Last week i Took the hiawatha to milwaukee for a day. Then at milwaukee we took the streetcar around the city. Great experience! 😁

I wish that we could restore the North Shore Line between Chicago and Milwaukee. But once you lose something, it is impossible to get it back.

Thank you for bringing the shorter routes to light.

It's great that both DOTs work together to make this service so frequent, though I agree with your input on an alternative and Metra expansion! The Hiawatha Service and the Milwaukee Road's Hiawathas that came before it are named after The Song of Hiawatha, an 1855 epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The epic is about the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his love for Minnehaha, a Dakota woman. It takes place in the Pictured Rocks area of Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. Longfellow's poem is based on oral traditions surrounding the figure of Manabozho, the Ojibwe trickster figure and culture hero in Anishinaabe storytelling. Longfellow drew some of his material from his friendship with Ojibwe Chief Kahge-ga-gah-bowh, who would visit Longfellow's home. He also had frequent encounters with Black Hawk and other Sauk people on Boston Common, as well as drawing inspiration from writings by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an ethnographer and United States Indian agent.

This brings back memories of the 1970s when my uncle would say "let go get lunch in Milwaukee, and we would head to Union Station and hop an Amtrak train to the beer city. In the early days of Amtrak we would get to ride on The Milwaukee Road Hiawatha cars. Round porthole windows and wood paneling.

I'm off to Milwaukee on the Hiawatha line tomorrow- very excited!!

I love the Hiawatha. I’ve taken it at least 100 times it seems in the last 11 years. I remember being a little kid and loving every second of the ride

Absolutely with you on the revised route suggestion. Everyone of those stops on the lake shore are very popular stops for anyone living in the area. Another great video.

There's been talk of trying to get Metra to extend from Kenosha to Milwaukee since I was a kid. Now I'm 40. At least maybe we'll finally get the link between Madison and Milwaukee that is so sorely overdue.

I love the Hiawatha Service from Chicago to Milwaukee.

Great day up here- some ideas- really like the bookstore! Thank you. You have to check out the bobble head museum - largest in the world and definitely lunch at the Milwaukee public Marker too!

One wonders if Amtrak has considered using the cafe for some basics like beer, brats/burgers for the Hiawathas. Chicagoans and Milwaukee-ites (is that the correct term?) would probably buy them up. That menu is a regional favorite. Morning runs could sell just coffee/bagels/fresh fruit.

If the Downeaster can offer five trains per day (and i think they could do more) Chicago to Milwaukee should be able to manage ten/day.

Always frustrated me I couldn't take Metra to Racine. Extending the UP line to Milwaukee makes sense to me.

In my experience it’s a lot more busy in Milwaukee when it’s warm out

I mean hey, seeing a Northeast Corridor car out in the Midwest isn't all that weird, not as weird as the fact Moroccan royalty once used Budd SPV-2000s as the royal train! Wisconsin chose the name Great River because it travels along the bank of the Mississippi River, and Great River is the literal meaning of Misi-ziibi, the Ojibwe name for the Mississippi River. Yes, the modern name for the river is a French interpretation of this word. Sturtevant was originally known as Parkersville, after early settlers in the area called the Parker family. It's been named Sturtevant since 1923 which was when the B. F. Sturtevant Company, a fan manufacturer, opened a plant. The manufacturer ceased to exist in 1989. Right next to the tracks in Glenview is the site of a big Naval Air Station! It was originally built by the Curtiss Flying Service and intended to be the hub of Chicago's air service. When it was dedicated as Curtiss Field in 1929, it was home to the largest hangar built to that time, Hangar One. And it was quite advanced for the time like having a one gigacandela electric light which allowed for night airfield activity. It was used by the military starting in 1937 as NRAB Chicago and later renamed to NAS Glenview in 1944. It was eventually shut down in 1995, being turned into mixed-use development called The Glen, with Hangar One and the control tower remaining. Before it was shut down, this was the staging area for the Chicago Air & Water Show.

Great video, love Lindseys antics in the background!

