Green Diamond Train (Demolished) – Chicago IL

Description

In early November, 1934, the Illinois Central (I.C.) Railroad contracted with the Pullman Car & Manufacturing Corporation to build the I.C.’s first streamline train, consisting of a 1,200 horsepower Diesel-electric locomotive, a mail & baggage car, two passenger coaches, and a lounge car.  Then, on November 26, 1934, the I.C. requested the Interstate Commerce Commission approve a $2 million loan from the Public Works Administration (PWA), a portion of which was to finance the new streamliner (the PWA had awarded this loan in October).  The loan was approved sometime thereafter, probably in early 1935.

The “Green Diamond” cost $425,000 to construct and was delivered to the I.C. on March 27, 1936.  It then went on a 7,500-mile “good will” trip across many parts of the country.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans came to see and tour the train, part of the overall excitement that streamliners generated during the 1930s.  When the Green Diamond stopped at Shreveport, Louisiana, “Nearly 20,000 persons went through the train… Newspaper reports, radio broadcasts and visitors’ comments were unanimously appreciative of the many unusual features of the new train” (Gibson City Courier, 5-14-1936).

On May 17, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois, 14-year-old Audrey Louise Jones smashed a champagne bottle across the nose of the Green Diamond, thus christening the streamliner.  Her grandfather, Jesse Jones, head of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), was also in attendance, and said: “The ‘Green Diamond’ is a direct result of Illinois Central’s co-operation with the federal government in providing work for men” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5-18-1936).  (Like the PWA, and often in conjunction with the PWA, the RFC provided financial support for the railroad industry.)

Shortly after Audrey Jones christened the Green Diamond, the streamliner took off for St. Louis, Missouri, a 294-mile, 5-hour trip it ran for 11 years.  In 1947, the Green Diamond was renamed the “Miss Lou” and served a route between New Orleans, Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi.  It was scrapped in 1950.

In 1996, prominent railroad author Mike Shafer described the Green Diamond’s appearance as “homely” (Classic American Railroads).  However, when the Green Diamond first hit the rails the assessments were far more exuberant.  Journalist Margaret T. Whiteman wrote: “The train itself is a masterpiece of workmanship and beauty, and has every possible comfort to offer its passengers” (Clinton Daily Journal and Public, 3-31-1936).  The Clarion-Ledger newspaper (Jackson, Mississippi) called the train “the magnificent queen of the I.C. fleet” (4-16-1936).  And Railway Age magazine reported: “The exterior of the train is smartly styled.  Striping lines are used to express speed and raciness; curves and masses are handled to give an impression of dynamic power and strength” (4-11-1936).

Like the other streamliners of the 1930s, the Green Diamond was fast, reaching speeds well over 100 mph, and incorporated the latest safety and suspension technology.  Meanwhile, inside the train, passengers enjoyed air-conditioning, sound-dampening windows, indirect lighting, radio speakers, wider than usual coach cars, and meals that were served both in the lounge car and “direct to passengers in their seats” (Introducing the Green Diamond, 1936 fold-out brochure).

It has been noted that many of the streamliners of the 1930s had relatively short lives (such as the Green Diamond’s) because they were victims of their own success.  The excitement that surrounded them greatly increased ridership on the rails, but the engines were designed to pull only a very limited number of cars and passengers.  Unfortunately for these trains, that meant handing their success over to newer and larger trains.  Still, the streamliners of the 1930s sparked technological innovation, helped bolster the rail industry, and their sleek, futuristic designs are legendary among train enthusiasts.