by NellieBly
On another thread, the routing of Amtrak's Washington -- Chicago trains via the Conrail Port Road was briefly discussed. I thought it might be worthwhile to review the routing of that service from May 1, 1971 to the present,
Until April 30, 1971, Penn Central (and before it PRR) had routed service from Washington via Balitmore and York, PA to Harrisburg over the former Northern Central Railroad. This required a change of direction and a change of motive power in Baltimore, so when Amtrak began operating on May 1, 1971 they re-routed the Washington -- Chicago service via Perryville, MD and the line along the Susquehanna River, which had not had passenger service since the 1940s (although it was, and remains, a fairly busy freight line). Routing this way enabled Amtrak to use electric traction all the way, and also to avoid a change of direction in Harrisburg.
I rode the Amtrak service on a number of occasions since I was going to college and then grad school in Chicago, 1971 -- 1976, and my parents lived in Washington. Train usually consisted of a sleeper, a sleeper-lounge, and a couple of coaches. I remember it as generally being powered by an E unit (one of the units that came off the "Broadway" in Harrisburg, in fact). Others have said the train used a GG1. Amtrak also operated (on a separate schedule) a Washington section of the "National Limited" to St. Louis and Kansas City. This was never more than two coaches, and at the end, usually one.
One nice touch during the mid-1970s was that that lounge on the Washington section was generally an ex-B&O flat end obs (former "Capitol Limited" car). It was delightful riding down the Port Road from Harrisburg, eating a light breakfast in the obs (which, since it was the only food service car on the train, served both sleeper and coach passengers).
The "Broadway" Washington section lasted until 1977, when Amtrak decided to continue splitting the train in Harrisburg but send the Washington section via 30th Street, Philadelphia. I rode this route as well. it actually wasn't much longer than the Port Road, since speed limits were a lot higher on the Keystone line and the NEC than on the Port Road. The switching still occurred in Harrisburg, enabling the NYC portion of the train to use the "New York -- Pittsburgh Subway" west of Zoo Tower, and bypass 30th Street entirely. This Washington section carried a diner-lounge, often a former ATSF counter-lounge car.
The train continued to run via 30th Street until early 1984, when Amtrak and CSX completed trackwork that allowed a train from the former B&O to access Pittsburgh's Penn Station. This involved creation of two new control points, one on Conrail and one on the former B&O, and construction of about a mile of track between them, to enable the Washington-Chicago train to run through from the former B&O (P&W sub) to Conrail at Penn Station. This, of course, became the route of a new train, the "Capitol Limited". The Broadway then began calling at 30th Street once again (necessitating a change of direction, so the engine change from diesel to electric was done at 30th Street rather than Harrisburg).
The Port Road continued to handle a Washington connection for the "National Limited" until late 1979, when the "National" was terminated along with a number of other trains. Then, after nearly a decade of regularly scheduled passenger service, the Port Road once again became freight-only.
Neither of the Amtrak trains over the Port Road made any intermediate stops between Harrisburg and Baltimore.
I first rode the Port Road, by the way, in June of 1969, on my first mainline steam excursion. Former CP Pacifics 1278 and 1293, then owned by an organization called Historic Red Clay Valley, pulled a train from Baltimore Penn Station up the NEC to Perryville, thence up the Port Road to Harrisburg. We had a GG1 (the Bayview Helper) to assist us through the Union Tunnels leaving Baltimore, and then double-headed steam all the way to Harrisburg. Of course, at that time the Port Road was "rare mileage" and we were all very excited to ride it. None of us knew that the return of regular passenger service was only two years away.
While we were in Harrisburg, 759 steamed overhead on the Reading, returning from the AAR "Golden Spike Limited" assignment. Also, at Safe Harbor, PA, Philadelphia Electric had their "fireless cooker" in steam and moving back and forth for us during a stop there.
The trip returned to Baltimore via the Northern Central, which of course still had daily passenger service at the time. We met the single remaining passenger train at York, on street running. It was one coach, a baggage car, and an E unit.
Two years after that trip, the Northern Central had no passenger service and the Port Road had two Amtrak trains a day. Three years later, in 1972, the Northern Central was washed out by Hurricane Agnes, and would never again serve as a through route. The south end (to Timonium, MD) is the Baltimore Central Light Rail Line today. North of Timonium to the PA border, it's a bike path.
