Arrowhead

Arrowhead
The old depot in Duluth, which the Arrowhead served 1977-78.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Minnesota / Wisconsin
First service	April 15, 1975
Last service	April 30, 1978
Successor	North Star
Former operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Start	Minneapolis, Minnesota
No. of intermediate stops	3
End	Duluth, Minnesota
Distance travelled	148 miles (238 km)
Average journey time	3 hours 20 minutes
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	760-761
On-board services
Class(es)	Unreserved coach
Catering facilities	On-board cafe
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet coaches
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	MILW
Route map Legend 0 mi (0 km) Minneapolis 41 mi (66 km) Cambridge 85 mi (137 km) Sandstone Minnesota/Wisconsin border 144 mi (232 km) Superior Wisconsin/Minnesota border 148 mi (238 km) Duluth

The Arrowhead was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Duluth, Minnesota.

The Arrowhead began on April 16, 1975 as a daily all-coach train between Minneapolis and Superior, Wisconsin with no intervening stops along the 144-mile (232 km) route. The Arrowhead departed Superior in the mornings and returned in the evenings; its schedule allowed an easy connection to the North Coast Hiawatha, which offered daily service from Minneapolis to Chicago, Illinois. A bus covered the final 4 miles (6.4 km) to Duluth. Both the state of Minnesota and the Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission provided financial support for the train. Initially the Arrowhead carried an on-board cafe.^[1] In November Amtrak added Sandstone, Minnesota and Cambridge, Minnesota as intermediate stops, and augmented the train's consist with a lounge car and a baggage car.^[2] A schedule change to the North Coast Hiawatha broke the northbound connection to the Arrowhead from Chicago beginning in October 1976; the southbound connection was unaffected.^[3]

A major change came in February 1977: Amtrak extended the Arrowhead to Duluth, eliminating the bus connection. The entire schedule flipped; the Arrowhead departed Minneapolis in the morning and returned from Duluth in the evening. Gone was any same-day connection to Chicago. The Arrowhead also gained one of the new Amfleet "Amcafes" and Amfleet coaches.^[4] Another schedule change in January 1978 restored a same-day connection to Chicago with the combined Empire Builder/North Coast Hiawatha. Amtrak also increased Friday service: a morning and evening train from Minneapolis with a mid-day and late night return from Duluth.^[5] On April 30, 1978, Amtrak replaced the Arrowhead and the Twin Cities Hiawatha (a Chicago-Minneapolis train) with the North Star, a Chicago-Minneapolis-Duluth sleeper. The Arrowhead was one of the last trains to use Minneapolis' Great Northern Depot; Amtrak shifted all Twin Cities service to Midway in St. Paul.^[6]

See also

• Northern Lights Express, proposed passenger rail service between Duluth and Minneapolis

References