The Salt City Express Syracuse to NY GCT--Very convenient morning departure time around 7:45AM--Great for making a connection with the Adirondack to Montreal and avoiding that pesty 7AM departure of that regional. We all miss the name "Empire State Express". It was a nice train that with a little newer equipment and business class seating would have kept this famous name going. The Wolverine was a good train and went NY GCT to Chicago via Detroit. It was well patronized but seemed to always have a lot of trash in the coaches. A Good and convenient schedule and I believe it went through Canada and could not make stops so the travel time was very good.
I thank everyone for their comments and I wish I could've included more names. Just to remind that this three part video and the list was through a personal opinion from myself. Thanks for all the support and comments again.
I can't seem to find any reliable videos or photos of the 1972 Amtrak Potomac Special (Washington - Parkersburg). I know that this particular service was only around for a brief moment. But I would like to know what this train looks like. Can you, or someone you know, provided info on a video or photo featuring this train's consist?
I have an honorable mention: The Lone Star. It was a train that ran from Chicago, IL to Houston, TX via Kansas City, MO, Wichita, KS, Oklahoma City, OK and Fort Worth, TX with a section splitting off in Fort Worth, TX that went to Dallas, TX. It was originally named the Texas Chief which was a train that was run by the Santa Fe beginning in 1948. In 1971 the train was spun off to Amtrak. In 1973 Amtrak proposed rerouting the train as a through Dallas, TX train over the Southern Pacific between Dallas, TX and Houston, TX however this failed after SP opposed the plan and by 1974 the Santa Fe felt that the train no longer met their passenger train standards so they banned Amtrak from using the Chief name as a result Amtrak renamed it the Lone Star. The train continued to operate until the train made it’s last run on October 8, 1979 due to budget cuts leaving Oklahoma with no train service until 1999 when Amtrak restored service with the Fort Worth, TX to Oklahoma City, TX Heartland Flyer service and are proposing to extend the service to Newton, KS.
The North Star ran for years between St. Paul/Minneapolis and Duluth. It ran overnight to Chicago for a few years. It had a beautiful route through some pretty parts of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. It was hampered by the condition of the bridge between Superior, WI and Duluth, MN, taking 30 minutes to travel just a few miles as a result. Here is the Wikipedia summary of the old North Star: >>The North Star was introduced in the spring of 1978, when Amtrak moved Twin Cities operations from the Great Northern Depot in Minneapolis to Midway station in Saint Paul and combined the previous Chicago-Minneapolis Twin Cities Hiawatha and the Minneapolis-Duluth Arrowhead services into one train. Where the Arrowhead's route was 148 miles (238 km) long, the North Star was a 573-mile (922 km) sleeper originating in Chicago at 10:30 PM in the initial schedule. It took 8 hours 45 minutes to reach Saint Paul, where there was a 35-minute layover. It then took another 3:45 to reach Duluth for an overall schedule of just over 13 hours from Chicago. Three other trains shared parts of the North Star route: the quad-weekly Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, via the Milwaukee Road to St. Paul and the former Great Northern beyond; the thrice-weekly North Coast Hiawatha, also from Chicago to Portland and Seattle, on the Milwaukee to St. Paul and the former Northern Pacific beyond; and the daily Turboliner between Chicago and Milwaukee. The Empire Builder became a daily train again in 1979 when the North Coast Hiawatha was eliminated. There were perennial budget battles involving the North Star. In October 1981 cost-cutting measures forced the service to be converted to a Twin Cities-Duluth local, which left the daily Empire Builder as the only Chicago-Twin Cities connection. No effort was made to link the schedules of the two trains. At this time, the schedule was 3 hours 35 minutes from Saint Paul to Duluth. It briefly stopped service in September 1982 when Amtrak requested $27,000 (equivalent to $67,007 in 2016) in funding to keep it operating as a weekend and peak period train. Duluth businessman Jeno Paulucci offered a $25,000 (equivalent to $62,043 in 2016) donation, with the rest intended to be covered from some other source. U.S. Senator David Durenberger (R-MN) also requested that Amtrak run a financial audit, which uncovered an extra $100,000 (equivalent to $248,172 in 2016) in available funds. By the end of service in 1985, the North Star no longer served Superior and made intermediate stops only in Cambridge and Sandstone. State funding ran out in March 1985, and the train made its final run on April 7 of that year.[
Yes! One of the more interesting trains neglected from this list. The Metroliner name may have gone away, but the premium service it offered still exists, for the most part. It was a very poor choice for #1. The author's bias certainly shows.
