Articles

Great Northern Railway Historical Society
Reference Sheet No. 217
June 1994

OPERATION
"A Dependable Railway"

It is interesting to contemplate the extent and scope of the Oriental's transcontinental service. At the same moment as one Oriental departed Chicago's Union Station, a second was speeding westward across North Dakota, a third was winding through the Rockies of Montana at Glacier National Park and a fourth completing its westward run in Tacoma. Meanwhile a fifth, eastbound, was climbing into the Cascade Mountains in the state of Washington, a sixth in the foothills of the Rockies, a seventh entering the Dakota side of the Red River valley, and the eighth lately arriving in Chicago. Each of these trains were identical in equipment and provision and each would make a 5000 mile round trip in seven days to form part of a daily service.

Route and Schedule

The east and west bound Oriental Limited followed different routes because the Oriental Limited and the Glacier Park Limited alternated routes through Minnesota and North Dakota. The Oriental left Chicago on the rails of the CB&Q and crossed northern Illinois to the Mississippi River. It followed the Mississippi to St. Paul, where Great Northern received it. Great Northern had two transcontinental routes through both Minnesota and North Dakota. In Minnesota, the separate routes went via Willmar or St. Cloud, and rejoined westbound at Fargo, N.D. The Willmar route was 19 miles longer. Westbound from Fargo, the original mainline went through Grand Forks and Devil's Lake, while the newer Surrey Cutoff went via New Rockford. The routes rejoined westbound just east of Minot, North Dakota. The Surrey Cutoff was 51 miles shorter. To balance the distance, Great Northern combined the longer Willmar route with the shorter Surrey Cutoff as one routing, and combined the St. Cloud line with the Grand Forks leg for the other route. The net difference was 32 miles longer if the train went via Grand Forks.

The westbound Oriental passed through St.Cloud and Grand Forks. Eastbound, it went via New Rockford and Willmar. The westbound Glacier Park Limited travelled via Willmar, and took the Surrey Cutoff though New Rockford. Eastbound it went via Grand Forks and St. Cloud. West of Minot, the Oriental Limited followed the mainline directly to Tacoma via Havre, Spokane, Everett, and Seattle.

When the Empire Builder was inaugurated in 1929, it took the shorter route via St. Cloud and New Rockford in both directions. The Oriental, on a slower schedule, went via Willmar and Grand Forks both ways and had an 70 mile longer route.

The normal consist for trains 1 & 2 was a ten car train which weighed 767 tons. The more powerful P-2 class Mountains, which were acquired for the Oriental, permitted the schedule to be cut to 70 hours, even with this heavier train.

Great Northern advertising from the period stressed the Oriental's unequalled on-time performance record. While the schedule was speeded up by four hours eastbound and two hours westbound, the train over the long run was not that much faster in 1924 than it had been in 1922. The train covered the 2,258 miles from Chicago to Seattle in 70 hours, which represented an average speed, including stops, of 32.26 miles per hour. There was not any dramatic need to speed up the service. Highways were primitive, and autos and busses offered little competition. Service and comfort were more important than speed. In addition, the three Northwest transcontinentals, the Northern Pacific, the Milwaukee, and the Great Northern had an understanding to offer approximately the same schedule between Chicago and Seattle.

Eight sets of equipment were needed for the 70 hour schedule. During most of the day, one set was laying over being serviced at Tacoma and Chicago. Three sets were traveling eastbound and three others westbound. Assuming that all trains were on time, an eastbound Oriental would meet its westbound counterparts at seven locations:

1) On the first evening at 7 PM at Seattle, WA
2) At 7:40 AM, the second morning at Lyons, WA (15 miles west of Spokane)
3) At Marias Summit at 8:55 PM on the second evening
4) At 7:55 AM Lohmiller, MT (7 miles west of Wolf Point, MT.)
5) Passed on alternating routes the third evening between Fargo and Minot, ND
6) 9 AM on the third morning at Pepin, WI
7) 1:55 PM arrive at Chicago, IL where the eighth set was being readied for its 11 PM departure

Switching Cars

Great Northern's operation of the Oriental was typical of 1920's long distance trains. Sleeper equipment was added and dropped as the train passed over the line. The Oriental Limited was part of a larger transportation system. Great Northern scheduled many of its trains to connect with it, and several of the trains carried sleepers to and from it. At major cities such as Chicago, St. Paul, and Seattle, the Limiteds and Express trains operated by other railroads were scheduled to provide convenient connections. Some of the Great Northern trains which provided connections are the following:

* Everett trains 355/358 International Limited for Vancouver
* Spokane SP&S trains 1 & 2 for Portland (carried sleeper)
* Shelby trains 43/44 Adventureland for Kansas City/Denver/St Louis
* Havre trains 235/236 for Great Falls and Helena (carried sleeper)
* Wenatchee/Oroville
* various prairie branches

More switching occurred on the eastbound trip than on the westbound. 1925 was a typical year. Eastbound, the train left Tacoma with the RPO, coaches, a standard sleeper and observation for Seattle. At Seattle, the diner and additional sleepers were added to the consist. The train left Seattle at 8:30 PM with standard sleepers for Chicago, St. Paul, Wenatchee, and Spokane. At 3:15 AM, it arrived in Wenatchee where a standard sleeper was cut out and a sleeper for Spokane was added. Seattle-Wenatchee passengers could remain in the sleeper until 7:30 AM and the Wenatchee-Spokane sleeper was available for occupancy at 9:30 PM in Wenatchee.

Arriving in Spokane, at 9 AM, the standard sleepers from Seattle and Wenatchee were cut out and the 10-1-2 sleeper, which had arrived five minutes before, at 8:55 AM, from Portland via the SP&C section of the Oriental was added. During the summer months, a standard sleeper for Chicago was added at East Glacier. At 4:10 PM the train pulled into Havre where the Helena-Chicago sleeper, fresh off train #235, was cut in. Arriving at St. Paul, 10:30 PM on the second day, a standard sleeper from Seattle was cut out before the consist was turned over to the CB&Q for the run to Chicago.