Union Pacific Streamliner 1st Train

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This page was last updated on July 3, 2025.

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(Portions of this Streamliner timeline are included as part of the larger UP Passenger Service Timeline)

1st Train (M-10000)

(1934-1942)

Winton distillate engine

Tapered sides, 10'-3" overall height (same as M-10001)

M-10000 600 HP motor-baggage, mail
10400 56 seat coach
10401 52 seat buffet-coach

M-10000 was a fully articulated three car trainset which during it's tours underwent many tests and attracted masses of people. The name "Streamliner" became a byword for American passenger trains. With the acceptance of this concept by the riding public the Union Pacific put it's plans of a system wide service into high gear.

The M-10000 three car articulated train was powered by a 600 HP Winton distillate burning engine traveled at speeds of 100 MPH during routine operations.

Number Dates Service
M-10000 January 31, 1935 to December 16, 1941 The Streamliner; City of Salina (1st Train)

M-10000 was out of service from August 16, 1935 to October 6, 1935 due to a low-speed single-axle derailment in Kansas City Union Station on August 16, 1935. The M-10000 and the entire 1st Train were removed from service until October 6, 1935 pending an investigation and remedy for the broken axle. The remedy included new larger axles for the entire train. The delivery of the 3rd and 4th Trains was delayed to allow these new trains to also receive new larger axles. A steam-powered train with standard equipment protected the schedule during the period of 51 days that the 1st Train was out of service. (Thomas R. Lee, "Union Pacific's M-10000 and the Early Streamliner Period 1934-1941," page 84-87)

February 12, 1934
The three-unit fully-articulated M-10000, the first streamlined internal-combustion passenger train, was delivered to Union Pacific at the Pullman plant at Pullman, Illinois; on February 11, 1934, the train had made two trial runs between Pullman, Illinois, and Michigan City, Indiana.

(Railway Age, Volume 96, Number 5, February 3, 1934, included a 12-page article describing the train)

When W. A. Harriman accepted delivery of M-10000 at Pullman, Illinois, he announced that UP had ordered of one six-car train and two nine-car trains. (Railway Age, Volume 96, page 269)

February 11, 1934
The three-unit fully-articulated M-10000, the first streamlined internal-combustion passenger train, was delivered to Union Pacific at the Pullman plant at Pullman, Illinois; on February 11, 1934, the train had made two trial runs between Pullman, Illinois, and Michigan City, Indiana. (Railway Age, Volume 96, Number 5, February 3, 1934)

February 15, 1934
M-10000 was exhibited at Union Station in Washington, D.C.

After its introduction in February 1934, the UP Streamliner went on a nationwide tour, based on newspaper reports.

March 2, 1934
Leaving from Omaha, Nebraska, M-10000 began touring the United States, covering 12,625 miles on 14 railroads and visiting 65 cities; a special invitation-only round trip was made on March 1, 1934 between Omaha and Columbus, Nebraska (88 miles one way)

March 9, 1934
The nationwide tour included a side trip from Las Vegas to Boulder Dam. During its layover at Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 9th, Union Pacific was given permission to operate the M-10000 over the Six Companies' government railroad out to the face of Boulder dam, which was then under construction. After stopping briefly at Boulder City, where the train was opened for tours, it was posed for publicity photos passing through a huge 30-foot diameter penstock pipe, then made its way out to the face of the dam.

April 11, 1934
M-10000 returned to Omaha

April 19, 1934
M-10000 made its first revenue trip, a special move for the Omaha Chamber of Commerce between Omaha and Gering, Nebraska (445 miles)

May to July 1934
From Thomas R. Lee's book "Union Pacific’s M-10000 and the Early Streamliner Era 1934-1941."

The train left Omaha on May 1st over the Chicago and North Western Railway for Sioux City, Iowa, then went to Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota and Milwaukee, Wisconsin before returning to Chicago on May 5th and spending the summer at the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition. A fourth car, the first Streamliner sleeper, named Overland Trail, was placed in the consist between the two coaches for display at the fair. The sleeper had eight sections, one compartment and one bedroom and was later incorporated in the second Streamliner, the M-10001, which became the City of Portland. The length of the expanded train was 268 feet, 5 inches. According to published reports, the Streamliner was inspected by 565,922 visitors during its time in Chicago, however, it was probably more.

After the Chicago exposition the M-10000 was sent on another promotion tour in the east, continuing into late fall, when the train visited several of the large cities in the northern states. Union Pacific was making the country aware of the high quality of passenger travel the Overland Route would be offering with the Streamliner concept.

