Why Were 1941 Trains Faster Than 2015 Trains?

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The difference in more pronounced for long-distance routes. Amtrak has much more padding in their schedules than the private railroads did, because in the old days, the railroads owned the trains. Amtrak owns the trains but not the track, the private railroads still own the track, as well as the freight trains.
 
I think that "in the day", the ability of the railroads to whisk passengers to their destinations in a timely manner was a source of pride. If you depended on the railroads to deliver your family, wouldn't you then also trust them to deliver your goods?

Back then there was also another element that is missing today - competition. Sure, you can pretend that Amtrak has to compete with the airline and bus industry, but we all know that is really a fallacy. There is simply no way they can pretend to cover as many destinations, and as quickly as an airliner can. Nor can they pull into every town that sits on a crossroads in the dusty rural areas that the bus companies serve. The days of being able to choose between the Pennsylvania railroad or New York Central for trips from NY to CHI are gone. I no longer have to determine if the MKT Texas Special is a better choice than taking a Burlington Route Rocket or some other provider. Remember when the Union Stations were frequented by more than Amtrak?
 
In 1941 it look Southern's #17 15 minutes to transit from WAS to ALX. http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track1/birmspecial194112.html

Nowadays the same trip takes 18 minutes. http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/427/412/Northeast-Regional-3-Schedule-040615.pdf

I'm being somewhat glib however. Someone taking today's 171 would get into Charlottesville 30 minutes faster, and Lynchburg 1 hr faster, than Southern's 17. (Same depature times interestingly even after 70+ years).
Take note, for example, of the fact that Southern's 17 took 15 minutes WAS-ALX...NB, however, 18 has 20 minutes allocated.

Part of this is differing equipment (that train was probably still heavyweight in 1941...and I'm pretty certain it was still a steam loco at the time, too), part of it differing stopping patterns.

One thing to rememebr is that 171, leaving WAS, has to contend with a ton of VRE trains at that time...and said trains stop at L'Enfant Plaza and Crystal City (I believe that 171 also stops at L'Enfant Plaza, though that isn't listed on Amtrak's timetables). Of course, on some of the longer hauls the inverse is also true (witness, for example, the Southern Crescent's schedule in 1971...or, more impressively, the Piedmont LImited's schedule...vs. Amtrak's current schedule and note all the extra stops).

As to the similar schedules...all I''m going to say is that the guy who picked that schedule is a very astute student of history (I've seen him discuss all sorts of nuances of historical railroad policy in great depth) and he notably switched the proposed schedules around at the last minute...that similarity is very likely not an accident.

Edit: Just confirmed the VRE hypothesis. VRE 307 leaves WAS at 1640 and arrives into ALX at 1703 (the 23 minutes are down to L'Enfant and Crystal City both being passenger heavy...I've seen Amtrak trains lose five minutes because you'll have a hundred people looking to board, and that's before VRE enters the equation). Amtrak's departure is stuck with that train's schedule to contend with.
 
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There were less rules in 1941. Also back they if a train was late, the crew was told to speed up to make up time. A whole different world back then. Many mainlines were at least double track with some three and four.
 
There were less rules in 1941. Also back they if a train was late, the crew was told to speed up to make up time. A whole different world back then. Many mainlines were at least double track with some three and four.
These are two important factors that can't be overlooked. With less competition comes less capacity. Trains are fighting for space on remaining infrastructure. Additionally, the regulations have increased in this time. Up until the 1990's, trains could exceed maximum authorized speed and only the railroad would bat an eye. This is not the case these days.
 
There were less rules in 1941. Also back they if a train was late, the crew was told to speed up to make up time. A whole different world back then. Many mainlines were at least double track with some three and four.
These are two important factors that can't be overlooked. With less competition comes less capacity. Trains are fighting for space on remaining infrastructure. Additionally, the regulations have increased in this time. Up until the 1990's, trains could exceed maximum authorized speed and only the railroad would bat an eye. This is not the case these days.
On top of that, the maximum allowed speeds were higher (i.e. the posted speeds on a number of lines were 90-100 MPH instead of the almost-universal 79 MPH we have now). On a short hop that doesn't do much, but on something like New York-Miami that's going to add up to perhaps an hour or more saved.
 
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