Love the attention to detail you give your videos!

I love this short Amtrak route. I’ve been on it a few times with my mom and it’s nice to know it’s not super long. I really want to go back to Wisconsin so bad to travel on many of the types of public transportation between Kenosha and Milwaukee which I’ve done once.

I'm from essex near London England and have just discovered your channel,its good and i am going through your videos, your voice is clear and pleasing.ihave been to the usa several times,also did the California zephyr from Chicago to sf. Gonna settle down now and watch some more videos.

This video did not disappoint 😊

Great video! I actually made a bit of a video recently talking about the Hiawatha and passenger rail in Wisconsin, I mention a bit about those proposed extensions. Really hope that line to Madison gets done!

I am on the UPN right now to Kenosha to ride the trolley. Pretty cool

love you guys

I enjoyed that video👍👍

Great video

Really enjoy seeing you two enjoying trains together. Can’t wait until it’s extended to St.Paul. Awesome!!!

The Horizon cars and the older Amfleets are such a weird mismatch!! 😂

Awesome trip report for the Hiawatha! I've been hoping you would do a report for this route for quite a while and I'm so glad it came to fruition. Probably one of my favorite trip reports from the channel! A few things. I've scoured the previous comments and couldn't find your question answered about the cabbage cars (I do apologize if it was answered somewhere and I missed it). The veterans cabbage car (90221) is still utilized on one of the Hiawatha trainsets. Lately, it has been having that at one end and one of the dash 8s on the other end. Also, speaking of the Clinton Avenue spot (being one of your favorite places to railfan, as well loved by many others), Steel HIghways recently launched a railcam that overlooks that spot. All that you would need to do is to look up Chicago & North Western railcam and you'll see it appear. It's probably my most watched railcam and love watching the Empire Builder and Hiawathas pass by it. I also do appreciate that you included Glenview as well. When I get the chance to go to IL and have free time, Glenview is my favorite place to railfan from. Again, such an enjoyable report! This will be one that I come back and frequent. :)

Nice video

There used to be stops in South Milwaukee and Oak Creek a long long long time ago .

Thanks!

Oh man! I live in Toronto now but when I lived in Chicago I’ve taken this countless times to visit my parents in Milwaukee! Thank you for giving the Hiawatha some love! Last time I was there a couple months ago I got to experience the Venture cars!

You're really churning out these videos!

Honestly Amtrak should try purchasing the Tracks from Rondout to Milwaukee from CPKC. So they could upgrade the Tracks for Higher Speeds

Good one. Yes, offering snacks and beverages on those trains would be a welcome addition, at least coffee and danish.

Doing this whole day trip (and then some - Metra to downtown and back from my NW suburb!) on Friday! With my wife, on our anniversary. I think I found the bookstore you guys went to, and we’ll check that out also. Can’t wait!

Running on the UP North…🤔I like!

12:37 Really lovely to know

There's only really 3 ways where the The Hiawatha can be reroute to the UP-N line. Option 1. Diverging from the MD-N line after North Glenview onto UP tracks that is going to Lake Bluff on the UP-N, least effective option since it would only really cover Waukegan, Kenosha, etc... Option 2. Using the Former CNW Weber subdivision which would allow an Amtrak connection to Evanston via Central street, Wilmette, etc... However the problem is that it is pretty much impossible to restore it without getting the attention of NIMBYs, Stores and Businesses that maybe get displaced, Thom I'd suggest learning more about the CNW's Mayfair-Weber and Skokie subdivisions. Option 3. Where the former Cassidy Tires Building used to be and is now demolished to make way for a new Highrise building, I mean they could make this work by Have a portion of the 1st and 2nd floors be Demolished to make way for a Rail connecter that used to belong to the CNW for its Wells street terminal, I dub this Hypothetical Rail connector the Schlacks-Cassidy Railway Connector, not only would it be used by Amtrak for occasional Hiawatha reroutes but it would also allow occasional reroutes of the Metra UP-N line to Union Station and some other Metra RER Services.

