Meadowlark (train)
The Meadowlark was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad between Chicago, Illinois and Cypress, Illinois. It operated from 1946 to 1962. The Meadowlark was the C&EI's last train to Southern Illinois.
 The Meadowlark in 1957, after a Budd Rail Diesel Car replaced the streamlined equipment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| First service | October 6, 1946 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last service | January 5, 1962 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former operator(s) | Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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History
The Meadowlark was one of two new streamliners introduced by the C&EI in late 1946, the other being the short-lived Whippoorwill which served Evansville, Indiana. The C&EI billed the train as a "Chicago-liner" and promised "quieter, smoother, roomier lounge-car luxury." The new streamliner made the 345-mile (555 km) journey from Chicago to Cypress, Illinois in seven hours. The train departed Cypress at 5:15 AM, arriving at Chicago's Dearborn Station at 12:25 PM. Five hours later the train began the journey back to Cypress, arriving after midnight.[1] Writing in 2006, railroad historian Joe Welsh called the Meadowlark "inviting" while noting that the destination of Cypress was "obscure."[2] On the train's first anniversary the C&EI claimed total ridership of 150,000 passengers and that the train had "girdled the globe 10 times in her daily travels."[3]
In the early 1950s the Meadowlark continued south to Joppa, on the Ohio River,[4] but by the middle of the decade it was cut back to West Vienna, Illinois, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Cypress.[5] The C&EI discontinued the Meadowlark altogether on January 5, 1962, ending the railroad's service to Southern Illinois.[6][7]
Equipment
Pullman-Standard delivered four cars for the original Meadowlark: a baggage/mail/grill car (the Sparhawk Inn) and three 60-seat coaches.[8] In 1956 the C&EI replaced the streamlined equipment with a Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC).[9] In a 1957 company publication C&EI touted the "comfort and speed" of the RDC and touted its suitability for operation in "sparsely settled areas." While the language echoed earlier advertisements, the downgrade was obvious.[10]
Notes
- Trains 1946, p. 16
- Welsh, Boyd & Howes 2006, p. 68
- Chicago Heights Star 1947, p. 13
- Timetable 1953
- Vandervoort2
- Sanders 2008, p. 121
- Gassen 1993
- Vandervoort
- Vandervoort2
- Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad 1957, pp. 6–7
References
- "The Meadowlark". Chicago Heights Star. October 14, 1947.
- "The Meadowlark". Trains. 7 (1). November 1946.
- Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (September 27, 1953). "Time Tables".
- Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (1957). This is the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (PDF).
- Gassen, Dan (July 19, 1993), "The Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad" (PDF), Central States Challenger Special, St. Louis Chapter, National Railway Historical Society
- Sanders, Craig (2008). Mattoon and Charleston Area Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5228-6.
- Vandervoort, Bill. "America's Streamliners: Chicago & Eastern Illinois". Chicago Railfan. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
- Vandervoort, Bill. "America's Streamliners: Louisville & Nashville/Chicago & Eastern Illinois". Chicago Railfan. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
- Welsh, Joe; Boyd, Jim; Howes, William F. Jr. (2006). The American Railroad: Working for the Nation. St. Paul, MN: MBI. ISBN 9780760316313. OCLC 62892045.