This past weekend, for the first time in 44 years, there was passenger rail service between Chicago and Madison. Named after the Milwaukee Road’s “Varsity” that ran the same route back in the day, this was a special excursion train run to coincide with the Wisconsin-Northwestern football game in Evanston Illinois.
I went downtown to see the train off on Sunday, and was greeted by two E8 locomotives and passenger cars painted in gorgeous colors, under a beautiful blue sky.
Like the train itself, the blue skies didn’t stick around. It clouded up just before the Varsity departed for Chicago.
The Cap Times has a nice article about The Varsity, which will be visiting Madison again next Saturday for the Wisconsin-Illinois football game.
Wouldn’t it be nice if this was a daily sight in Madison – instead of just a fun excursion? Glad you went down to see it’s arrival. Thanks for sharing your photos for those of us who weren’t able to be there. Colors of the train really looked sharp, and I especially liked the observation car.