Meteor (train)

Meteor (train)
source
Name	Meteor
Type	Inter-city
Status	Discontinued
Locale	United States
First	1890s
Last	1968
Operator	Chicago and Alton Railroad; Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
Start	St. Louis, Missouri
End	Chicago, Illinois
Distance	284 mi
Frequency	Daily
Trainnumber	1/2
Seating	Coach
Sleeping	Sleeper
Catering	Dining car

Meteor (train) The Meteor was a named inter-city passenger train that operated between St. Louis and Chicago in the United States, promoted as a fast daytime service linking two major Midwestern hubs. It was operated originally by the Chicago and Alton Railroad and later by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, competing with services of the Illinois Central Railroad and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The Meteor's commercial life spanned the era of heavyweight consists through diesel streamlining and intersected with national trends in rail transport regulation and decline.

History

The Meteor's origins trace to the late 19th century under the Chicago and Alton Railroad, contemporaneous with the expansion of Midland Continental Railroad corridors and the consolidation movements that produced the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad in 1947. During the Great Depression and World War II, the Meteor's patronage was affected by shifts in interstate commerce and wartime mobilization, while postwar decline coincided with the growth of Interstate Highway System projects and airline deregulation debates. The train's name endured through mergers, including alignments with the Alton Railroad corporate lineage and operational changes during the 1960s railroad restructuring that culminated in discontinuation in 1968 amid competition from Amtrak-era planning and federal transportation policy shifts.

Design and Specifications

Early Meteor consists used heavyweight steel cars produced by builders such as the Pullman Company and the American Car and Foundry Company, featuring axial designs consistent with Harvey S. Firestone-era tire and suspension innovations for baggage vans. Streamlined equipment introduced in the 1930s and 1940s reflected industrial design trends influenced by firms like the Budd Company and designers associated with Norman Bel Geddes and Raymond Loewy, integrating stainless steel bodies, diaphragm connections, and articulated trucks from the General Steel Castings supply chain. Powerplant transitions included steam locomotives from the American Locomotive Company to diesel-electric units from Electro-Motive Division of General Motors and Fairbanks-Morse, altering performance metrics such as drawbar pull, axle load, and timetable speed endorsed in Interstate Commerce Commission filings.

Service Operations

The Meteor operated as a daily daylight express with train numbers 1 and 2, aligning its consist and staffing with standards promulgated by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen. Onboard services ranged from coach seating and parlor cars to sleepers and dining operations overseen by personnel trained under regimes similar to the Pullman Porters traditions and union agreements influenced by the National Mediation Board. Ticketing and route promotion were coordinated with travel bureaus in St. Louis, Chicago, and intermediary terminals, often competing against promotional campaigns by the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad for Midwest patronage.

Route and Timetable

The Meteor's route followed the Alton mainline north from St. Louis through intermediate stations including Alton, Illinois, Jerseyville, Illinois, Springfield, Illinois, and Bloomington, Illinois before reaching Chicago Union Station or downtown terminals used historically by the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Timetables evolved in response to infrastructure investments concurrent with projects by the Illinois Department of Transportation and municipal ordinances in Cook County, with advertised running times competing with services on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and adjustments during peak seasons tied to events such as the World's Fair and the Chicago Railroad Fair.

Rolling Stock

Over its decades-long tenure, the Meteor employed a mix of heavyweight Pullman sleeping cars, lightweight coaches from the Budd Company, diner-lounge cars manufactured by the Wilmington Machine Works, and observation cars reflecting the streamliner era aesthetics championed by designers collaborating with Harley Earl. Motive power transitioned from steam classes maintained at Alton Shops to diesel locomotives including EMD E-series and ALCO DL-series units rostered under the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Maintenance practices referenced standards from the Association of American Railroads and component suppliers such as Westinghouse Air Brake Company for braking systems and General Electric for traction alternators.

Incidents and Accidents

The Meteor's operational history included accidents investigated under the auspices of the Interstate Commerce Commission and state public utilities commissions, with incidents involving derailments, grade-crossing collisions, and signal failures reported in regional press outlets like the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Chicago Tribune. Notable occurrences prompted regulatory reviews influenced by precedents set in inquiries involving the Great Northern Railway and subsequent safety recommendations adopted by the Federal Railroad Administration. Lessons from these incidents informed later standards implemented across networks including the Illinois Central and Missouri Pacific Railroad corridors.

Category:Named passenger trains of the United States Category:Chicago and Alton Railroad Category:Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad