There's a chance I will need to go from BAL to the middle of Missouri this summer, and that got me thinking about the kind of route(s) that used to exist that could really help the system now. I think one of these routes would be a connection from Pittsburgh to St. Louis (and continuing to Kansas City) by way of either Indianapolis and/or Cincnnnati, probably cutting through Columbus, OH. It seems like having to route all east-west traffic through Chicago is a huge waste of time for anyone with western destinations St. Louis or south. There really should be another east-west route that bypasses Chicago. Since I'm guessing we all agree on that concept and its benefits, what route do you think would be the most useful and practical? Do you agree that PGH would be the place for the new route to split from existing routes (allowing all traffic from the NEC to either go via CHI or this new route)? And which path through OH and IN is best?
Okay...DISCUSS!
I think there are 2 good options for possible routes from New York to St. Louis via Pittsburgh.
Option # 1
- Leg 1: The former Broadway Limited route which follows the current Pennsylvanian route New York, NY to Pittsburgh, PA, the current Capitol Limited route from Pittsburgh, PA to Alliance, OH, and continues west on Norfolk Southern to Crestline, OH.
- Leg 2: CSX (ex-Conrail/PC/NYC Big 4) Crestline, OH to Indianapolis, IN then, via the former National Limited route, to St. Louis, MO.
- Advantages: Restores New York-Pittsburgh-Alliance-Crestline & New York-Pittsburgh-Indianapolis-St. Louis service, and former station stops at Canton, OH; Crestline, OH; 2nd New York-Indianapolis train with connection to Chicago via Hoosier State; Greencastle, IN; Terre Haute, IN; connection to/from Illini, Saluki, City of New Orleans at Effingham, IL.
Option # 2
- Leg 1: The former Three Rivers route from New York, NY to Fostoria, OH, using the current Pennsylvanian route New York, NY to Pittsburgh, PA.
- Leg 2: Norfolk Southern (ex-N&W/Nickel Plate) Fostoria, OH to Ft. Wayne, IN.
- Leg 3: Norfolk Southern (ex-N&W/Wabash) Ft. Wayne, IN to Springfield, IL.
- Leg 4: Lincoln Service route Springfield, IL to St. Louis, MO.
- Advantages: Restores New York-Pittsburgh-Fostoria & New York-Pittsburgh-St. Louis service, and former station stops at Youngstown, OH; Akron, OH; Fostoria, OH; Ft. Wayne, IN, 2nd New York-Lafayette train with Connection to Chicago via Hoosier State; Decatur, IL; adds another frequency between Springfield, IL and St. Louis.
A Washington-St. Louis section can run via the NEC Washington-Philadelphia to split/combine with the NY section and swap electric/diesel locomotives. That would provide the single seat ride you seek from Baltimore to St. Louis.
For extension to Kansas City under Option # 1: replace one of the two daily Missouri River Runners with the new NY/WAS-KC train.
For extension to Kansas City under Option # 2: instead of running Springfield, IL to St. Louis, MO, run instead Springfield, IL to WB Jct., MO via Hannibal, MO (via Norfolk Southern), then down the current Southwest Chief route into Kansas City (via BNSF Railway).