The ''Minnesotan'' was an overnight

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 ...

run by the

Chicago Great Western Railway The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota a ...

, using the CGW's trackage between

Grand Central Station Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

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

, Illinois, and

Saint Paul Union Depot Saint Paul Union Depot is a historic railroad station and intermodal transit hub in the Lowertown neighborhood of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves light rail, intercity rail, intercity bus, and local bus services. I ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, via

Hayfield, Minnesota Hayfield is a city in Dodge County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2010 census. History The Hayfield branch of the U.S. Post Office has been in operation since 1885. Hayfield was incorporated in 1896. Hayfield Towns ...

. A section of the train split in

McIntire, Iowa McIntire is a city in Mitchell County, Iowa, United States. The population was 113 at the time of the 2020 census. History McIntire was platted in 1891. It was named for its founders, John and Sarah McIntire. The town became electrified in 1921, ...

, to serve

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

. Begun as the ''Legionnaire'' in 1925, the train was renamed the ''Minnesotan'' in 1930, and was powered by a 4-6-2 ''Pacific''-type locomotive. The ''Minnesotan'' was one of the finest passenger trains the Great Western operated but could not compete against the more famous passenger trains of 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 ...

and the Chicago and North Western. The Great Western dropped the name on May 10, 1949, but Chicago to St. Paul passenger service continued to linger on for seven more years. By the early 1950s, a doodlebug or (later) a single

EMD F-unit EMD F-units are a line of diesel-electric locomotives produced between November 1939 and November 1960 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors-Diesel Division. Final assembly for all F-units was at the GM-EMD plant at La Grang ...

pulled a

railway post office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly tr ...

car, a baggage car, and a coach. This service was spartan compared to the ''Minnesotan'' of less than a decade earlier, and ceased entirely on August 11, 1956.

References

Chicago Great Western Railway Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1930 Railway services discontinued in 1956 {{US-train-stub