The Streamliners were a fleet of three

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 ...

electric multiple units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

built by the

St. Louis Car Company The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri. History The St. Louis Car Company ...

for the

Illinois Terminal Railroad The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company (reporting marks "ITC"), known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from ...

in 1948–1949. They operated primarily between

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, ...

and

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

in the late 1940s and early to mid-1950s. They were the last

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

cars manufactured in the United States.

Design

The

constructed all three sets. Each equipment set comprised three cars. The cars were constructed of fluted aluminum and were painted in a royal blue paint schene. Each car was independently powered by four General Electric 1240A2 traction motors, producing each, and this allowed for a top speed of . These traction motors were supplied with traction current via overhead wires, reaching the unit through a trolley pole. The twin axle bogies for the sets were manufacturer by General Steel Casting's.

Service

The streamliners represented a last attempt by the Illinois Terminal to regain lost passenger traffic and were the first new passenger cars the railroad had ordered since 1918. The Illinois Terminal began teasing the new streamliners in 1947, but did not announce the order until May 1948. Its original plan was to place all three in service between St. Louis and Peoria. The first new train in service was the ''City of Decatur'', which began operating between

and

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...

(not Peoria) on November 7, 1948. It was the first through service offered by the Illinois Terminal between those two cities. By March 1950 all three sets were in operation. The other two, the ''Fort Crevecoeur'' and ''Mound City'', were on the St. Louis–Peoria route as originally planned. All three trains offered

parlor A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

and "

À la carte In restaurants, ''à la carte'' (; ) is the practice of ordering individual dishes from a menu in a restaurant, as opposed to ''table d'hôte'', where a set menu is offered. It is an early 19th century loan from French meaning "according to ...

dining A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearanc ...

service. The two streamliners made the trip in 4 hours 40 minutes, forty minutes faster than conventional

s on the route. Poor patronage led the Illinois Terminal to withdraw the ''City of Decatur'' in August 1950; the equipment was reassigned to the Peoria run. The new service was named ''Sangamon'', which was the railroad's original choice in 1947. All three sets were withdrawn by 1956 when passenger service on the Illinois Terminal ended.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Streamliners (Illinois Terminal Railroad)
Illinois Traction Terminal Collection
McLean County Museum of History Electric multiple units of the United States St. Louis multiple units North American streamliner trains Vehicles introduced in 1948

Design

Service

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links