The ''Blue Bird'' was a streamlined

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

operated by the Wabash Railroad and its successor the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

between Chicago, Illinois, and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. It operated from 1938 to 1971. Beginning in 1950 it was one of the few Wabash passenger trains to carry a dome car and the first dome train in regular operation between the two cities. The train was cut back to

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, in 1968 and renamed ''City of Decatur''. Amtrak did not retain the ''City of Decatur'', and it made its last run on April 30, 1971.

History

The Wabash introduced a heavyweight ''Blue Bird'' on the Chicago–St. Louis run in 1938. The train was painted blue-gold, previously reserved for the Wabash's ''Banner Blue''. The Wabash relaunched the ''Blue Bird'' as a streamlined train on February 26, 1950, with all-new

Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...

"Vista-Dome" dome cars and E-unit

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

s from Electro-Motive Division. The new train carried Wabash's standard blue-gray-white livery. The Wabash referred to the ''Blue Bird'' as a "Domeliner" in contemporary advertising. Amenities on the new train included radio and "recorded musical programs"; coach passengers had access to the "Coffee Shop Club". The new equipment cost the Wabash ; it was the first dome train to operate between Chicago and St. Louis. The

leased the Wabash in 1964 but continued to operate the ''Blue Bird''. This changed in 1968 when the N&W truncated the ''Blue Bird'' to

, still departing from Chicago. This new service was named ''City of Decatur'' and operated until the formation of Amtrak in 1971.

Route

The ''Blue Bird'' used the Wabash's line between Chicago and St. Louis. In March 1950 northbound #24 departed St. Louis' Union Station at 8:55 AM and arrived at Chicago's Dearborn Station at 2:05 PM. The equipment set returned as southbound #21 the same day, departing Chicago at 4:45 PM and arriving in St. Louis at 10:10 PM. Intermediate stops included Englewood in Chicago, Forrest, Decatur, Taylorville, Litchfield and Granite City in Illinois, and the Wabash's Delmar Boulevard station in St. Louis itself. At the time two other Wabash trains operated on the route: the ''Banner Blue'', which operated a reverse schedule, and the overnight ''Midnight''.

Equipment

The 1950 lightweight consist included six cars: a baggage-lunch counter-lounge, three "Vista-Dome" dome coaches, a

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...

, and a "Vista-Dome" dome parlor-observation car. The

manufactured all six cars, although the interior of the parlor-observation car was designed according to Pullman Plan #9525. Strong demand led the Wabash to add another dome parlor-lounge in 1952. Pullman-Standard delivered the car, which included the "Blue Bird Room", an eleven-seat private dining room.

References

External links

1950 timetable
{{NW named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway Passenger trains of the Wabash Railroad Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Missouri Railway services introduced in 1938 Railway services discontinued in 1971