Do you think you’ll ever do an Illini/Saluki trip in the future? Would love to see that route

The Hiawatha is a great service. New cars and increased frequency will make this service great. I would like to see in future a true cafe available on this train. Even if it was an abbreviated menu with simple snacks and drinks would be great.

It would also be nice if Metra had service on the CPKC (or C&E line as Openrailway calls it) as there are some key commercial centers in that area-maybe also bury the UP-W at that Junction

Also back when the capitol corridor first started it was all horizon car until like the mid 1990s. From what I also heard the same horizon cars now serve the Pacific Surfliner

for some folks in Chicago to get to Milwaukee we take Metra to Glenview and then wait for Amtrak to continue the trip to Milwaukee. it works well. the connection to the Milwaukee airport works well for renting cars to go to other areas of Wisconsin

I hope your time in Milwaukee was enjoyable. It's my hometown.

Nice glimpse of a Metra F40C @ 6:39! I hope that gets preserved.

Hiawatha in 60's used to run via billings to the west coast, long gone ! Mineapolis-St Paul would be great inter regional servic like nort east corridor, reduce airtraffic !

Metra should try extending the UP-N line to Milwaukee.

Wisconsin Dells is the only part of Wisconsin I like. It's a great stop on the Empire Builder. I'm excited to hear there will be a new Amtrak through St Paul!

How u doing?- Trains- you did excellent !peace out! 😮

Hiawatha seems like a good route; that frequency is really solid for Amtrak. Good state-supported service for sure but I'm also not a huge fan of the Horizon cars (aside from those seats, but we get those on the Amfleets as well!). I think this route most closely compares with the Keystone corridor that travels from Penn Station on Manhattan to Harrisburg, PA via Philadelphia. That service is also fairly frequent with roughly the same number of daily trains (give or take), but it ALSO doesn't have a cafe car, which I always thought was a huge bummer because the route is definitely long enough, and DEFINITELY busy enough to justify it.

I live in Milwaukee…so I have traveled round trip to Chicago twice in six months. I am well aware of the Hiawatha line.

Everything my dad and I go to Wisconsin, we always go to Culvers 😂😂 have to get ButterBurgers and Cheese Curds!

I don't know if you ever get to the northeast, but one the New Haven to Springfield line we have a combination of Amtrak and CT Rail. Most of the tickets are interchangeable. At New Haven you can us a combo if Amtrak/Metro North. A person could also take Shoreline East from New Haven to New London. I personally have the added bonus of living within walking distance of the Meriden, CT railroad station! I just rode it tonight to go to church in Wallingford.

What this video doesn't show is how popular the 6:30 and 5pm trains are. I've heard of people standing. I rode it once from Sturdavant to Union and was lucky to find a seat. Some people commented about wanting more frequency. There is a lot of congestion on this route with Metra on south and CP on the north. CP is one of the more accomodating RR to amtrak but adding more trains doesn't work for them with the current infrastructure. There are few sidings on this route but it is double tracked. There are places where the train can switch tracks without slowing a lot to pass freights. I remember passing one that was parked on the route. I think the cafe was closed because of lack of revenue. This is really a commuter train with limited stops so few people used the food service. One would think they could have vending machines? Nice work TAA.

I take the Hiawatha every 3 months to go to the office for a week at my current job in the Milwaukee area. I wish for the extension to Madison, WI since my actual office is in the Waukesha area.

Quite small windows on the coaching stock.That snow makes it look like the Trans Siberian Express!

I hope that at some point they consider electrification of either corridor between Milwaukee and Chicago. It would take a lot of money and effort, but I think once its done it could prove to be a model for other corridors.

I love the view wtf

12:13 Lindsey! Tongues on the streetcar??? Shocking!!! ❤😅

I travelled to Chicago Union Station back in July of 2023. I must agree, the Great Hall line up was laughably and thoroughly ineffective!

