The ''Western Star'' was a named passenger train operated by the Great Northern Railway 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 the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

via

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

/ St. Paul,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Between Chicago and St. Paul the train used the route of the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

; in later years eastbound passengers were accommodated on Burlington trains east of St. Paul. Through cars from the train operated between

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

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 ...

via the

Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway The Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway (SP&S) was a railroad in the northwest United States. Incorporated in 1905, it was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank o ...

. It operated from 1951 to 1971.

History

The ''Western Star'' was inaugurated on June 3, 1951, replacing the ''

Oriental Limited The ''Oriental Limited'' was a named passenger train that ran between Chicago, Illinois and Seattle, Washington. The train was operated by the Great Northern Railway between St. Paul, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington, and by the Chicago, Bur ...

'' as the secondary train along the Great Northern's transcontinental route. The Great Northern's primary train was the famed '' Empire Builder'', which made the run in 45 hours. The ''Western Star'' required a more leisurely 58 hours, making more intermediate stops and serving branches the ''Empire Builder'' bypassed, such as

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

and

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

. The ''Star'' used equipment from the ''Empire Builder'', which had been completely reequipped. Amtrak did not retain the ''Western Star'' as part of its national route network and the train was discontinued on May 1, 1971, although it did re-route the ''Empire Builder'' to serve Grand Forks.

Equipment

The 1951 ''Western Star'' required six sets of equipment to operate; it inherited five of these from the faster ''Empire Builder''. Each set of equipment consisted of fourteen cars: Each set could carry 330 passengers.

References

External links

1966 timetable
Passenger trains of the Great Northern Railway (U.S.) Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1951 Railway services discontinued in 1971 {{US-train-stub