In August 1934 UP President Carl R. Gray made a speech in which he remarked that the Streamliner had toured nearly 13,000 miles over 14 railroads in 22 states. There had been no road failures and no accidents, and the train had made everyone of the scheduled 68 exhibition stops. During the 12 week tour, a total of 1,195,609 people had passed through the train, and an estimated ten million had viewed the train along the way as it passed, and at the Chicago Fair.

He noted that the Streamliner had been used as a traveling test bed to work out any problems and apply the corrections to the following high speed trains ordered for long distance travel to the west coast.

May 12, 1934
Overland Trail, the first streamlined sleeping car, was added at the Pullman factory and the train prepared for display at the Chicago Century of Progress, beginning in late May. The train was displayed through July 12, 1934, after which it returned to Pullman for evaluation and possible updates.

(The sleeper car "Overland Trail" was removed from the train and later added to M-10001)

July 12, 1934
The M-10000 was moved to Pullman Manufacturing at Pullman, Illinois, about 10 miles south of the site of the Century of Progress, for evaluation and possible updates.

Thomas R. Lee mentions on page 48 of his book "Union Pacific’s M-10000 and the Early Streamliner Era 1934-1941" that after the display at the Chicago exhibition ended in July 1934, the train returned to a tour of the Eastern states. "After the Chicago exposition the M-10000 was sent on another promotion tour in the east, continuing into late fall, when the train visited several of the large cities in the northern states." Extensive research in online newspapers found no mention of the train between the time in early May 1934 when it was headed to Chicago, until the news of it entering service as the City of Salina in January 1935.

January 1, 1935
M-10000 entered revenue service on the 187-mile Kansas City-Salina, Kansas route. (Ranks and Kratville, Union Pacific Streamliners, 1974, page 37)

January 31, 1935
M-10000 entered service as the "City of Salina". (Wayner, Car Names Numbers and Consists, 1972, page 139; Kratville and Ranks, Motive Power of the Union Pacific, 1960, page 216)

August 16, 1935
M-10000 had a low-speed single-axle derailment in Kansas City Union Station on August 16, 1935. The M-10000 and the entire 1st Train were removed from service until October 6, 1935 pending an investigation and remedy for the broken axle. The remedy included new larger axles for the entire train. The delivery of the 3rd and 4th Trains was delayed to allow these new trains to also receive new larger axles. A steam-powered train with standard equipment protected the schedule during the period of 51 days that the 1st Train was out of service. (Thomas R. Lee, "Union Pacific's M-10000 and the Early Streamliner Period 1934-1941," page 84-87)

March 13, 1936
M-10000, known as "The Streamliner," was named "City of Salina" in a letter from W. M. Jeffers.

From Union Pacific Streamliners, by Ranks and Kratville, 1974, page 39:

Contrary to popular belief, the M-10000 was neither lettered nor identified as the City of Salina for many months after its delivery. The public usually referred to it as "The Streamliner" as did the local Kansas newspapers. It was listed in the timetables as No. 99 and 100 and it was not until March 13, 1936 that a letter from W. M. Jeffers stated that henceforth the M-10000 would be known as the City of Salina and that "this train was to be lettered accordingly, using the same style lettering as is being used on the City of Portland."

December 16, 1941
M-10000 was removed from service and retired after running over 899,000 miles in revenue service.

From Union Pacific Streamliners, by Ranks and Kratville, 1974 page 58:

Having outlived its economic usefulness, the City of Salina was withdrawn from service December 16, 1941. A national museum heard about the impending scrapping and sought to have Little Zip placed on exhibit on their grounds. W. M. Jeffers, however, decided that the train was too valuable a source of aluminum scrap to be placed in a museum. The fact that he held a prominent appointive post with the federal government at that time probably had considerable effect on this decision.

The City of Salina ran about 899,000 miles in revenue service before it was retired and sold for scrap to Aaron Ferer and Sons at Omaha February 13, 1942.

February 13, 1942
M-10000 and its entire train set was sold for scrap to Aaron Ferer and Sons, Omaha, Nebraska.

April 10, 1942
The M-10000 and its train were scrapped in Omaha. The following comes from the April 11, 1942 issue of the Baltimore Sun newspaper.

50 Tons Of Aluminum To Come From Junking Of First ‘Streamliner'

Omaha, April 10 (AP) — The City of Salina, described by the Union Pacific as "the world's first streamline train," is being reduced to scrap in an Omaha junkyard.

In service for eight years, the train was first inspected by President Roosevelt and placed on display at the Century of Progress exhibition in Chicago.

It ran between Kansas City, Mo., and Salina, Kan. Because the combination power unit and baggage car and two coaches were too small to accommodate the traffic the train was scrapped.

The three cars will yield approximately 100,000 pounds of aluminum, to be sold to the Government to help in the war effort.

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