City of Denver (train)

City of Denver

The City of Denver in 1940.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Western United States
First service	June 18, 1936
Last service	April 30, 1971
Former operator(s)	Union Pacific Railroad Chicago and North Western Railway Milwaukee Road
Route
Termini	Chicago, Illinois Denver, Colorado
Stops	13 (westbound) 12 (eastbound)
Distance travelled	560 mi (900 km)
Average journey time	17 hours (Chicago - Denver) 16 hours 15 minutes (Denver - Chicago)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	111 (westbound) 112 (eastbound)
On-board services
Seating arrangements	Reclining seat coaches
Sleeping arrangements	Sections, roomettes and double bedrooms (1961)
Catering facilities	Dining car
Observation facilities	Dome lounge
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Operating speed	61.6 (westbound) 64.5 (eastbound)
Route map v t e Legend Chicago Union Station Chicago C&NW Elgin Davis Junction Savanna Illinois Iowa Marion Perry Clinton Cedar Rapids Marshalltown Ames Boone Council Bluffs pre-1955 route Iowa Nebraska Omaha Columbus Grand Island Kearney North Platte Nebraska Colorado Julesburg Sterling Fort Morgan La Salle Denver

The City of Denver was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. It operated between 1936 and 1971. From 1936–1955 the Chicago and North Western Railway handled the train east of Omaha, Nebraska; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") handled it thereafter. The train was the fastest long-distance train in the United States when it debuted in 1936, covering 1,048 miles (1,687 km) in 16 hours. For almost its entire career its principal competitor was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Denver Zephyr. When Amtrak assumed operation of most intercity trains in the United States in 1971, it discontinued the City of Denver, preferring to use the Burlington's route between Chicago and Denver.

On its launch in 1936 the City of Denver used a pair of articulated trainsets built by Pullman-Standard. The streamliners would remain in service until 1953, when conventional locomotive-hauled rolling stock replaced them. The City of Denver always carried both sleeping cars and coaches. A notable feature of the 1936 version of the train was the "Frontier Shack" tavern, which had the feel of a Western saloon.