The 400--Setting the Pace for the World (From Past to Present: The

The 400-Setting The Pace For The World On the frosty afternoon of January 2, 1935, the most memorable events of Wisconsin railroading. nearly everyone in the city of Adams hurried down to It was symbolic of the engineering and coordination the railroad tracks to watch the arrival of the North high-speed rail required and of the caliber of the Western's entry in the race to provide high-speed rail railroad personnel who could bring together two transportation between the Twin Cities and Chicago. trains, each carrying up to 275 people, at the same The race had began a year earlier when the moment day after day without mishap. RBrlinvtnn Railroad intrnducedp its repvnlution- ary diesel-electric Zephyr and ran it non-stop for 1,105 miles from Denver to Chicago. In short time, a Zephyr was setting records for speed on the Chicago-Twin Cities run. Not to be outdone, the Milwaukee Road designed and built a new oil-fired steam locomotive, packaged it in a moder streamlined design, added new luxurious passenger and lounge cars and inaugurated the Hiawatha high-speed passenger service on its Chicago-Twin Cities run. The North Western could not let the challenge go unanswered--even though it was financially-strapped to the point of bankruptcy. Instead of building a new train, the North Western enlisted its 296 ton, 100-foot long, six wheel Pacific steam locomotives, coupled on its 1-uba "noca r n/a<^r e -. a. 1->lI -l h^/4 »t Adf It UtsL passeallUi casai a11u Iauncii'Iru t-VU.Li. IL was the train that would soon be "setting the pace for The Adams stop also gave the North Western a Two 400s the world," so named because it promised to travel chance to tweak the nose of its rival, the Milwaukee meeting in between Chicago and St. Paul--400 miles--in 400 Road. Its Hiawathas did not stop at Wisconsin Dells, Adams in the streamlined minutes. At that rate it would cut rail travel time so Dells' resorts ran buses to the Adams yard to pick diesel locomo- between the two cities from ten to six-and-one-half up passengers on the 400. A regular bus service also tive days. The hours. carried passengers from Wisconsin Rapids to Adams. conductors are In order to meet that mile-a-minute schedule and All the high-speed trains were successful. They unidentified but make up time lost to stops and slow-downs, the 400 prompted the first increases in passengers the the crew consists had to high ball over the flat terrain of Adams, Juneau railroads had seen since the 1920s. It did not last, of of (l-r) Brake- man Clarence and Jackson counties at 100 MPH or more--so did the course, and all passenger service ended at Adams in Jepson, Engi- Hiawatha, which roared through, but did not stop at, 1963. In the meantime, all the North Western's neer Pete Wisconsin Dells. passenger trains in Wisconsin had been renamed Weirick, Road Adding drama to the runs of the 400 was the brief 400s. A few years ago, the bike trail on the old rail Foreman Dave but scheduled meeting of the Chicago-bound train line in Sauk and Juneau counties .was named the Jennings, with the St. Paul 400 in the Adams yard, whose multi- "400" Trail because the Minnesota 400 ran there. But Fireman Clarence track yard could accommodate both trains. A restless, it was not The 400, the mile-a-minute train that Thomas. westbound 400 sat on an Adams siding until the depended on railroaders in Adams to make sure it was precise moment the eastbound 400 rolled in on the "setting the pace for the world." adjacent track, then kicked off on its own journey. The seconds-only meeting of the the 400s was one of 109 From Past To Present: The History of Adams County - Link Page Previous The Railroad Comes To Adams County 82 Next Remembering Adams and Toots Voboril 110 Return to Electronic Index Page.

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