Downingtown Metroliner

I saw this paragraph on the Metroliner wikipedia page.

On October 29, 1989, Amtrak introduced a single one-way morning Metroliner trip from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, to Washington. The trip largely served Amtrak employees, as a corresponding evening trip to serve regular commuters was not offered. The Downingtown trip was discontinued on October 25, 1991.

The citation goes to a Trains.com article that only gives dates and looking around railroad.net gives has scattered mentions about deadhead moves.

My question - Why?

The wikipedia article says for Amtrak employees. What was happening at Downingtown overnights? and how did they get back to Downingtown for the next shift? Just for two years?

Did that train stop at Paoli or Malvern or Ardmore inbound?

Does anyone here have any experience riding this or operating this service?

https://web.archive.org/web/20141014120 ... ing-career has a copy of the Trains timeline (but maybe not the article cited by Wikipedia).

I also found a brochure describing the service.

From the brochure:

Good News for Phiiadelphia·to·Washington Business Travelers
New, early morning Metroliner Service has been added to help business travelers in the Greater Philadelphia area make a 9:00 am meeting in the Nation's Capital. This new Metroliner Service train originates in the Pennsylvania suburb of Downingtown, with stops in Malvern, Paoli, Ardmore and Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, from which it departs at 6:55 am After brief stops in Wilmington and Baltimore, you'l arrive at Washington's Union Station at 8:37 am- relaxed and ready for business.

For your return trip, choose one of our hourly Metroliner Service trains. Upon arrival at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, you can make connections to the surrounding suburbs.

The only thing I know: according to https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/hi ... ng-career/, Amtrak introduced more nonstop Expresses to the Metroliner service on October 29, 1989, increasing service to morning and afternoon weekday departures in both directions. So hard to find out why the trip was introduced and why it was discontinued.

I believe that is the only scheduled Amtrak train that ever originated at anywhere other than Philadelphia or Harrisburg on the Main Line. I presume the train deadheaded from Race Street Yard every morning to Downingtown where it turned.

Yes, it deadheaded from Philadelphia. When it got to Washington, it joined the Metroliner pool. So, how was there a spare Metroliner in Philadelphia the next morning? Answer, the last clocker from New York to Philadelphia around Midnight used Metroliner equipment. I forget if it had working MetroClub service.
That equipment didn't sit in Philadelphia all weekend. Instead, there was a Saturday or Sunday very early morning train from Philadelphia to Boston with those cars. They returned about 4 p.m. Sunday as a New England Metroliner to Philadelphia via the Inland Route. I forget if the Northbound train was also a New England Metroliner.

rcthompson04 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 9:40 am I believe that is the only scheduled Amtrak train that ever originated at anywhere other than Philadelphia or Harrisburg on the Main Line. I presume the train deadheaded from Race Street Yard every morning to Downingtown where it turned.

RCT: Correct - This train's equipment deadheaded west in the early morning hours to Downingtown from
Penn Coach Yard 32 miles to change ends and run east from DOW with stops at MLV, PAO and ARD...The idea
was to tap into the white-collar travel market on the Main Line in Philadelphia's western suburbs...

During the years of AEM7-hauled Metroliner Service trains the regular Amfleet consist size was 6 cars...
What I would like to have known is if the equipment either used a regular assigned Metroliner cab car
or was the AEM7 motor run around the consist during the DOW AM turn? MACTRAXX

MACTRAXX wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 6:07 pm

rcthompson04 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 9:40 am I believe that is the only scheduled Amtrak train that ever originated at anywhere other than Philadelphia or Harrisburg on the Main Line. I presume the train deadheaded from Race Street Yard every morning to Downingtown where it turned.

RCT: Correct - This train's equipment deadheaded west in the early morning hours to Downingtown from
Penn Coach Yard 32 miles to change ends and run east from DOW with stops at MLV, PAO and ARD...The idea
was to tap into the white-collar travel market on the Main Line in Philadelphia's western suburbs...

