View source for Northern Arrow

{{italic title}}
{{Distinguish|Northern Arrow (cycling)}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width   = 30em
| name        = ''Northern Arrow''
| logo        =
| logo_width  =
| image       = 
| image_width = 
| caption     = 
| type        = [[Inter-city rail]]
| status      = Discontinued
| locale      = [[Midwestern United States]]
| predecessor = ''Northland Express''
| first       = 1935
| last        = 1961
| operator    =
| formeroperator=[[Pennsylvania Railroad]] 
| ridership   =
| start       = [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], additional sections originating from [[Chicago]] and [[St. Louis]]
| stops       = 21
| end         = [[Mackinaw City, Michigan]], additional sections to [[Harbor Springs]]
| distance    = {{convert|533.5|mi|km}} (1950)
| journeytime = Northbound: 15 hrs 5 min<br />Southbound: 14 hrs 40 min (1950)
| frequency   = Daily (1950;1961)
| trainnumber = Northbound: 519<br />Southbound: 520
| class       =
| access      =
| seating     = Reserved seat coach
| sleeping    = [[Sleeping car#Open-section accommodation|Section]]s and [[Sleeping_car#Compartments_and_Double_Bedrooms|double bedrooms, drawing rooms and compartments]] (1950)
| autorack    =
| catering    = [[Dining car]] 
| observation = 
| entertainment=[[Lounge car]]
| baggage     =  
| otherfacilities=
| stock       =  
| gauge       = {{RailGauge|ussg}}
| el          =
| speed       = 
| map         = {{Northern Arrow}}
| map_state   = collapsed
}}
'''''Northern Arrow''''' was one of the [[List of named passenger trains|named]] [[train|passenger trains]] of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/NamedTrains/NamedTrainsMenu.htm|title=RRHX - Named Train Menu|website=michiganrailroads.com}}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> starting at [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] and ending at [[Mackinaw City, Michigan]]. It had merging branches originating from [[Chicago, Illinois]], converging in [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]],  and a train from [[St. Louis, Missouri]] from the west, converging at [[Richmond, Indiana]].<ref name=Maiken351>{{cite book |last=Maiken |first=Peter |title=Night Trains |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |date=1989 |page=351 |postscript=drawing from a 1952 ''Official Guide to the Railways'' issue |isbn=9780801845031}}.</ref> Carrying the number #519 northbound and #520 southbound, it used the [[Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad]], a leased subsidiary of the Pennsylvania system. 

The train was frequented by northbound travelers to popular [[Northern Michigan]] resort destinations north of [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], such as [[Petoskey, Michigan|Petoskey]], [[Bay View, Michigan|Bay View]] (only northbound trains stopped there; it was the stop after Petoskey), [[Mackinaw City, Michigan|Mackinaw City]] and [[Mackinac Island]]. One section of the ''Northern Arrow'' was a seasonal summer-only weekly service between Chicago and Mackinaw City.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pennsylvania timetable |date=August 6, 1950 |postscript=Tables 22, 23 |url=http://streamlinermemories.info/PRR/PRR50TT.pdf}}</ref> Additional northbound sleeper sections after leaving Petoskey diverged west to [[Harbor Springs]].<ref>Maiken, Peter. ''Night Trains'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989, p. 71, p. 351, drawing from a 1952 ''Official Guide to the Railways'' issue {{ISBN|9780801845031}}.</ref>

The ''Northern Arrow'' ran express from Grand Rapids to Cadillac (albeit, available for flagstops and [[Reed City]]). The PRR ran a local counterpart from Grand Rapids to Mackinaw City (later cut back to Petoskey)<ref>Pennsylvania Railroad timetable, August 6, 1950, Table 22 http://streamlinermemories.info/PRR/PRR50TT.pdf</ref> which served the bypassed stations.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pennsylvania Railroad, Table 192 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=82 |issue=3 |date=August 1949}}</ref> The [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] operated the ''Resort Special'' that served the Chicago to Petoskey market. For the Grand Rapids to Petoskey route, the ''Resort Special'' was a competitor with the ''Northern Arrow.''<ref>{{cite journal |title=Chesapeake and Ohio, Tables 46, 49 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=82 |issue=3 |date=August 1949}}</ref>   

During [[World War II]] and immediately after, 1942–1946, the ''Northern Arrow'' was one of the named trains dropped from service.<ref>Pennsylvania Railroad timetable, March 1946, Table 32 http://streamlinermemories.info/PRR/PRR46TT.pdf</ref> On May 26, 1950, the ''Northern Arrow'' was re-equipped with a lightweight lounge and [[sleeping car]]s plus a [[dining car]] decorated with [[Northern Michigan]] photomurals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1950%20Dec%2004.pdf#search='PRR%20%20northern%20arrow'|title=www.prrths.com|publisher=|access-date=2006-05-25|archive-date=2013-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510133907/http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1950%20Dec%2004.pdf#search='PRR%20%20northern%20arrow'|url-status=dead}}</ref> It did not operate outside of the summer months, as there were no trains on the route north of Grand Rapids during the colder months.<ref>Pennsylvania Railroad timetable, January 18, 1954, Table 30 http://streamlinermemories.info/PRR/PRR54-1TT.pdf</ref> 

The PRR ended its local counterpart service between 1954 and 1955.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Pennsylvania Railroad, Table 100|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=87 |issue=7 |date=December 1954}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Pennsylvania Railroad, Table 230, freight only|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=88 |issue=4 |date=September 1955}}</ref>

''Northern Arrow'' service ended in 1961. In 1976, the [[Michigan Department of Transportation]] initiated the [[Michigan Northern Railway]], which operated passenger service from Grand Rapids to Mackinaw City until 1986.{{fact|date=August 2020}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{PRR named trains}}

[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad]]
[[Category:Night trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Michigan]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Indiana]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Ohio]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1935]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1961]]


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