SP 4449 to pull Mississippi River trips this fall
MINNEAPOLIS – Southern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 4449 will pull excursion trains over Canadian Pacific’s Minneapolis-La Crescent, Minn., route this fall. The excursions will run on Oct. 10-11, and will be sold through Friends of the 261.
No. 4449 will stop to run the trips on return to its Portland, Ore., home, following a visit to Train Festival 2009 in Owosso, Mich. Tickets will cost $99 for coach class and $199 for first class. A premium class, hosted in the classic “Skytop Lounge” car Cedar Rapids, will cost $329.
The historic Milwaukee Road – Hiawatha – Cedar Rapids, Skytop Observation Parlor Lounge Car was built in 1948 at its Milwaukee shops for operation on the Hiawatha between Minneapolis and Chicago. Designed by famed industrial designer Brook Stevens, the Cedar Rapids was retired in 1970. Rebuilt in 1984 and operated until 1990, the car was acquired by the “Friends of the 261″ in 1998.
The Minneapolis Minnesota group of rail fans that maintains this occasionally has it pulled to all kinds of neat places on the back of an Amtrak train or the 261 steam locomotive they own.
It’s got a long name, but here’s the breakdown: Milwaukee Road was the regional railroad that owned the train. Hiawatha was the routes MR owned that this train ran on. Cedar Rapids was the name of the train.
Tickets will likely go on sale next week, and will be available through the Friends at www.261.com.
No. 261, a Milwaukee Road 4-8-4, has pulled fall trips on the scenic CP line for the past several years. However, the engine is now undergoing a federal overhaul and inspection in Minneapolis. The Friends will lease No. 4449 to operate the fall trips. The possibility of more trips exists, but none have been announced.
For more information on No. 4449, visit http://www.sp4449.com. – Steve Glischinski
