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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Locale | Northeastern United States/Ontario, Canada/Midwestern United States |
| First service | 1906 |
| Last service | 1967 |
| Successor | Amtrak'sNiagara Rainbow |
| Former operator | |
| Route | |
| Termini | New York, New York/Boston, Massachusetts Chicago, Illinois |
| Distance travelled | 971.1 miles (1,562.8 km) (New York City-Chicago, via Detroit) |
| Service frequency | Daily |
| Train numbers | 17 (westbound); 8 (eastbound) |
| On-board services | |
| Seating arrangements | Reclining seat coaches |
| Sleeping arrangements | Roomettes,double bedrooms, drawing rooms andcompartments (1957) |
| Catering facilities | Dining car |
| Observation facilities | Lounge car |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
TheWolverine was an internationalnight train that twice crossed theCanada–United States border, going fromNew York City toChicago. ThisNew York Central Railroad train went northwest ofBuffalo, New York, into Canada, traveled overMichigan Central Railroad tracks, throughWindsor, Ontario, reentering the United States, throughDetroit'sMichigan Central Station, and on to Chicago. At the post-World War II peak of long-distance named trains, there were three other New York Central trains making this unusual itinerary throughSouthwestern Ontario (with stops inWindsor, Ontario,St. Thomas, Ontario andWelland, Ontario). In the late 1960s, this was the last remaining train taking this route, failing to survive into thePenn Central era.[1] The name resurfaced on the truncated Detroit–Chicago route with Amtrak'sWolverine.
All through the train's years it included a separate section of coaches and sleepers fromBoston'sSouth Station, which would link with the main section inAlbany Union Station.[2][3] Until January 1957 the train used Chicago'sCentral Station, in contrast to theLaSalle Street Station which most of the NYC's trains used.[4] An entirely different west-bound-onlyNew England Wolverine (originating in Boston on an earlier departure) linked atBuffalo'sCentral Terminal with theWolverine for the Buffalo-Chicago route;[5] this would be discontinued in 1956. The train would also carry a New York toBay City, Michigan sleeper (for the New York-Detroit segment), as well asMassena, New York-Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sleepers (for the Syracuse-Buffalo segment).[6]
In 1957 theWolverine lost theobservation car that it previously had. By 1962 the train includedsleepercoaches from theBudd Company for its roomettes. The train dropped the older drawing rooms and compartments. The schedule also dropped Hudson, New York and Ypsilanti, Marshall and Dowagiac, Michigan.[7] In January 1961 the train lost its Boston sleepers.[8]
In December 1967 the train lost its name and was simply the numbered 17 / 8.[9] In thePenn Central era (following the merger with long time rivalPennsylvania Railroad) the train only had its westbound unnamed #61/#17 with sleeper, coach and dining car service. Yet, eastbound an unnamed #14 only ran on a Chicago–Detroit–Buffalo itinerary. Riders would need to switch at a late night hour to a different train at 2:30 am in Buffalo to complete the trip to New York City.[10]
Steely Dan's 1973 song, "My Old School", makes a reference to theWolverine, which stopped atRhinecliff, New York, very nearbyBard College, the alma mater of the band's two leaders.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)Named trains of theNew York Central Railroad | ||
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