Product Details
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Description:
by Jim Scribbins. Softcover, horizontal 8.5x11, 232 pages, 341 b/w photos, 18 color photos. "400 miles in 400 minutes . . . the fastest train on the American continent." advertisement, December 1934 "Three midwestern railroads introduced luxury passenger service in 1935, competing for Chicago - Twin Cities business and leisure travelers. Chicago and North Western’s modern, sleek, and fast rail line began with a conventional steam - powered train dubbed the "400" and named after its ambitious schedule: "400 miles in 400 minutes." In 1939, it evolved into an even faster diesel-powered streamlined train, eventually expanding into a fleet of streamliners that served Wisconsin, Minnesota, and upper Michigan. "The 400 Story captures the excitement of this era, tracing the rise and fall of the premier passenger system that made “Twin Cities 400” a household term in the upper Midwest. "The trains are extinct, but many details of the landscape they traversed still exist. In this book's maps, descriptions, and photographs of the 400s at various points along their routes, it is easy to imagine the yellow and green streamliners still rolling across the Wisconsin countryside or easing into a crowded station." - Wisconsin Magazine of History Jim Scribbins had a lifetime career at Milwaukee Road and is the author of The Hiawatha Story (Minnesota, 2006) and four other books about upper midwestern railroads. He lives in West Bend, Wisconsin. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 400 miles in 400 minutes Yellow and green Minnesota 400 and kin Flambeau 400 Peninsula 400 Kate Shelley 400 The 400 fleet The bilevel era Protesters and empty seats Locomotives Index | |||||||||||||||
