In 1909 the Milwaukee Road opened the "Puget Sound extension" from South Dakota to Seattle and Tacoma, completing the last line from Chicago to the coast.

[citation needed] To increase ridership the Milwaukee Road opened its first railroad-owned hotel near Yellowstone National Park, the Gallatin Gateway Inn.

The Milwaukee Road ordered several pairs of Fairbanks-Morse diesels with an orange, maroon and stainless steel exterior by Stevens.

The stunning trains had the Milwaukee's orange and maroon livery and green and gold seating and carpets and wood veneer with stainless steel trim.

[3] In 1957[citation needed] the train was repainted into the Union Pacific Railroad’s Armour Yellow colors.

While the Milwaukee Road promoted the Olympian Hiawatha and its scenic route through Idaho and Montana's Bitterroot Mountains and the Cascade range in Washington, the railroad competed with the Great Northern Railway's Empire Builder, the Northern Pacific Railway's North Coast Limited and the growing airlines.

[2]: 137 In 1955 the Milwaukee Road assumed operation of the Overland Route "Cities" trains between Chicago and Omaha.

Between 1955 and 1957 the Milwaukee briefly marketed a City of Portland - Olympian Hiawatha "circuit route" at a reduced price with some success but the package was eventually discontinued.

Following the discontinuance of the Olympian Hiawatha much of its equipment was reassigned to the Milwaukee Road-Union Pacific Cities trains.

15 and 16 continued to operate as an unnamed passenger train between Minneapolis and Deer Lodge, Montana with coaches, a Touralux open-berth sleeper and cafe car.

[4]: 86 [5] Between 1971 and 1979 Amtrak operated the North Coast Hiawatha, a thrice-weekly train that used the Milwaukee's Chicago-Milwaukee-Minneapolis mainline and the Northern Pacific route west of Minneapolis.

Facing bankruptcy, the Milwaukee Road abandoned its "Puget Sound extension" in 1980, eliminating much of the route of the Olympian Hiawatha.

The former Milwaukee Road (now Canadian Pacific) mainline from Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota, continues to see high passenger ridership on Amtrak's Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha and Chicago-Minneapolis-Pacific Northwest Empire Builder.