Passenger Trains > 100 mph aboard an E9

Continuing the series this week I offer a speed log of the Illinois Central Train #1 the City of New Orleans from 1965.

The first US railroad to authorize 100mph in its timetables was the Milwaukee with it’s Hiawathas (with steam no less) in 1935, two years after the Deutsche Reichsbahn began operating 100mph diesel two car units similar to the early zephyrs.

 By WW2 four US railroads authorized 100mph (MILW, ATSF, IC, and CNW). DR dropped out when they diverted diesel fuel for their invasion of Poland in 1939.

 In the 1950s with revenues declining as pax switched to cars or planes one by one the 100mph roads slowed their fastest trains to save costs. Which naturally drove even more people to faster alternatives. By 1960 only the IC still made 100mph speeds something of an objective in itself. And for a short while it had the only 100mph trains in the world. Germany didn’t regain 100mph speeds until 1962 with the electrification of its fastest train the Rheingold from Amsterdam to Basel.

 It should be noted though that like the other 100mph RRs, the IC only reserved such speeds for a select few trains. The rest of the IC trains ran at a plebian 80mph.

 Even the IC was not immune to passenger losses and by 1968 they needed to do something. But the IC danced to the tune of a different drummer. Under the leadership of its new VP of Pass Ops Paul Reistrupt the IC, rather than slow its fastest trains, decided to make every passenger train comparable to its fastest, creating a high speed mini corridor between Chicago and Carbondale Illinois with 5 trains daily each way.

 Chicago was the second largest city in the US at the time (3rd now) with a population of 3 million in the NE corner of the state. Carbondale was in the opposite corner of the state with only a population of 20 thousand. Every other high speed corridor in the world was between two big cities. Why would the IC make a high speed corridor to such a small town?

 College students. Carbondale had a big university with probably more students than its year round population. Along the way the IC served Champaign and Mattoon/Charleston with similar sized universities and towns.

 This was brilliant really. Who more than college students in the 60s wanted high speed. This was the era of musclecars. Not too many college students could afford both college and a 100mph+ car but they still wanted speed. And the IC gave it to them. And gained a lot of passengers. Although this speed log was from 1965, all IC trains between Chicago and Carbondale by 1969 ran at such speeds.

 I posted a vid of a CONO cab ride where it went 100+.

 As you can see it bounced around a lot. No wonder the coffee cups were only half filled. That track doesn’t really look like 100 mph track but this was pre FRA track class rules. The IC dropped it to 90 about the same time as the track rules came into effect in 1973.

 The video was originally from a DVD but I superimposed the speeds onto the track scenes from speedometer scenes interspersed throughout; which I then clipped out to make it a seamless view forward.

 I believe that by doing a derivative work like this it falls under the fair use copyright act.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V46c9WZ-9hw&t=16s

 

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Fascinating, thanks. I hope the ride in the passenger cars behind the loco was less nerve shredding.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/25 11:17 by 86235.

86235 Wrote:
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> Fascinating, thanks. I hope the ride in the
> passenger cars behind the loco was less nerve
> shredding.

The ride is probebly exaggerated by the camera operator. It's a little difficult to make it look worse than it is.

TAW

86235 Wrote:
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> Fascinating, thanks. I hope the ride in the
> passenger cars behind the loco was less nerve
> shredding.

On another forum one poster said his aunt who had a retiree IC pass, would every week take the train with another retiree from Mattoon to Chicago just for the day to see shows, shop, etc.

He said the servers never filled coffee cups more than half full!

Jonny_Chi Wrote:
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> On another forum one poster said his aunt who had
> a retiree IC pass, would every week take the train
> with another retiree from Mattoon to Chicago just
> for the day to see shows, shop, etc.
>
> He said the servers never filled coffee cups more
> than half full!

I can see why!

On jointed rail no less.  Wonder how often track maintenance was required.

Much simpler to "invent the wheel" than to have government agencies "re-invent the wheel".

Remember, the speed was still 90 mph until the capacity constraint project of the 1990's.

Good to see the high speeds over various diamonds.

Can someone confirm what I have been told by a supposed reliable source that a certain class
one has no diamonds now over 40 mph.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/25 14:42 by Englewood.

I worked for the IC as an extra agent/operator the summers of 1958 and 1959.  One day when I got off third track at Champaign Tower, pretty sure it was 1959, I went to the passenger station and rode the train to Centralia, walked around Centralia a little, visited with the tower there and asked the engineer of the northbound if I could ride with him.  He said yes, and off we went.  I think we hit the crossing at Kinmundy at 105.  Leaving Arcola the engineer said "Here is where we hit the kids"  A carload of prom-goers were hit, I think in 1958, and ,my first wife, who grew up in Mattoon, said that she knew one of them. 

Apparently happened May 16, 1959.
Students returning from prom trying to find a restaurant.

Sad day in Mattoon for sure.

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Having been on the famous IC "Main Line of Mid-America" back in 1977 with the 4449 powered Amtrak Transcontinental Steam Excursion,south of Jackson, MS,I can tell you first hand how terribly rough that double track jointed-rail was. At speeds over 70 MPH, the dust was flying out of the backhead, it was difficult to read some of the steam gauges, and one's eyeballs seem out of focus. Years later EMD did some high speed testing, over an instrumented rail section, with an F40PH unit and train consist, after all the complaints of "rough riding SDP40F units". You simply would NOT believe how rough that track was at speeds over 80 MPH!!!!! 

The ACL had 100 mph from Waycross to Richmond at one time

Sam

In 1983 I was able to ride the head end of #59 through the auspices of an ICG RR planner.
It was for a college project on high speed rail.  All I have is the memory of blasting through all those towns at 90mph.
No camcorders back then.  The ICG guy might have taken a few photos, but it was mostly dark and thunderstorms if I recall correctly.
Fast forward to 1986, and I rode the Shawnee to Carbondale.  It was the last week it operated.
I remember timing the mileposts @ 30-32 seconds/mile!

q, milw, UP, SF did some 100mph regurly loved those speed surveys Trains mag did

Trainhand Wrote:
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> The ACL had 100 mph from Waycross to Richmond at
> one time
>
> Sam

Yes. From 1955-57. wx4.org has some of those employee timetables.

Posted from iPhone

Now, if we can only get some current intercity passenger rail planners to read and understand these things...

Thanks for posting this, it's important historical documentation.  Spread the word, people.

90 mph between Chicago and Milwaukee in a French Turbo was my worst rough ride memory. A guy across the aisle literally caught his coffee cup in mid air, a solid 6 inches past the edge of his fold down tray. 

I congratulated  him on his athletic skills and noted that he probably saved the khaki pants I was wearing from a permanent stain. He was a regular passenger on the route, and said it was more or less routine. 

march_hare Wrote:
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> 90 mph between Chicago and Milwaukee in a French
> Turbo was my worst rough ride memory. A guy across
> the aisle literally caught his coffee cup in mid
> air, a solid 6 inches past the edge of his fold
> down tray. 
>
> I congratulated  him on his athletic skills and
> noted that he probably saved the khaki pants I was
> wearing from a permanent stain. He was a regular
> passenger on the route, and said it was more or
> less routine. 

I think it may have been 70mph unless they were speeding, which they may have.  The Milwaukee really deteriorated when they entered bankruptcy for the 3rd time in history in the 70s.  How the mighty fallen.