By 1935, it would have been sensible to consider the 4-4-2 Atlantic-type steam locomotive all but obsolete, at least insofar as new construction was concerned. In the U.S., the design could be traced back to the 1880s, and ultimately about 1,900 of the type were built. Its heydays were the years surrounding World War I, when Santa Fe and the Pennsylvania Railroad deployed them en masse, Santa Fe with its 178 4-4-2s in various classes and the PRR with its far more famous 83 engines in the E6 class. When the last Pennsy E6s were delivered in 1914, it appeared to be the end of an era.
Fortunately for the Midwest traveling public, the Milwaukee Road wasn’t listening. As the railroad worked toward the 1935 inauguration of its ground-breaking Hiawatha passenger trains, the railroad turned to the 4-4-2, ordering four special engines from the American Locomotive Co. Always a railroad that went its own way, the revival of the 4-4-2 Atlantic-type made sense in light of the Milwaukee Road’s overriding goal: serve the hot Chicago-Twin Cities market with the fastest trains in the country and, while they were at it, beat the Chicago & North Western and the Burlington, their competitors in the corridor.
What Alco and the Milwaukee Road created were thoroughbreds, big oil burners equipped with 84-inch drivers, roller bearings on all axles, and all-weather cabs. Designated the A class and numbered 1 through 4, their boilers created steam at 300 psi and delivered 30,700 lbs. of tractive force to the rail, plenty for the six- to nine-car trains typical of the Morning and Afternoon Hiawathas. With the main rods linked to the first driving axle, they boasted a longer wheelbase than many 4-6-2s; their 144,300 pounds of weight on drivers was significantly more than the PRR and Santa Fe 4-4-2s. For a while, the railroad briefly called their engines the Milwaukee type, opting later for the traditional “Atlantic.”
The A engines looked fast. To make the maximum impression on the public, the railroad hired famed industrial designer Otto Kuhler, who covered most of the boiler in a sleek, streamlined shroud in a dazzling combination of light gray and black, accented by orange-and-maroon striping, a paint scheme carried forward with the rest of the Hiawatha fleet. On their noses were gleaming, winged stainless-steel numberplates. Noted Milwaukee Road author Jim Scribbins described the railroad’s intention this way: “The Milwaukee type … were the first streamlined steam locomotives designed as such from origin, the first locomotives in U.S. modern times for which speed alone was the governing design factor, and the first Atlantics built since 1914.”
From the moment the 4-4-2-equipped Hiawathas appeared officially on May 29, 1935, they were a sensation. Crowds were drawn first to the appearance of the trains, supported by massive publicity in Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Twin Cities. Soon, the traveling public was just as enthused by the trains’ new 390-minute schedule, a remarkable timing for a 410-mile run. In its first years, the Hiawatha managed the 90-mile Milwaukee-Chicago portion in as little as 80 minutes. As Trains Editor David P. Morgan put it (referring to the New York Central’s record-setting 4-4-0 999 of 1893), “For the first time in American steam railroading, 100-mile-per-hour-plus operation became routine, not a 999 feat — and remained so even long after the original six-car trains had been expanded.”
Alas, the resurgence of the 4-4-2 Atlantic-type on the Milwaukee Road was relatively short-lived. First came more passenger traffic in the late 1930s as the Depression waned, followed by the advent of World War II, both bringing with them the need for heavier trains, generally beyond the capabilities of the A-class machines. In 1938, the railroad received six F-7 class 4-6-4 Hudsons from Alco, again streamlined by Kuhler. They were among the largest of the wheel arrangement ever built, boasting the same 84-inch driving wheels as the 4-4-2s and the ability to sustain 100-miles-per-hour speeds. Gradually, the Atlantics were downgraded to secondary assignments. All four were retired by 1951 and eventually scrapped.
My grandmother rode these trains in the 40s. I wish I could have experienced that. The Hiawatha was the only steam train timetabled to run at 100mph.