Wow your scanner is getting quite a work outthanks for posting some of the old schedules.
:lol:
if you only knew
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1976 AMTRAK Map
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:lol:
if you only knew
Wow your scanner is getting quite a work out
Long Train Runnin'
Engineer
Wow your scanner is getting quite a work out
:lol:
if you only knew
Could that be a hint to a new part of Amtrak Unlimited?
The Pocahantas ran through April 30, 1971 from Norfolk to Cincinnati. The Powhatan Arrow had been discontinued about 2 years earlier. I took the Pocahantas from Cincinnati to Roanoke in 1970. The N&W included Dining Car meals for Sleeping Car passengers. I traveled in a bedroom in Buchanon County which was 10/6 had a delicious breakfast of Virginia ham, fried apples, eggs and biscuit. I changed to the N&W Birmingham Special which was an accross platform change in Roanoke and continued on to Washington via the Southern at Lynchburg. The Pocahantas also carried an ex Wabash Bluebird Budd Dome coach which was a great way to view the mountains.Pocahantas? Did you mean Powhatan Arrow? which was pre-AMTRAK?The Hilltopper replaced the Mountaineer which Amtrak started in 1974. The Mountaineer provided through service from Chicago to Norfolk (Lambert's Point), VA. N&W had run the Pocahantas on a similar schedule from Cincinnati to Norfolk until April 30, 1971 when Amtrak started. The cities along the N&W line were clamoring for a return of service, but didn't support the train very well.http://www.filehive.com/files/090520/Hilltopper.jpgIf only they still ran through Bluefield, WV as it shows they did, then I'd only have an hours drive to a station instead of 4.
Anyone know what the train name was for the route that went through Roanoke, VA and Bluefield, WV/VA or any other info?
HOLY COW! Thanks! I take that back about Bluefield, WV, only 40 minutes to Welch, WV. A darn shame it's gone.
PaulM
Engineer
The last I had business at the MSP station, I commented the agent that MSP must be one of the larger and nicer Amtrak era stations, especially considering it sees only 2 train per day. He said that when it was built just after A day, it served 8 trains per day.
I didn't see a date on the time table; but it showed 6 trains. I am curious what the 7th and 8th might have been.
Montanan
OBS Chief
The schedule above would have been pretty much the peak of MSP service under Amtrak; unless I'm mistaken there's never been more than two daily east-west trains and one Duluth/Superior train through St. Paul.
I have to agree with this - and I'm pretty familiar with most of the Amtrak schedules.
Montanan
OBS Chief
And thinking about it a little bit further, I'm pretty sure the above timetable reflects a schedule back before the current building was built. Amtrak used the former GN station in Minneapolis as its Twin Cities facility until the current station was constructed in 1978. (Note that the words "St. Paul" are totally absent from that timetable page.)
jamesontheroad
OBS Chief
Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but looking at the map, what was the train that routed through St. Cloud, MN, and what Minnesota stations did it call at that are no longer served?
Thanks
Thanks
jis
Permanent Way Inspector
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I found this fascinating List of trains that ran on the eve of Amtrak. Thought y'all might like it.
chertling
Lead Service Attendant
One other historical point to note in the Cardinal's cancellation and very expedited resurrection in the early 1980's. The Cardinal serves as the only passenger rail link between Washington, DC and White Sulfur Springs, WV. While this may not seem to be an important route, Congress' "Doomsday bunker" was located, until 1992, at the Greenbriar Resort in White Sulfur Springs.
According to a recent documentary I saw on the bunker, transit by rail was one of the key means by which Senators/Representatives and their staff were to be moved to the Greenbriar in case of national emergency.
This explains the rapid action of Congress after the cancellation of the Cardinal by Amtrak.
jis
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St. Cloud MN is still served by the Empire Builder.
When both the Empire Builder and the North Coast Hiawatha were in service, between Minneapolis and Fargo
The Empire Builder traveled on the route:
Willmar - Morris - Breckentidge
The North Coast Hiawatha traveled on the route:
St. Cloud - Staples - Detroit Lakes
When the North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued the Empire Builder was routed along the North Coast Hiawatha's route between Minneapolis and Fargo, consequently Willmar, Morris and Breckenridge lost service.
You can see the Jan 1978 schedules of both the Empire Builder and the North Coast Hiawatha posted by MrFSS about half way down this thread.
Shawn
Service Attendant
OK, maybe I missed it...but didn't the EB split at Spokane even then? And send one section to PDX and one to SEA, just like today?
jamesontheroad
OBS Chief
Thanks! A more specific question related to my newfound interest in this part of the world is over here: http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?showtopic=28555
Thanks for the post!)"those were the days my friend,I thought theyd never end)I have one question? What about the old New Haven RR?
I used to ride the train from New London to NYC on weekends,had they disappeared by this time???
I think the New Haven was part of Penn Central at these late days. Double check the Penn Central listings toward the end.
JSmith
Service Attendant
Does anyone have a link to or a scan of a system map of the US passenger rail network at its peak (I guess around WW2 or earlier)? It'd be interesting to see what the rail network used to cover compared to today.
I think that would be pretty close to the actual rail map of the time, barring industrial spurs -- at least here in Arizona, just about all the rail lines had some sort of passenger service on them.
JSmith
Service Attendant
OK, how depressing. I found a 1918 map of the NY Central lines on Wikipedia. Amazing - you really could go just about anywhere by train! What a shame that we lost this system (and much of the infrastructure has crumbled away now, I expect). I wonder how frequently the trains ran back then.
Although I see even then there wasn't a direct route from Buffalo to Pittsburgh without going by way of Cleveland!
Can anyone recommend a good book (or web site) on the "golden age" of passenger rail in the US?
Although I see even then there wasn't a direct route from Buffalo to Pittsburgh without going by way of Cleveland!
Can anyone recommend a good book (or web site) on the "golden age" of passenger rail in the US?
Although long out of print (try Amazon or Ebay?), nothing compares to the great volumes I and II of "The Trains We Rode" by Beebe and Clegg published by Howell-North back in the '60's. Also highly recommended is "Some Classic Trains" and "More Classic Trains" by Dubin, published by Kalmbach. I also recommend looking for an old copy or a reprint of an Official Guide of the Railways from the era you are interested in. It will provide an unbelievable wealth of fascinating reading!
I notice the reference note in the map legend about switching the routes between Fort Worth and Houston. To my knowledge, the route proposed on the map was never implemented. Am I correct?Here is the first Amtrak table from 1971.
ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
I love how Canton is in the middle of Ohio in the 1971 map!
mercedeslove
Lead Service Attendant
wow chicago had a lot of trains going and coming
G
Guest
Guest
There's no service to Cleveland in the 1971 map. Is that correct? I had thought that the Lake Shore was one of the original Amtrak trains, but clearly it was added later. When did it start?
ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
2003.
Not that CLE didn't have service-- over the years it has had the Three Rivers, Capitol Limited and variations thereupon to service Northern Ohio.
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