Arrowhead (train)
Overview | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||
Status | Discontinued | ||||
Locale | Minnesota / Wisconsin | ||||
First service | April 15, 1975 | ||||
Last service | April 30, 1978 | ||||
Successor | North Star | ||||
Former operator(s) | Amtrak | ||||
Route | |||||
Termini | Minneapolis, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota | ||||
Stops | 3 | ||||
Distance travelled | 148 miles (238 km) | ||||
Average journey time | 3 hours 20 minutes | ||||
Service frequency | Daily | ||||
Train number(s) | 760-761 | ||||
On-board services | |||||
Class(es) | Unreserved coach | ||||
Catering facilities | On-board cafe | ||||
Technical | |||||
Rolling stock | Amfleet coaches | ||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||||
Track owner(s) | MILW | ||||
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The Arrowhead was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Duluth, Minnesota.
The Arrowhead began on April 16, 1975 as a daily all-coach train between Minneapolis and Superior, Wisconsin with no intervening stops along the 144-mile (232 km) route. The Arrowhead departed Superior in the mornings and returned in the evenings; its schedule allowed an easy connection to the North Coast Hiawatha, which offered daily service from Minneapolis to Chicago, Illinois. A bus covered the final 4 miles (6.4 km) to Duluth. Both the state of Minnesota and the Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission provided financial support for the train. Initially the Arrowhead carried an on-board cafe.[1] In November Amtrak added Sandstone, Minnesota and Cambridge, Minnesota as intermediate stops, and augmented the train's consist with a lounge car and a baggage car.[2] A schedule change to the North Coast Hiawatha broke the northbound connection to the Arrowhead from Chicago beginning in October 1976; the southbound connection was unaffected.[3]
A major change came in February 1977: Amtrak extended the Arrowhead to Duluth, eliminating the bus connection. The entire schedule flipped; the Arrowhead departed Minneapolis in the morning and returned from Duluth in the evening. Gone was any same-day connection to Chicago. The Arrowhead also gained one of the new Amfleet "Amcafes" and Amfleet coaches.[4] Another schedule change in January 1978 restored a same-day connection to Chicago with the combined Empire Builder/North Coast Hiawatha. Amtrak also increased Friday service: a morning and evening train from Minneapolis with a mid-day and late night return from Duluth.[5] On April 30, 1978, Amtrak replaced the Arrowhead and the Twin Cities Hiawatha (a Chicago-Minneapolis train) with the North Star, a Chicago-Minneapolis-Duluth sleeper. The Arrowhead was one of the last trains to use Minneapolis' Great Northern Depot; Amtrak shifted all Twin Cities service to Midway in St. Paul.[6]
See also
- Northern Lights Express, proposed passenger rail service between Duluth and Minneapolis
References
- ^ Amtrak (May 15, 1975). "All-America Schedules". Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ Amtrak (November 30, 1975). "All-America Schedules". Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ Amtrak (October 31, 1976). "National Train Timetables". Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ Amtrak (February 15, 1977). "National Train Timetables". Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ Amtrak (January 8, 1978). "National Train Timetables". Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ Holland, Kevin J. (2001). Classic American railroad terminals. MBI.