Spring Green to Pittsburgh - 1936

[Anonymous]

Where can I learn the trains/lines and connection times for traveling from Spring Green, WI, to Pittsburgh, PA in the 1935-1937 time frame? (I'm writing a historical drama; it includes retracing the probable train travel route of Frank Lloyd Wright visiting EJ Kaufmann.) Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My 1949 Official Guide shows Spring Green on the same Milwaukee Road line that railfan Antonin Dvorak rode in 1893 when he went to Calmar, Iowa, to spend the summer in Spillville. If you can’t find any time tables closer to 1935-37 and can use 1949 let me know and I’ll scan them for you.

[Anonymous]

The John W. Barriger III library at the University of Missouri-St. Louis has Official Railway Guides for the years 1871-1973. In my 1949 Guide Milwaukee Road (CMStP&P) Table 13 has schedules between Spring Green and Chicago, Pennsylvania (PRR) Railroad Table 170 and Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Table 13 have schedules between Chicago and Pittsburgh. Those table numbers may have varied over the years. If Mr. Wright didn’t have any reason to stop over in Chicago he may have preferred the Pennsylvania Railroad for the Chicago to Pittsburgh leg of his trip because the Pennsylvania and Milwaukee Roads used the same station (Union) in Chicago. The B&O would have involved a transfer between Union Station and Grand Central Station with fewer schedule options.

[Anonymous]

To RDenGreen: If you’re interested in the information in my 1949 Official Guide just e-mail me at [e-mail] when you’re ready. Good luck with the drama. Sounds like you’re just as much a stickler for accuracy where railroads are concerned as Hitchcock was when he made movies with trains. For “North by Northwest” he double-checked the New York Central time tables to make sure the train announcements in Chicago’s La Salle St. Station were accurate.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for identifying the University of Missouri-St. Louis library as a resource. I will follow up. The only clue I’ve been given about Wright’s travel habits is that, when traveling through Chicago, he liked to overnight at a hotel in or near the Indiana Dunes. However, I’m not sure this would have applied when he was traveling on to Pittsburgh.