History:  Passenger Train Service Ended, Eau Claire, WI, 1963

====================================================================
USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information 
on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as 
this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may 
NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other 
persons or organizations.

Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes 
other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file 
contributor, or the legal representative of the contributor, and contact 
the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent.

This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:  
Nance Sampson  <nsampson@spacestar.net>  30 March 1999
====================================================================

Passenger Train Service Here Ended in 1963 with Loss of Last '400' Trains

    The doom of passenger train service in Eau Claire was sealed on July
23, 1963, when the North Western Railroad's famous '400' trains made
their last runs between Chicago and the Twin Cities.  The two trains,
one each way daily, were the last passenger trains serving the city,
which was once the hub of railway passenger train service in central
Wisconsin.
    For years, several trains daily connected the city with the Twin
Cities, Duluth, Chicago, and points in between.  As patronage dropped
lower and lower as  travelers turned to private cars, planes and buses,
the trains were removed one by one.
    Finally only the '400s' were left, and in 1962 the railroad
petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission for permission to abandon
them.
    Loud protests arose from the cities served by the trains, and funds
were raised to oppose the railroad's request.  Eau Claire, Chippewa
Falls, and Menomonie spearheaded the campaign, and were joined by
Merrillan and other communities along the route.  R. W. Peterson, a
Madison attorney, was employed to present the case against abandoning
the service.
    Hearings dragged on for about a year and a half, and efforts were
made during that time to promote increased use of the trains.  However,
the railroad was able to prove substantial financial losses through lack
of patronage and the request was finally granted by the ICC on July 21,
1963.  Two days later the trains made their last runs.
    The '400s' were inaugurated with great fanfare by the railroad on
January 2, 1935.  The name was derived from the fact the trains made the
400-mile run between Chicago and the Twin Cities in 400 minutes, then a
speed record.
    In the early years of operation, crowds often gathered along the
right of way just to watch the trains speed by.
    The communities opposing the discontinuance raised and spent about
$10,000 in the futile attempt to keep the trains in operation.  About 50
per cent of the total was raised in Eau Claire.
    Today (1968), passenger trains by the scores are being discontinued
by railroads all over the nation.  The airways and highways have reduced
patronage to the point where passenger trains are no longer feasible.

--Taken from the Eau Claire Leader / The Daily Telegram, Progress Edition, 
1968