During the years of AEM7-hauled Metroliner Service trains the regular Amfleet consist size was 6 cars...
What I would like to have known is if the equipment either used a regular assigned Metroliner cab car
or was the AEM7 motor run around the consist during the DOW AM turn? MACTRAXX

I second this. Initially I thought this train was composed of Budd Metroliner MUs. Then I realized, the Metroliner MUs were phased out in the early / mid 80s (at least according to Wikipedia). Therefore, this had to be a locomotive hauled train. As for the configuration, I'm thinking of 5 possibilities:

1. Running with a single AEM-7, then running the locomotive around between THORN & DOWNS Interlockings, this seems beyond impractical.
2. Running with 2 AEM-7s, one on each end (not unlike certain Keystones today). As for where the 2nd AEM-7s was removed? Who knows.
3. Running with Amfleets & a Metroliner Cab Car. The earliest Metroliner Cab Cars I saw from videos on YouTube were essentially Metroliners with their pantographs removed. A far cry from their modern look with the yellow & black "bumblebee" face. Heck, they even had their "roof humps" & "double front doors" back then. Wow!
4. Running with locomotive hauled Metroliners, with push-pull capabilities. I don't know whether or not push pull was possible with locomotives & MUs.
5. Possibly towing the set with a diesel (take your pick on which one), with the AEM7 facing east. Then cutting off the diesel and running it light back to Race Street / Penn Coach Yard, behind the Metroliner. Or running it light to Harrisburg or another yard / staging area west of Downingtown. Not sure how practical this could've been.

I'm not sure what the track layout or condition was back then, or if tracks 2 or 3 saw regular use.
Looking at the current track map, assuming the train was able to "change ends", here are two scenarios I could think of:

Scenario 1: Originating on Track 4 at Downingtown then, crossing over to 2 or 1 between DOWNS & FRAZER Interlockings. Possibly even PAOLI Interlocking.

Scenario 2: Originating on Track 1 at Downingtown. After either deadheading on 4 or 3, then crossing over between GLEN & DOWNS Interlockings (not sure if possible) or crossing over to 1 at PAOLI Interlocking.

Well, that's enough of my hypotheses. I'll allow for those privy to the operation to chime in.

I would love to see a photo of the train, but if I had to guess since it was Metroliner labeled train at that time it probably ran with an AEM-7 facing Washington and a control car facing Downingtown. Anything else would be wildly impractical.

The Amtrak Metroliner service from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, was introduced on October 29, 1989, and was discontinued on October 25, 1991. This service was a single one-way morning trip from Downingtown to Washington, primarily serving Amtrak employees. However, there was no corresponding evening trip to serve regular commuters .

Here are some details about the Amtrak Metroliner service from Downingtown:

1. Purpose: The Downingtown trip largely served Amtrak employees who needed to commute from Downingtown to Washington for their shifts.

2. Overnight Operations: It is unclear what specific operations were happening at Downingtown overnight during the time the Metroliner service was in operation. Unfortunately, the available information does not provide details about the overnight operations at Downingtown.

3. Return Trip: Since there was no corresponding evening trip from Washington to Downingtown, it is likely that Amtrak employees who commuted from Downingtown to Washington for their shifts had to find alternative transportation or make other arrangements to return to Downingtown after their shift.

4. Stops: It is unclear whether the Metroliner service made stops at Paoli, Malvern, or Ardmore on its inbound journey from Downingtown to Washington. The available information does not provide specific details about the stops made by the Downingtown Metroliner service .

LF - I wanted to reply to NET's post about Metroliner Service Train #201 - my reply to you is:

1-The original purpose of starting a Metroliner Service train on the Main Line serving Philadelphia's
western suburbs was to tap into the white collar upscale travel market...Over time the primary clientele
became Amtrak management employees traveling between Northeast Corridor stations (Ex. PHL-WAS)

2-The equipment deadheaded early each morning from the Penn Coach Yard 32 miles west to Downingtown.
Depending on the equipment used-specifically if a cab car was assigned-all that would be needed is to change
ends at DOW on westbound arrival...Without a west cab car the AEM7 motor would need to be run around the
consist to be on the head end for the run which was 167 miles DOW-PHL-WAS. An employee timetable for the
Amtrak NEC and Harrisburg Lines would most likely have listed this equipment move that turned for #201.

