The ''City of Portland'' was a named passenger train on the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

between

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The first trip left Portland on June 6, 1935, using the

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...

M-10001 The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10001 was a diesel-electric streamlined train built in 1934 by Pullman-Standard with a power system developed by General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation using a Winton 201A Diesel engine and General Electric ge ...

trainset. With only one set of equipment, the train left each terminal six times a month. A broken axle derailed the trip that left Chicago on July 23, 1935, and the repaired train resumed service with the trip leaving Portland on February 6, 1936. In May 1936 it started running five times a month instead of six, allowing more time in Chicago between trips. It was the first streamliner with sleeping cars and the first streamliner running from Chicago to the Pacific coast; its 39-hour-45-minute schedule became the standard. (In April 1935 the fastest train took 59 hr 20 min Chicago to Portland.) The M-10001 was withdrawn in March 1938 and replaced with another articulated trainset, the former ''

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

M-10002 The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10002 was a diesel-electric streamliner train built in 1936 by Pullman-Standard, with prime movers from the Winton Engine division of General Motors Corporation and General Electric generator, control equipment an ...

. In July 1941 M-10002 was replaced with a train powered by the

EMC E3 The EMC E3 is a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive that was manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. The EMC demonstrator #822 was released from La Grange for test on September 12, 1938. The cab version, or E3A, was ...

set inherited from ''City of Los Angeles'' pulling the former M-10004 cars, with some former M-10001 cars added. Service was expanded following the war as the train was joined, then replaced, by full-size trains powered by E6 and E7 locomotives. The train was the first of the 40-hour Coast streamliners to run daily, in February 1947. Starting in October 1955 the

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States fr ...

was used instead of the Chicago and North Western between Chicago and Omaha; from January 1959 until 1967 the train ran via Denver. The train was discontinued May 1, 1971, with the takeover of Union Pacific's passenger services by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

. The route roughly follows the trail of the defunct Amtrak route, the ''

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

,'' except that the latter diverted to

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

, while the ''City of Portland'' did not enter Utah.Streamliner Schedules, ''City of Portland,'' July, 1956 schedule http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track7/cityportland195607.html In addition to

baggage Baggage or luggage consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transit. A modern traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, small possessions, trip ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. ...

s, about 1955 the ''City of Portland'' added an

Astra Dome The Astra Domes were a fleet of streamlined dome cars built by the American Car and Foundry Company ("ACF") and later by Pullman-Standard ("PS") for the Union Pacific Railroad between 1954–1958. ACF built a total of 35 cars including coaches ...

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

coach, dome

observation Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. The ...

lounge and dome

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 ...

to each consist. The dome dining cars were unique to Union Pacific and were only operated on this train and the ''

''.

Major cities served

Prior to 1955: * Chicago, Union Station * Cedar Rapids, Union Station * Omaha, Union Station * Boise, Union Pacific Depot * Portland, Union Station Following 1955 rerouting via Milwaukee Road: *Chicago, Union Station * Marion station (Cedar Rapids via bus connection) *Omaha, Union Station *Boise, Union Pacific Depot *Portland, Union Station Following 1959 rerouting: *Chicago, Union Station *Marion station (Cedar Rapids via bus connection) *Omaha, Union Station *Denver, Union Station *Boise, Union Pacific Depot *Portland, Union Station File:City of Portland postcard Union Pacific Railroad.JPG, 1939 postcard showing 1935-37 trainset. File:City of Portland Union Pacific Railroad EMD E6A.JPG, The train headed by an EMD E6A locomotive File:Union Pacific Railroad City of Portland streamliner.JPG, The train along the Columbia circa 1955 File:Union Pacific Railroad City of Portland Astra Dome dining car.JPG, Dome dining car upper level File:Union Pacific Railroad City of Portland dining car.JPG, Dome diner lower level File:Union Pacific Railroad City of Portland Gold Room.JPG, The Gold Room-a private dining room available by reservation File:Union Pacific Domeliner upper level Astra Dome.JPG, Dome observation car upper level File:Union Pacific Domeliner Astra Dome lower level.JPG, Dome observation car lower level File:Union Pacific Domeliner observation car card room.JPG, Observation car room for playing cards File:Union Pacific Railroad Redwood Lounge 1956.JPG, ''The Redwood Lounge'' car carried on the ''City of Portland'' and the ''City of Los Angeles'' File:Union Pacific Pullman car circa 1950s.JPG, Pullman car in day mode File:Union Pacific Railroad pullman compartment.JPG, Pullman compartment File:Union Pacific Railroad modern coach car.JPG, Coach car

References

External links

Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak
{{Milwaukee Road named trains Passenger trains of the Union Pacific Railroad Passenger trains of the Chicago and North Western Railway Passenger trains of the Milwaukee Road Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1935 Night trains of the United States Railway services discontinued in 1971

Major cities served

See also

References

External links