The 1935 Hiawatha Train Set by Fox Valley

Two Versions - Standard DC/DCC Ready and DCC w/Lok Sound

Two Paint Schemes - 1935 Original and 1948 Indian

Engine 1 - 1935 paint scheme with Indian Logo

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Engine # 4 - 1948 paint scheme with Indian Logo and the Half Moon

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The Logo for the train came from Longfellow's poem:

The Hiawatha Train ran at self-imposed speed limits of 100 mph before other passenger trains could manage that.  It is said that limit was routinedly exceeded by the locomotive engineers until the 1950s.  They averaged 95 mph routinely, including stops, traveling 410 miles in 390 minutes.  The cars were all steel and were 1/3 lighter than generally used for other cars. 

The engine was built by American Locomotive Company, ran at 300 lb pressure, and had seven foot diameter driving wheels.  The steam locomotive and all cars were "scientifically" streamlined. 

It was a luxury train at a time when comfort and service made the difference.  Roller bearings were adopted on the Hiawatha before any other passenger line had them; the oil-burning locomotives had a smoke "elevator" to lift smoke away from the passenger cars.

This picture is of the dining car, taken by Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway photographer:  Lawson Studios, Chicago. Public Domain see more at https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18455674:

The cars were air-conditioned in summer and steam-heated in winter, and electricity was also standard in every car.  Both were firsts in the industry, as was its design.  Another first was the "Tap-Cafe" car, a tap where one could draw beer, ale, or other drinks (like a club car today) and a cafe offered a place where one could have a meal.

Perhaps the most famous passenger train, the Hiawatha on the  Milwaukee Road - correctly named the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul and Pacific Railroad - just wasn't photographed enough, and certainly not in color!   But first to last, it was a beautiful, really modern passenger train and famed for all time.

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