm	5:00 pm	Skytop Lounge + drawing room parlor cars + dining + tap/buffet + coaches Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis
15	Olympian Hiawatha	3:30 pm	7:28 pm	Skytop lounge + sleepers (double bedroom, roomette) + tourist sleeper + dining + Tip Top Grill + reserved seat coaches Chicago to Seattle-Tacoma, Drawing room parlor car Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis
1	Pioneer Limited	10:15 pm	4:40 am	(Open 9:00pm in Chicago) Sleepers (duplex roomette, roomette, double bedroom) + tap/diner/buffet + coaches Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis
17	Columbian	11:15 pm	4:50 am	(Sleepers open in Chicago 10:00 pm, coaches 10:30pm) Obs/Lounge + Sleepers (section, double bedroom) + tourist sleeper + dining + coaches Chicago to Seattle-Tacoma, sleepers (single bedroom, section, drawing room) Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis

Chicago & North Western (C&NW)

Train. No.	Name	Lv. Chi.	Ar. LaCrosse	Notes
501		9:00 am	5:28 pm	Mankato/Huron/Pierre section splits at Elroy, Wis. Through coaches Chicago to Mankato/Huron.
401/419	Twin Cities "400"/Minnesota "400"	3:00 pm	7:53 pm	Arrival time is for Onalaska, Wis., 6.2 mi. from LaCrosse, bus service available to LaCrosse. Transfer to Minnesota "400" (Train 419) at Wyeville, Wis., 6:38 pm. 401: Tavern/lunch counter/lounge + dining + parlor cars with drawing rooms + observation/bar/lounge/parlor car + coaches Chicago to St. Paul-Minneapolis (Wyeville). 419: Tavern/Lunch counter/lounge + parlor car with drawing room + coaches Wyeville to Mankato.
515	Rochester-Minnesota Special/Minnesota and Black Hills Express	9:30 pm	4:58 am	Arrival time is for Onalaska, Wis., 6.2 mi. from LaCrosse. Sleepers (section, drawing room, compartment) + medical sleeper Chicago to Rapid City and Mankato, coaches

So, what's the best way to actually do this trip?

First off, there are no dedicated Pullmans to La Crosse, and, in fact, no convenient morning arrivals there. There is nameless Milwaukee #55, arriving La Crosse 9:35am, but that's a 1:30am departure from Chicago, and there appear to be no amenities of any type on this train, and it's an all stops local to boot. So, let's scrap the idea of going directly from the station to that morning meeting, and assume an evening or night arrival in La Crosse.

The North Western's fast afternoon train, the Twin Cities "400"/Minnesota "400", requires a transfer at Wyeville, Wis., and takes an hour longer than the Burlington and Milwaukee equivalents, and actually stops in Onalaska, not La Crosse itself, so that leaves the Milwaukee's Olympian Hiawatha and the Burlington's Afternoon Zephyr. The Milwaukee train is a through train to the Pacific Northwest, so perhaps short distance seats will be hard to come by. Safest to use that as a backup only, and make the Burlington Zephyr the first choice, leaving Chicago Union Station at 4:00 pm, arriving La Crosse, Wis. at 8:07 pm.

The question then becomes, what's the best way to get to Chicago Union Station (CUS) from Cleveland by 4:00 pm?

For same day travel, none of the New York Central's many trains are really convenient, although the closest is the Lake Shore Limited, departing Cleveland 6:05 am, arriving Chicago La Salle St. 11:59 am, leaving plenty of time for a leisurely lunch before that 4pm departure from CUS.

Another alternative would be to take the Central's overnight Forest City the night before, or the equivalent Nickel Plate Limited, and then spend most of the day in Chicago. The morning arrival in Chicago gives other options for the La Crosse leg too. That decision could be made on whether it's preferable to spend the extra time in Chicago in the afternoon or in La Crosse in the evening. It's a longer total trip, but maybe the right choice in some circumstances.

If getting from La Salle St. over to CUS in an hour doesn't seem like a problem, then the Nickel Plate's Westerner is the only choice that will get you from Cleveland to La Crosse in a single calendar day without requiring getting up early. Score one for the little guy. Total time: 8:15 am to 8:07 pm, or just under thirteen hours (with the time zone change). Morning along the shore of Lake Erie, a Nickel Plate dining car lunch, a crosstown transfer in Chicago, and dinner along the Mississippi River.

All railroad timetables from The Official Guide of the Railways, June 1949 issue. 

¶ 2/12/2008 12:35:00 AM