Thank you for this superb video ! The scenery en route to Milwaukee is as flat as a pancake, as you rightly hint ! I completely agree it is a no brainier to extend the UP North line from Kenosha to Milwaukee, and would it matter if the starting point in Chicago was Ogilvie Transportation Centre rather than Union station ? Very glad to hear there will be a daily extension of a Hiawatha service to St.Paul. Many thanks, and I look forward to your return journey !

Once the service to Minneapolis is added, it will be a much more scenic route. I took a day trip to Milwaukee last year, and I took that same train, and the scenery was just suburban wasteland. It was not pretty at all. It was literally just Metra with slightly more comfortable seats. But it was nice not having to drive to Milwaukee and I’d still do that over driving any day. If there is an option where I don’t have to drive, then I’m gonna take that option

Only if Amtrak and the freight companies could agree on a simple fix for the most practical line you showed. Seems like a bad sibling rivalry between them.

Go to St. Louis Mo. (make sure it’s on a Friday so you can go to soulard market on sat morning and ride the metro link to the streetcar line) The Amtrak from Chicago to at Louis is a high speed line and goes 100mph plus!!!! If you do go, go in the area where the doors are and hear and feel the creaking and squeaking of the older cars that they upgraded for the line! It’s kind of unnerving.

I wish they would use the Milwaukee Road Fox Lake line. This was the route Milwaukee used before Amtrak. This route went to Milwaukee and/or Madison.

4:33 Agreed train 🫡

Wow Tom! This video is right on track!

Great video I always thought the Hiawatha was a great service

12:51 It's quite unbelievable

There used to be another train called the Twin Cities Hiawatha that went up to Minneapolis but now the hiawatha only goes to the farthest extent of metra

Nice vídeo. That Street car in Milwaukee is neat. It seems to be quite small, I would say it's sonething in the vicinity of 25 meters. The fact of being free is a nice way to captivate people for the goodness of a modern transit system. Spesking about goodness, it is nice to see all those plans for the expansion of Huawatha service. But I would Change some stuff a little bit; the services to the Twin Cities should simple be called Twin Cities Hiawatha. Antrak doesn't needs to invent new fancy names for the trains, just re-,use the classic ones. And those trains should be 2 per day, complementing the existing Empire Builder, wich then could be trabsformed into a fast limited stop train from Chicago to St. Paul, and each of the Twin Cities should have it's own station, not just getting SPUD as a single station for both towns. As for frequency, at least between Chicago from St. Paul it should be hourly offpeak and 30 mimutes on peak times. About the speed on that corridor, it is fast, but a cair cry of what used to be (in 1937, the Hiawathas, trains 1 & 2 were allowed 60 Mph between Chicago and Western Ave, and 100 Mph afterwards, but there were some local restrictions). The line, with the exception of the exit from Union Station and some curves just before Milwaukee Station is 'Tangent as a dash '. It is good for 125 Mph. The same level of speed should be permitted from Milwaukee to the Twin Cities. There's a lot of good track geometry allowing that. This means, at least having Class 7 Track, 'special' grade crossings or under/overpasses, and all those Diamond type crossings should be grade separated ( one could leave them in place, but with such a high frequency service it would create Traffic difficulties, and speed would have to be limited - to 70 Mph or lower - while going thru them. Not a good idea in terms of energy management). I also like the idea of push pull trains. Allows quick turnarounds. Another thing; these trains should have at least some type of food service. I does not need to be a fancy thing. Vending machimes can be a good option

