City of Denver (train)

City of Denver
The City of Denver in 1940.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleWestern United States
First serviceJune 18, 1936
Last serviceApril 30, 1971
Former operator(s)
Route
TerminiChicago, Illinois
Denver, Colorado
Stops
  • 13 (westbound)
  • 12 (eastbound)
Distance travelled560 mi (900 km)
Average journey time
  • 17 hours (Chicago - Denver)
  • 16 hours 15 minutes (Denver - Chicago)
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)
  • 111 (westbound)
  • 112 (eastbound)
On-board services
Seating arrangementsReclining seat coaches
Sleeping arrangementsSections, roomettes and double bedrooms (1961)
Catering facilitiesDining car
Observation facilitiesDome lounge
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Operating speed
  • 61.6 (westbound)
  • 64.5 (eastbound)
Route map
Chicago Union Station
Chicago C&NW
Elgin
Davis Junction
Savanna
Illinois
Iowa
Marion
Perry
Clinton
Cedar Rapids
Marshalltown
Ames
Boone
Council Bluffs
pre-1955 route
Iowa
Nebraska
Omaha
Columbus
Grand Island
Kearney
North Platte
Nebraska
Colorado
Julesburg
Sterling
Fort Morgan
La Salle
Denver

The City of Denver was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. It operated between 1936 and 1971. From 1936–1955 the Chicago and North Western Railway handled the train east of Omaha, Nebraska; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") handled it thereafter. The train was the fastest long-distance train in the United States when it debuted in 1936, covering 1,048 miles (1,687 km) in 16 hours. For almost its entire career its principal competitor was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Denver Zephyr. When Amtrak assumed operation of most intercity trains in the United States in 1971, it discontinued the City of Denver, preferring to use the Burlington's route between Chicago and Denver.

On its launch in 1936 the City of Denver used a pair of articulated trainsets built by Pullman-Standard. The streamliners would remain in service until 1953, when conventional locomotive-hauled rolling stock replaced them. The City of Denver always carried both sleeping cars and coaches. A notable feature of the 1936 version of the train was the "Frontier Shack" tavern, which had the feel of a Western saloon.