Who would have thought, in 1969, that things would turn out that way?
Until April 30, 1971, Penn Central (and before it PRR) had routed service from Washington via Balitmore and York, PA to Harrisburg over the former Northern Central Railroad. This required a change of direction and a change of motive power in Baltimore, so when Amtrak began operating on May 1, 1971 they re-routed the Washington -- Chicago service via Perryville, MD and the line along the Susquehanna River, which had not had passenger service since the 1940s (although it was, and remains, a fairly busy freight line). Routing this way enabled Amtrak to use electric traction all the way, and also to avoid a change of direction in Harrisburg.
I rode the Amtrak service on a number of occasions since I was going to college and then grad school in Chicago, 1971 -- 1976, and my parents lived in Washington. Train usually consisted of a sleeper, a sleeper-lounge, and a couple of coaches. I remember it as generally being powered by an E unit (one of the units that came off the "Broadway" in Harrisburg, in fact). Others have said the train used a GG1. Amtrak also operated (on a separate schedule) a Washington section of the "National Limited" to St. Louis and Kansas City. This was never more than two coaches, and at the end, usually one.
One nice touch during the mid-1970s was that that lounge on the Washington section was generally an ex-B&O flat end obs (former "Capitol Limited" car). It was delightful riding down the Port Road from Harrisburg, eating a light breakfast in the obs (which, since it was the only food service car on the train, served both sleeper and coach passengers).
The "Broadway" Washington section lasted until 1977, when Amtrak decided to continue splitting the train in Harrisburg but send the Washington section via 30th Street, Philadelphia. I rode this route as well. it actually wasn't much longer than the Port Road, since speed limits were a lot higher on the Keystone line and the NEC than on the Port Road. The switching still occurred in Harrisburg, enabling the NYC portion of the train to use the "New York -- Pittsburgh Subway" west of Zoo Tower, and bypass 30th Street entirely. This Washington section carried a diner-lounge, often a former ATSF counter-lounge car.
The train continued to run via 30th Street until early 1984, when Amtrak and CSX completed trackwork that allowed a train from the former B&O to access Pittsburgh's Penn Station. This involved creation of two new control points, one on Conrail and one on the former B&O, and construction of about a mile of track between them, to enable the Washington-Chicago train to run through from the former B&O (P&W sub) to Conrail at Penn Station. This, of course, became the route of a new train, the "Capitol Limited". The Broadway then began calling at 30th Street once again (necessitating a change of direction, so the engine change from diesel to electric was done at 30th Street rather than Harrisburg).
The Port Road continued to handle a Washington connection for the "National Limited" until late 1979, when the "National" was terminated along with a number of other trains. Then, after nearly a decade of regularly scheduled passenger service, the Port Road once again became freight-only.
Neither of the Amtrak trains over the Port Road made any intermediate stops between Harrisburg and Baltimore.
I first rode the Port Road, by the way, in June of 1969, on my first mainline steam excursion. Former CP Pacifics 1278 and 1293, then owned by an organization called Historic Red Clay Valley, pulled a train from Baltimore Penn Station up the NEC to Perryville, thence up the Port Road to Harrisburg. We had a GG1 (the Bayview Helper) to assist us through the Union Tunnels leaving Baltimore, and then double-headed steam all the way to Harrisburg. Of course, at that time the Port Road was "rare mileage" and we were all very excited to ride it. None of us knew that the return of regular passenger service was only two years away.
While we were in Harrisburg, 759 steamed overhead on the Reading, returning from the AAR "Golden Spike Limited" assignment. Also, at Safe Harbor, PA, Philadelphia Electric had their "fireless cooker" in steam and moving back and forth for us during a stop there.
The trip returned to Baltimore via the Northern Central, which of course still had daily passenger service at the time. We met the single remaining passenger train at York, on street running. It was one coach, a baggage car, and an E unit.
Two years after that trip, the Northern Central had no passenger service and the Port Road had two Amtrak trains a day. Three years later, in 1972, the Northern Central was washed out by Hurricane Agnes, and would never again serve as a through route. The south end (to Timonium, MD) is the Baltimore Central Light Rail Line today. North of Timonium to the PA border, it's a bike path.
Who would have thought, in 1969, that things would turn out that way?
Randy Resor, aka "NellieBly" passed away on November 1, 2013. We honor his memory and his devotion to railroading at railroad.net.