Thom, love your videos. Do you, or any of your followers, have suggestions as to the best apps to use while on a long distance train trip? Hoping to find something that, in real time, indicates where you are and highlights local points of interest. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Looking forward to the ride back. As an Evanston-ian trying to use the Hiawatha is really annoying. The only intermediate stop in the Metro area is Glenview and there is no direct bus there requiring a Pace-to-Pace or a Pace bus to Pace-to-Metra transfer both having to work around 1-hour transfers...on a weekday. On a weekend you have to to do the Pace-to-Metra transfer now having to work around 2-hour timetables. Also I am extremely spiteful of Glenview for getting an Amtrak station and not wanting it. They want to move the Amtrak station to Glenview North, moving it from a centralized downtown to a Park-N-Ride because the trains take away priority from cars along Glenview Road. Additionally they are the biggest proponent against expanding Hiawatha service from 7 round trips to 10 roundrips being against a siding through the town needed to do that, publicly lambasting the "poor ridership" in the process. I am all for a return of the old C&NW 400 Chicago-Milwaukee service thru Metra and the constantly sidelined Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail Proposal. There are so many more urbanized areas it can stop ay that would greatly appreciate it. It would remove the the need to route trains into Union Station for Amtrak service. The biggest issue would be the quality of the tracks. While the tracks close to city have been consistently upgraded, the tracks north of Highland Park still have hand operated switches and singal direction signaling which is what caused all the delays during the UP-NW tie replacement project. A lot of upgrades would be needed to get it ready for medium-distance passenger service.

Thom! I’m going on this line with my dad, also because for Easter, I got a tripod, I also want to get into a horizon car as I never went in those rail cars for at leas 5 years. The place I’m going to is Sturtevant WI, or Milwaukee airport.

Another great informative video BUT, was this a one way trip? Also Can you take THE HOP back to the Intermodal Stop?

Charger locomotives look nice with the horizon cars.

Now that you live in dc, can you do a review of shuttle um, and some fun trivia river road is the only route that currently doesn't at all go to umd campus

Would be so helpful for college students to have the branches .

Oh for the days when one could catch the Morning Hiawatha (MIlwaukee Road) or a 400 on the C&NW! I'm thinking that the UP wouldn't be too thrilled for Amtrak to add to the numerous Metra schedules--my eyes widened when you mentioned a certain Milwaukee bookstore--what is the name and address? Did you relocate back to Chicago from DC?

Does this train goes through Montana cities like Missoula to Seattle like it used to again?

It's the same story with the cafe that's not "really" a cafe on the Empire Service trains that orginate/terminate in Albany-Renssalaer. I always heard this was the case becauese NYSDOT didn't want to contribute funding to operate the cafes on that segment. The 280 series trains to Niagara Falls the, Adirondack and Ethan Allen Express do have actually operating cafe cars. The Horizon-Fleet cars are the least favorite Amtrak equipment I've ridden. I've only ever had them once on the Empire Service. They defiinitely made me miss the Amfleet I's even with their tiny windows on what is one the most scenic routes in the east. I hope they can make the Hiawatha improvements and add frequency as well

4:35 Cabbage Cars? Cab-baggage or 🥬

They need to add a stop in Gurnee or any other place within Lake County

Surprised ,that cafe car doesn’t have vending machines.

What would that reroute do for run time? I'd guess probably 30-60 minutes longer from Chi-Mke.

I'm in Cleveland. People only "walk around" purposefully.....

I highly doubt they would ever move the Hiawatha to the Kenosha subdivision, but if they were to do that, they would likely build a connection to the UP freight line in Northbrook. That being said, it would miss most of the northern suburbs but could stop in Kenosha and Racine

Looks like the windows were dirty as usual. Amtrak needs to get their act together.

Does Amtrak head west from Milwaukee to the Twin Cities?

Will you come to NYC during the Christmas time to ride vintage Trains?

I live in Wisconsin.

I’m not sure about your theory that the cafe car is required for WiFi. The Hiawatha has had wifi for almost a decade, but the cafe cars didn’t show up until Covid

What profession did you have in chicago that let you travel around the mid-west?

There's a rumor going around that there will be temporary service to Green Bay when the NFL draft comes to town in 2025. I hope this happens, and that discussions can go from there to make that a permanent service.

Milwaukee airport

02:02

I live a few blocks from the Amtrak Silver Star tracks, but we only have 1 train north and 1 train south every day, both in the middle of the night. I'd love to see what kind of use Amtrak would see with multiple daily service schedules and Acela extended south all the way to Miami.

I could go for a cheeseburger. 😂