| Back in December, there was some discussion on when the Western Star and other GN/NP transcons were combined with the Black Hawk and when they were run as separate trains. I've gone through most of the timetables from 1947 through 1956 and found the following.
The Oriental Limited was operated separate from the Black Hawk when it first began its post-war incarnation in February 1947. Starting in June 1948, the North Coast Limited (!) was combined with the Black Hawk in both directions, but by May 1949 it was the Oriental Limited that was combined with the Black Hawk. That swap between the Oriental Limited and North Coast Limited could have taken place in October or November 1948 as I don’t have that timetable.
The Western Star continued to be combined with the Black Hawk when it first replaced the Oriental Limited. However, when Northern Pacific speeded up the North Coast Limited and introduced the Mainstreeter in November 1952, the Western Star was operated separately from the Black Hawk in both directions. The eastbound Mainstreeter was separate from the other two trains but was combined with the Black Hawk westbound. In May 1953, the Mainstreeter was combined with the Black Hawk in both directions but the Western Star was still separate.
In October 1953, the Burlington played a curious dance, pairing the Black Hawk with the Western Star eastbound but with the Mainstreeter westbound. I speculate this was because the eastbound Mainstreeter may have had a poor on-time record and Burlington didn't want it to delay its Black Hawk passengers. This arrangement continued until October 1954, after which the Black Hawk, Mainstreeter, and Western Star were combined into one train, an arrangement that continued until Amtrak.
One thing I'm not clear on is what happened to the Western Star's feature cars when it was combined with the Black Hawk in those early years. The timetables seem to indicate the diner, cafe, and observation cars went to Chicago. Did the Black Hawk rely on Western Star cars to serve its customers breakfast and drinks? What about those years when the Black Hawk was combined with the Western Star in one direction but the Mainstreeter in the other direction? I have John Strauss' books that cover the Western Star, the Mainstreeter, and the Black Hawk, but some of these things remain unclear. It does seem clear that, after October 1954, both Western Star and Mainstreeter feature cars went no further east than St. Paul.
As this discussion indicates, there is a gap in my timetables for October or November 1948. If anyone has that timetable, I would appreciate scans that I can include on Streamliner Memories or at least a scan or photo of page 8, which has the condensed timetable for the Chicago-Twin Cities trains. Most of the above timetables that haven't already been shown on Streamliner Memories will be posted in May.
Best,
Randal O'Toole
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