The ''Wolverine'' was an international night train that twice crossed the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: ...

, going from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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

. This

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

train went northwest of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, into Canada, traveled over Michigan Central Railroad tracks, through

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

, reentering the United States, through

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Central Station Michigan Central Station (also known as Michigan Central Depot or MCS) is the historic former main intercity passenger rail station in Detroit, Michigan. Built for the Michigan Central Railroad, it replaced the original depot in downtown Detroit ...

, and on to Chicago. At the post-World War II peak of long-distance named trains, there were three other New York Central trains making this unusual itinerary through Southwestern Ontario (with stops in

, St. Thomas, Ontario and

Welland, Ontario Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Ontario, N ...

). In the late 1960s, this was the last remaining train taking this route, failing to survive into the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

era. The name resurfaced on the truncated Detroit–Chicago route with Amtrak's ''

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

.'' All through the train's years it included a separate section of coaches and sleepers from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...

, which would link with the main section in

Albany Union Station Union Station, also known as Albany Union Station, is a building in Albany, New York on the corner of Broadway and Steuben Street. Built during 1899–1900, it served originally as the city's railroad station but now houses credit union offices. ...

. Until January 1957 the train used Chicago's

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

, in contrast to the

LaSalle Street Station LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago, ...

which most of the NYC's trains used. An entirely different west-bound-only ''New England Wolverine'' (originating in Boston on an earlier departure) linked at Buffalo's Central Terminal with the ''Wolverine'' for the Buffalo-Chicago route; this would be discontinued in 1956. The train would also carry a New York to

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metrop ...

sleeper (for the New York-Detroit segment), as well as

Massena, New York Massena is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the St. Lawrence River and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12 ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

sleepers (for the Syracuse-Buffalo segment). In 1957 the ''Wolverine'' lost the

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of ...

that it previously had. By 1962 the train included sleepercoaches from the Budd Company for its roomettes. The train dropped the older drawing rooms and compartments. The schedule also dropped Hudson, New York and Ypsilanti, Marshall and Dowagiac, Michigan. In January 1961 the train lost its Boston sleepers. In December 1967 the train lost its name and was simply the numbered 17 / 8. In the

era (following the merger with long time rival Pennsylvania Railroad) the train only had its westbound unnamed #61/#17 with sleeper, coach and dining car service. Yet, eastbound an unnamed #14 only ran on a Chicago-Detroit-Buffalo itinerary. Riders would need to switch at a late night hour to a different train at 2:30 am in Buffalo to complete the trip to New York City.East/West Penn Central timetable, December 1968

Popular Culture

Steely Dan's 1973 song " My Old School" makes a reference to the Wolverine, which - contrary to the song's lyrics - never made a stop at Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, the hamlet of

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

, alma mater of the band's two leaders. However, it did stop in Rhinecliff, NY, about 8 miles away.

References

External links

New York Central 'Wolverine' era train photo
{{NYC named trains Passenger trains of the New York Central Railroad Named passenger trains of Canada Named passenger trains of Ontario Named passenger trains of the United States International named passenger trains Railway services introduced in 1906 Night trains of the United States Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Indiana Passenger rail transportation in Michigan Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Railway services discontinued in 1967