The ''Peninsula 400'' was a daily express passenger train operated by the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

between

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

and

Ishpeming Ishpeming ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,470 at the 2010 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the iron ore mines employed more workers. A statue of a ...

, in Michigan's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

. It operated as a named

consist In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

from 1942 to 1969. It was one of the railroad's ''400'' passenger trains, whose name stemmed from the original '400-mile, 400-minute' express operated by the railroad between Chicago and Minneapolis–St. Paul.

History

Service began in 1942, and the ''Peninsula 400'' quickly became a major hit, drawing more passengers than the far more prestigious ''

Twin Cities 400 The ''400''Chicago & North Western Railway Route of the "400" The Streamliners and the Challengers ime Table Rand McNally, January 15, 1939. Chicago, IL (later named the ''Twin Cities 400''Chicago & North Western Railway Through Passenger Schedu ...

'' and commanding fourteen passenger cars when running south of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The train, numbered as 214–209 (depending on what direction it was going), was often pulled behind the North Western's lone ALCO DL-107 and an EMD E3 or E6. Unlike many of the other ''400''s, two engines were required due to the train's heavy patronage, which required lengthy consists. In 1943, for instance, the train averaged 662 passengers on its northbound run and 468 when headed back south. In all, the ''Peninsula 400'' carried 674,299 total passengers in under two years of service. By 1954, the railroad petitioned the

Michigan Public Service Commission The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) is a regulatory agency which regulates public utilities in the state of Michigan, including electric power, telecommunications, and natural gas services. The MPSC's headquarters are located in Lansing, ...

to abandon the

Escanaba Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city i ...

–Ishpeming portion of the route. The railroad claimed it lost $80,000 a year from continuing the train to Ishpeming. Even though eight years later the service required an additional five passenger cars during the holiday season, it still could not sustain a yearly profit. In October 1958 the ''Peninsula 400'' received bilevel equipment including coaches, a lounge and a parlor car. This introduction marked the first time a North American passenger train used

head end power In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, p ...

(HEP) in preference to steam heat. Around this time, the train was featured in the 1959 film ''

Anatomy of a Murder ''Anatomy of a Murder'' is a 1959 American courtroom drama and crime film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Wendell Mayes was based on the 1958 novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Vo ...

'' in scenes captured at the Ishpeming train station. Until some point in 1960 or 1961 the CNW ran a night train counterpart via Manitowoc, the ''Iron Country,'' with coaches, dining car, parlor car, tavern-lounge car, and a sleeper with accommodations ranging from roomettes to double bedrooms and a compartment. While the Commission did not allow the North Western to abandon the train in 1954, it reversed its position fifteen years later. As such, the ''Peninsula 400'' made its last Chicago–Ishpeming run on July 15, 1969, and with it went the Chicago and Northwestern's "400" moniker. An unnamed remnant continued to run between Chicago and Green Bay until the formation of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

on May 1, 1971. The ''Peninsula 400'' remains the last regular passenger train to have serviced the Upper Peninsula; the area is now plied by intercity buses, and the nearest rail station for most UP residents is located 172 miles to the south of Marinette in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, Wisconsin.

Accident

On January 31, 1949, in

Rock, Michigan Rock is an unincorporated community in Delta County, Michigan, United States. Rock is located in Maple Ridge Township along M-35 and the Canadian National Railway, north-northwest of Gladstone. Rock has a post office with ZIP code 49880. Dem ...

, the ''Peninsula 400'' had an overheated bearing on a failed traction motor that caused a derailment.Stress Difficulties of Detecting Overheating Bearings on Diesels. Railway Age Volume 126 number 17. United States: Simmons-Boardman, April 23, 1949. pages 50 and 51 There was one death and 15 injured. A similar accident happened on January 11 to the

Seaboard Coast Line The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

''Orange Blossom Special'', which also had an overheated bearing on a traction motor on the diesel locomotive, which then seized and caused a derailment. There was one death and 76 injured. In both cases the overheated motor froze up, which caused the wheel to stop turning and wear down a flat spot, eventually derailing the trains.

References

Bibliography

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External links

1968 timetable

{{CNW named trains Passenger trains of the Chicago and North Western Railway Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Wisconsin Passenger rail transportation in Michigan Railway services introduced in 1942 Railway services discontinued in 1969

History

Accident

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links