Red River Limited Explained

Red River
Type:Inter-city rail
Status:Discontinued
First:June 25, 1950
Last:1968
Operator:Great Northern Railway
Start:St. Paul, Minnesota
End:Grand Forks, North Dakota, Fargo, North Dakota
Distance:324miles
Trainnumber:11/12 (11/14)
Map State:collapsed

The Red River was a passenger train operated by Great Northern Railway between Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

History

Great Northern Railway's third new train set of 1950 was a new schedule named the Red River. The five car streamliner, built by American Car and Foundry Company,[1] began service June 25, 1950, operating a daily round trip each way between Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The train went southbound in the morning returning northbound in the evening.

The cars for the Red River streamliner were quite different than those built for the International (another 1950 introduction) in that the Red Rivers cars had extra insulation and the coaches were equipped with Baker Heaters as there was no steam heat available at the Grand Forks depot where the cars stood overnight. The locomotive was sent to the roundhouse each evening for any running repairs and service so the solution was the installation of the Baker Heaters in the cars.

Car NumberCar type
512EMD E7A 2,000 HP Diesel Passenger Unit
1107 Baggage 30’ Railway Post office Car
113760 Revenue seat Coach
1138 60 Revenue seat Coach
113960 Revenue seat Coach
1147 9 seat Lunch Counter
12 seat Dinette
16 Revenue seat Parlor Lounge Observation

The service was discontinued in 1968.[2]

Notes and References

  1. News: 2,001 Passenger-Train Cars on Order For Domestic Use . Railway Age . November 20, 1948 . 178 . 125 . 21.
  2. Book: Hidy . Ralph W. . Hidy . Muriel E. . Scott . Roy V. . Hofsommer . Don L. . The Great Northern Railway: A History . Minneapolis . University of Minnesota Press . 2004 . 978-0-8166-4429-2 . 280.