The train was frequented by northbound travelers to popular Northern Michigan resort destinations north of Grand Rapids, Michigan, such as Petoskey, Bay View (only northbound trains stopped there; it was the stop after Petoskey), Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island. One section of the Northern Arrow was a seasonal summer-only weekly service between Chicago and Mackinaw City.[3] Additional northbound sleeper sections after leaving Petoskey diverged west to Harbor Springs.[4]
The Northern Arrow ran express from Grand Rapids to Cadillac (albeit, available for flagstops and Reed City). The PRR ran a local counterpart from Grand Rapids to Mackinaw City (later cut back to Petoskey)[5] which served the bypassed stations.[6] The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway operated the Resort Special that served the Chicago to Petoskey market. For the Grand Rapids to Petoskey route, the Resort Special was a competitor with the Northern Arrow.[7]
During World War II and immediately after, 1942–1946, the Northern Arrow was one of the named trains dropped from service.[8] On May 26, 1950, the Northern Arrow was re-equipped with a lightweight lounge and sleeping cars plus a dining car decorated with Northern Michigan photomurals.[9] It did not operate outside of the summer months, as there were no trains on the route north of Grand Rapids during the colder months.[10]
The PRR ended its local counterpart service between 1954 and 1955.[11][12]
^Maiken, Peter (1989). Night Trains. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 351. ISBN9780801845031drawing from a 1952 Official Guide to the Railways issue{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link).
^Maiken, Peter. Night Trains, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989, p. 71, p. 351, drawing from a 1952 Official Guide to the Railways issue ISBN9780801845031.