I have made up 7 Amtrak routes. Tailslandian River Runner: Boston/Springfield/Greenfield - Larson/Fort Myers Grand Strand: Boston/Springfield/Greenfield - Myrtle Beach Winchester Star: Station stops may vary - Winchester Coloradoan: Denver - Colorado Springs Smoky Mountain and Appalachian: New Haven - Nashville South Park Express and Spirit: Nashville - South Park Update from Angela: Winchester Star is now operating from Jacksonville to Winchester. The South Park Express and Spirit will still continue if I watch South Park videos. The Mountain Prairie also ran from New Haven to Nashville. The Tailslandian River Runner has an additional terminus called Ocala. The Mockingbird runs from Boston to Starlight City, not Miami, because the Windy City runs from Chicago to Miami via Chaseville and Atlanta. The Widower runs from Doncaster to Dublin in Virginia ONLY. The Black Widow runs from Roanoke to Harrisburg. The Black Widow Train numbers are 554 and 555. It consists of a baggage car, 2 sleepers, a dining car, a cafe car, and 4 coaches. It has 2 engines to pull it and prove it. Update: The South Park Spirit and Express have disappeared from the timetables. The Tailslandian River Runner does not go north of New York nor does the Mockingbird. The Smoky Mountain, Appalachian, and Mountain Prairie now terminates in Hartford.
Testimony to the significance of "Metroliner" is that non-railfans are more likely to use the phrase "Metroliner Corridor" than "NEC." Now that same non-railfans say "Acela Corridor," but that's due to the success of Metroliner, which helped save passenger rail in the USA.
Silver Comet. I used to take that in HS to visit my grandma in Virginia. I don't know where it originated - NY I think - and it went all the way to Miami.
When I had lived in Newark, Delaware from 6/21/1969 to 6/27/1972 the day I went active duty in the U.S.Navy I would many times see the Penn Central Metroliners which became Amtrak Metroliners on May 1,1971, I would also see many other Penn Cnetral later Amtrak trains as well as the Penn Central freights, the Penn Central commuter later SEPTA/DART commuter trains on the Northeast Corridor which was & is still a great rail fanning watching spot.
I loved the Desert Wind and rode it from Chicago to Vegas. Multiple trains were run as one from Chicago to Denver. Then you had to get off while they broke the train up into various segments that went different directions. When you hit Salt Lake City you were allowed to stay on the train as broke off the last part and then all you had left was the Desert Wind. That train was always sold out and I never understood why they would cancel the service. Also, the Hiawatha name is still used on trains from Chicago to Milwaukee.
Who else recognized a lot of these songs from other things. Some of them I have heard in the Trains DVD's and the song at the end was in Railroad Tycoon. Just watched all 3 of these videos and loved them all.
One that very few know about was the Amtrak “Blackhawk”. A Chicago IL to Dubuque IA train making a stop in Rockford IL. Running from 1974 to 1981 over mostly Illinois Central Trackage, now the Canadian National Freeport Subdivision. It was a beautiful final/first hour of the ride going through NorthWestern Illinois. There was a confirmed plan in place to reopen the route, but for the first half between Chicago and Rockford would run first over the Canadian Pacific Elgin Subdivision from Chicago to the large suburb of Elgin Illinois. From there it would get on the Union Pacific Belvidere Sub, making stops in the growing suburb(and my hometown) Huntley IL. The line’s namesake town of Belvidere(home too the Chrysler and Fiat Assembly plant and the line’s main source of revenue) and Rockford. Before then taking the CN to Dubuque. Though the plan was put on hold in 2015, but with the election of Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2019, there are plans to continue with reviving the route. I personally hope so. I’d love to see my home town get Amtrak!(And as I railfan I’d love to have a consistent train schedule, most Union Pacific Trains come at random times!)
