The
Olympian Hiawatha was a legendary passenger train service
operated by The Milwaukee Road; it was the successor
to the Olympian passenger train which ran from 1911
to 1947. The Olympian Hiawatha itself ran from 1947
to 1961. In 1955, the Milwaukee Road announced that
they would operate Union Pacific streamliners between
Chicago and Omaha. This meant that the Hiawatha would
be painted in Union Pacific’s Armor Yellow colors. In
1956, the line was officially “partnered with Union
Pacific” as they navigated the next couple years competing
with both airline and automobile travel. The Hiawatha
train wore the UP colors into the sunset as The
Afternoon Hiawatha ran up until January 23, 1970. The
next year, The Morning Hiawatha service was also discontinued
and replaced by Amtrak lines.
