As before, the 1947 Columbian served passengers traveling shorter distances (or to smaller towns), and hauled of mail and express. Compared to the Olympian Hiawatha, the Columbian was slower, made more stops, and had fewer passenger amenities. A typical timetable (from 1951) showed that the westbound Columbian was scheduled to complete the 2227-mile Chicago-Tacoma run in 61 hours, 5 minutes. In contrast, the westbound Olympian Hiawatha traveled the same route in 46 hours, 30 minutes. An end-to-end trip on the Columbian occupied three nights and two days. The train's passenger equipment included standard and "tourist" (economy) sleeping cars, coaches, and a diner-lounge car. The Columbian was the first train to use the Milwaukee Road's new station in Tacoma, arriving there on April 20, 1954. The revival of the Columbian proved to be short-lived. Passenger traffic on the western lines of the Milwaukee Road declined significantly in the 1950s, resulting in the discontinuance of the Columbian as a through train on January 21, 1955. At the time, the operation of interstate passenger trains was partially regulated by the states, and individual state approvals were required prior to a train's discontinuance; consequently, the end of the Columbian was piecemeal. The January 21 schedule change eliminated only the western end of the Columbian run, between Avery, Idaho and Tacoma. That spring, the train's western terminus was shifted still further east—to Marmarth, North Dakota -- and by summer trains 17 and 18 only operated as far west as Aberdeen, South Dakota. Soon, the Columbian was gone entirely. Accidents The initial debut eastbound Columbian, which left Tacoma at 5:45 pm on May 29, 1911 derailed at 4:45 a.m. on May 30, 1911. The accident occurred on sharp curve near Marengo in southeastern Washington, about 60 miles from the Idaho border. The engineer and fireman were killed, five porters seriously hurt, and a baggage handler and one passenger suffered minor injuries. On December 18, 1911, the second section of the eastbound 18 Columbian ran into the back of the first section at Odessa, Minnesota. The engine of the second 18 forced itself under the west end of the sleeper 'Beverly'. The sleeper pushed into the dining car, which telescoped into the sleeping car. Ten people were killed, and eighteen injured. References Passenger trains of the Milwaukee Road Railway services introduced in 1911 Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Railway