North Coast Limited

The North Coast Limited was a luxury train of American railway company Northern Pacific Railway. The train was introduced in 1900 and was in operation until 1971, by which he was one of the longest name trains of the United States. He was known especially for his dining-car operation, which was one of the best of its kind in the United States.

Route

The route of the procession led by Chicago on the "Twin Cities" of St. Paul / Minneapolis, Fargo and Spokane to Tacoma and Seattle. Here, the train crossed some of the most beautiful American landscapes, from the Great Lakes in Chicago, then over the fertile land Wisconsin Farmer, then the endless prairies of North Dakota and Montana, and finally through the Rocky Mountains of Montana, Idaho and Washington. The train went through eight mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains, and its travel times were so placed that the scenic areas ( ie the Rocky Mountains ) were crossed during the day. There was even a direct connecting train for passengers who wanted to go to Yellowstone National Park. In Pasco, a tensile member was separated and passed through the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway to Portland ( Oregon) from 1909. The operation from Chicago to the Twin Cities was not carried out by the Northern Pacific, but by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad on their route along the Mississippi River along.

Use

From the beginning, the train was a luxury train, offering them world class service. There were dining cars, sleeping cars with different compartments, snack bar lounge car, and even cars with built-in library and cigar room and solarium. Even showers and a manicure service for women was offered to the record. Then combined lookout seat cars and lookout sleeper came later also to and for the welfare of passengers is a kind of care specifically for the luxury trains trained " stewardesses ". The train was during its entire period of existence, the flagship of the Northern Pacific and was in strong competition to the luxury trains of the rival, the "Empire Builder " of the Great Northern Railway and the " Olympian Hiawatha " the Milwaukee Road.

His great times experienced the train from 1900 to 1929 and then again from the 1948 until 1967. By 1929 he had even been an "all- Sleeper " train, that is, it consisted exclusively of first - class sleeper. Until 1948 there was the train of heavyweight, six-axle cars, which were painted olive green and were built up to 1912 and after 1912 wood made ​​of steel. In the period from 1945 to 1948, the train was modernized and was up to his end of 1971 four-axle streamlined car. As early as 1933, the air conditioning was introduced and in 1948 the train no longer steam locomotives, but multipart diesel locomotives was drawn. From 1948 to 1953, the cars were painted as follows: light gray roof, olive band above the windows with yellow " Northern Pacific " lettering, light green window band and olive band below the windows. The individual bands were separated by yellow decorative lines. 1954, changed the color scheme. As there were roof, the band above the windows and the window band dunkelmintgrün. Directly below the window band, there was a white line trim, and the band below the window was bright green, and there was also the " The Vista Dome North Coast Limited" lettering with white-black- red Northern Pacific logo. Above the window saying that also again " Northern Pacific " in white color. The diesel locomotives of the train were so painted.

From 1954, every North Coast Limited also included four observation car on the train, two vantage car seat ( for 2nd class seat car passengers) and two vantage sleeper ( for first class sleeping car passengers). Thus the whole train had 96 passengers a dome car space available (both 24 per viewing platform ). 1955, the " Louis & Clark Traveller's Rest Tavern " was introduced, a snack bar lounge car for light meals, the inside was covered with wood and was completely decorated in the Wild West scheme. The sleeping car passengers was exclusively the final car with its rounded end as a saloon car with cocktail bar. When this car 1967 abolished the lookout sleeping cars were rebuilt in vantage Sleep Barwagen by the located below the viewing platforms sleeping compartments were replaced by bars; the cars were also called "Lounge in the Sky", because in the viewing platform some seats were replaced by tables.

Train composition

Train composition in 1937:

Steam Locomotive Alco Z -6 4-6-6-4 with 16 cars: 1 post car; 2 luggage - sleeper (for the train crew ); 3rd seat car; 4 seats car; 5 tourists sleeper; 6 tourist sleeping car; 7 dining car; 8 sleeper " Rice Lake "; 9 sleeper " Kamiakin "; 10 sleeper " Blackfoot "; 11 sleeper "Many Horns"; 12 sleeper "Standing Buffalo "; 13 sleeper " Gap "; 14 sleeper " Glade "; 15 sleeper with buffet solarium " Canyon "; 16 Lounge - end cars.

Train composition in 1956:

Diesel Locomotive EMD FP7 ABBBA Unit with 17 cars: 1 baggage car; 2 Post- sleeper (for the train crew ); 3 vantage seat car; 4 seats car; 5 seat car; 6 seat car; 7 vantage seat car; 8 seat car; 9 snack bar lounge car " Traveller's Rest Tavern "; 10 dining cars; 11 vantage sleeper; 12 sleeper; 13 sleeper; 14 sleeper, 15 lookout sleeper; 16 sleeping cars, 17 saloon bar - end cars.

Setting

Although the Northern Pacific, in contrast to many other railway companies in the late 1950s and 1960s went very well in the passenger business and the North Coast Limited was always a well-filled train, the number of passengers in the late 1960s waned so dramatically that even the top-notch service, the luxury and the good reputation of the train nothing helped, the train was getting shorter and shorter and more and more services need to be reduced. Starting in 1968, the train between Chicago and St. Paul / Minneapolis and between Spokane and Seattle / Portland was even combined with his ex - rival, the "Empire Builder " of the Great Northern.

1970 merged the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway to the new company Burlington Northern Railroad, under which the train drove on still 1 year to 1 May 1971 and then with the establishment of Amtrak has been set. Thus an era of traveling on the Northern Pacific ended, and one of the best trains of the United States went down in history.

On June 5, 1971 Amtrak led predominantly on the former route of the North Coast Limited, the North Coast Hiawatha, an anonymous creative blend of the North Coast Limited and the Olympian Hiawatha of the Milwaukee Road. The train was merged between Chicago and Minneapolis, and between Spokane and Seattle with the Empire Builder, who drove in the last section at that time on the former route of the North Coast Limited Yakima. He associated three times a week. From 14 November 1971, the North Coast Hiawatha was operated along the former Milwaukee Road route between Chicago and Spokane as a separate train between Chicago and Minneapolis and even daily. Between Spokane and Seattle, he was still affiliated with the Empire Builder. From 11 June, 1973, the train on the entire route from Chicago to Seattle was run as a separate train. Except in the summer and during the holidays he frequented continue three times a week. Now between Spokane and Seattle, the route of the Empire Builder was used with the cascade tunnel. On 1 October 1979, the route of the train was canceled.

Much of the original route is now no longer in use in passenger transport. The Empire Builder Amtrak operates today only between St. Paul and Moorhead and between Sandpoint and Pasco on the route. It runs the only remaining train running from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest instead continue on the former main line of the Great Northern on the Marias Pass.