3-There was other service between Philadelphia and Downingtown scheduled with both Amtrak Harrisburg
Line and SEPTA (R5) trains scheduled during the PM Peak westbound...Some examples: (Amtrak NEC/HAR TT)
#615 - Leave PHL 4:35 PM; Paoli 5:01 PM - ALL Stops to HAR arriving 6:42 PM
#617 - Leave PHL 5:30 PM; Malvern 6:00 PM - ALL stops to HAR arriving 7:36 PM
#621 - Leave PHL 8:45 PM; Ardmore 8:58 PM; Paoli 9:13 PM; Downingtown 9:26 PM; Coatesville 9:34 PM;
Lancaster 10:02 PM; Elizabethtown 10:22 PM and Harrisburg 10:45 PM.

4-This is the Downingtown Metroliner schedule as listed from the Amtrak April 1 through October 27, 1990 TT:
Metroliner Service Train #201 - Monday through Friday - East to Philadelphia then South to Washington:
Leave Downingtown, PA - 6:00 AM
Malvern, PA - 6:11 AM
Paoli, PA - 6:16 AM
Ardmore, PA - 6:31 AM
Philadelphia 30th Street - 6:48 AM
Wilmington, DE - 7:11 AM
Baltimore, MD - 7:54 AM
Washington, DC - 8:35 AM
Connecting Metroliner Service to Newark, NJ and New York, NY:
Train #100 (WAS-NYP) - Leave Philadelphia 30th Street 7:28 AM; Newark, NJ 8:26 AM;
Arrive Penn Station New York 8:40 AM

This should answer some questions...MACTRAXX

NortheastTrainMan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2024 12:30 pm

MACTRAXX wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 6:07 pm

rcthompson04 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2024 9:40 am I believe that is the only scheduled Amtrak train that ever originated at anywhere other than Philadelphia or Harrisburg on the Main Line. I presume the train deadheaded from Race Street Yard every morning to Downingtown where it turned.

RCT: Correct - This train's equipment deadheaded west in the early morning hours to Downingtown from
Penn Coach Yard 32 miles to change ends and run east from DOW with stops at MLV, PAO and ARD...The idea
was to tap into the white-collar travel market on the Main Line in Philadelphia's western suburbs...

During the years of AEM7-hauled Metroliner Service trains the regular Amfleet consist size was 6 cars...
What I would like to have known is if the equipment either used a regular assigned Metroliner cab car
or was the AEM7 motor run around the consist during the DOW AM turn? MACTRAXX

I second this. Initially I thought this train was composed of Budd Metroliner MUs. Then I realized, the Metroliner MUs were phased out in the early / mid 80s (at least according to Wikipedia). Therefore, this had to be a locomotive hauled train. As for the configuration, I'm thinking of 5 possibilities:

1. Running with a single AEM-7, then running the locomotive around between THORN & DOWNS Interlockings, this seems beyond impractical.
2. Running with 2 AEM-7s, one on each end (not unlike certain Keystones today). As for where the 2nd AEM-7s was removed? Who knows.
3. Running with Amfleets & a Metroliner Cab Car. The earliest Metroliner Cab Cars I saw from videos on YouTube were essentially Metroliners with their pantographs removed. A far cry from their modern look with the yellow & black "bumblebee" face. Heck, they even had their "roof humps" & "double front doors" back then. Wow!
4. Running with locomotive hauled Metroliners, with push-pull capabilities. I don't know whether or not push pull was possible with locomotives & MUs.
5. Possibly towing the set with a diesel (take your pick on which one), with the AEM7 facing east. Then cutting off the diesel and running it light back to Race Street / Penn Coach Yard, behind the Metroliner. Or running it light to Harrisburg or another yard / staging area west of Downingtown. Not sure how practical this could've been.

