Viking (train)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Viking | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Service type | Limited-stop |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Locale | Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois |
| First service | April 29, 1923 |
| Former operator(s) |
|
| Route | |
| Termini | Great Northern Depot, Minneapolis, Minnesota North Western Terminal, Chicago, Illinois |
| Stops | 20 |
| Train number(s) | 501, 502 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Viking was a named train of the Chicago and North Western Railway. It operated between Chicago and Saint Paul, via Madison, Wisconsin, with a final stop in Minneapolis. It debuted Sunday, April 29, 1923.[1] It featured all steel cars, including a dining car, observation car, and coaches. It was a daylight train, scheduled to depart eastbound and westbound in the morning and arrive at the destination in the evening.[2] It made limited station stops between Chicago and St. Paul. The trip took roughly 12 hours.[3]
Already by 1928, Popular Science would note that a Northwest Airways flight could reach Chicago in five hours, compared to the 11 hours for the Viking.[4]
The Twin Cities 400 would go on to be the premier train between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1935.[3] The Viking, Victory, and the North Western Limited made stops at more stations than the Twin Cities 400, but not as many as the overnight North Western Mail train, that stopped at every local station.[3]