I'm not sure what the track layout or condition was back then, or if tracks 2 or 3 saw regular use.
Looking at the current track map, assuming the train was able to "change ends", here are two scenarios I could think of:

Scenario 1: Originating on Track 4 at Downingtown then, crossing over to 2 or 1 between DOWNS & FRAZER Interlockings. Possibly even PAOLI Interlocking.

Scenario 2: Originating on Track 1 at Downingtown. After either deadheading on 4 or 3, then crossing over between GLEN & DOWNS Interlockings (not sure if possible) or crossing over to 1 at PAOLI Interlocking.

Well, that's enough of my hypotheses. I'll allow for those privy to the operation to chime in.

NET: You make this simple AM westbound equipment run WAY TOO COMPLICATED...
Here is my thoughts looking back 32 years and more in this subject:

1-Agreed as noted below in S2. This was a simple 32 mile deadhead run westward to DOW.
2-2 AEM7s? NO. Amtrak AEM7 motors were in tight supply for the services that they were necessary for...
3-A (former) Metroliner MU Cab Car made perfect sense for Metroliner Service Train #201.
Yes-The earliest Metroliner MU Cab Cars were used with only the pantograph apparatus removed.
Car #827 (before renumbering and further conversion) was an example I recall...
4-The last remaining locomotive-hauled Metroliner MU cars were removed from HAR-PHL service sometime
during 1989...Example: www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2361501
5-Towing the equipment with a diesel west was impractical for these reasons: A (second) yard crew from the
Penn Coach Yard/30th Street would have been needed along with their engine for the move - and then would
have to deadhead eastbound back to PHL each morning behind Train #201...Too much time and money...

Scenario #2 was the most likely routing used each morning to have the train properly placed in Downingtown.
It was simple common sense then remembering the routing...MACTRAXX

In MACTRAXX's post of 11:48 am, the posted schedule of intermediate Main Line stops bears out the likelihood that the schedule was introduced to accommodate paying passengers from upscale Philadelphia suburbs to DC rather than deadheading employees. And the lack of a corresponding evening return is easily understood considering the existing scheduled services.

@MACTRAXX

Well, staying true to the 'NET" nickname you gave me, I casted a wide net of all the possibilities .

As I mentioned, I surmised a few of my suggestions were impractical. I'm going off limited knowledge of how stuff worked back then. Plus there seems to be limited info on this train, especially media (photos, videos, etc). It's not like nowadays when you can go on YouTube, type in a train and get a good deal of videos on it.
I mean, my parents didn't even meet eachother when this train was in operation.

Thanks for the info, not only on the train itself, but the context of the time. I know electrics were scarce in the late 90s / early 2000s, but I didn't know that was the case in the late 80s / early 90s. Moreover, the point you made about the yard crew made sense. I was unaware of how the whole situation worked regarding compen$ation. Now that I think about it, since Harrisburg doesn't have a yard crew (correct me if I'm wrong), are pretty much all of the locomotives (Protect & MOW) along the Keystone Corridor from Race Street? Every now & then I see light locomotives heading west, typically Sprinters. I know Amtrak typically keeps a P42 at Harrisburg on protect service too.

Thanks again for the info. Also, the photo you shared of the F40 with the Metroliners at Harrisburg is a relic of a lost time. I wasn't on the scene yet, but I can only imagine what it sounded like in person.

To that note, somewhat unrelated to this (given the route), here's a video of a Metroliner Cab Car still in its Red / White / Blue paint scheme with the roof hump and pantograph support, sans pantograph at Frankford Jct.
Circa 1990.
Skip to the 4:09 mark: https://youtu.be/IBm2o73A5nE?si=_DBcmgkBiIx4Wrhf

Harrisburg does have day & night yard crews