I noticed one of the timetables there was a train called the "Skyline Connection" that ran the same route as the "Three Rivers" - but then I recently came to find out it was never actually implemented - that's probably why you've never heard of it
I’m very surprised these 3 videos, and not too many people in the comment section mentioned the Clocker. The Clocker was a commuter style service running between Philadelphia-New York. It mainly consisted of Amfleets and an NJT ALP-46. I honestly have no clue why Amtrak didn’t use their own power often on the Clocker. Sometimes an E60 was provided, but it was mainly a NJT ALP-46. The Clocker was discontinued around 2005.
The Lake Country Limited should've made the list. The Lake Country Limited was very short, running from April 200 to September 2001. The Lake Country Limited ran over the same route as the current Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha, but it split onto Wisconsin Southern Railroad (WSOR) trackage at Fox Lake. The WSOR trackage was in poor condition, leaving the speed limit only 30mph. The train was part of Amtrak's Network Growth Stragety, in which it expanded a roll with mail and express business. It would've exchanged goods with Skyline Connection, but it ended before it started.
Very true, I considered that for the list, and could've shared the Kentucky Cardinal's spot on the list due to the same operational issues it had being mostly run to handle Mail and Express.
MattProtrains The track was owned by the shortline railroad Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, which mostly has SD40-2s. So that was half. It should've shared it with the Three Rivers, because it was mostly made to interchange with, as I said in the comment, the Skyline Connection, which was supposed to replace the Three Rivers. It's still being planned, and might begin soon.
The train split for the Hiawatha/Empire Builder at Roundout and run along the Metra MD-W until its Fox Lake terminus while it continued to Wisconsin with a "Lake Geneva" stop in Zenda WI, a few miles south from Lake Geneva. So it couldn't be a reliable tourist train. Like the Cape codder.
I wish they brought the National Limited route back, I want to take the train to NYC but live in Kansas City. The International Limited also seems like a good idea to bring back
I used to ride Amtrak Metroliner service out of Paoli, PA to Washington DC only (around late 80s or very early 90s). It didn't last long but it definitely existed.
This was great and I would like to see more. It is ironic that it took me a year to find out about it. However not only is the Lone Star Texas Chief missing but so is the Champion that went from New York to St. Petersburg Florida and was also discontinued in October 1979 but you also left out the National Limited that went from Kansas CIty Missouri to New York CIty via St Louis,Indianapolis, Columbus,PIttsburgh,Harrisburg and Philadelphia and was also was part of the October 1979 Amtrak Massacre when Amtrak had lost 6 major train routes thank to the JImmy Carter adminstration cutting Amtrak routes by 15%. The Hilltopper was also discontinued on Oct 1st 1971 which ran from Catlettsburg Kentucky to Boston Massachusetts and before that the Mountaineer ran from Chicago to Norfolk Virginia from 1975 until 1977.
Nick Morris The Texas Chief/Lone Star should have never been discontinued . It's ridership numbers were better than the Texas Eagle, it's time from Chicago to Fort Worth was faster than that of the Texas Eagle.The only reason The Texas Eagle was save was because Amtrak liked the fact that the train stopped in St. Louis. The Texas Eagle should have been discontinued and this coming from some one who lives in St. Louis.
I ride the Texas Eagle between San Antonio & Dallas in the through coach from Los Angeles on he Sunset Limited to Dallas to visit there & back to San Antonio on the Texas Eagle. The majority of the Texas Eagles riders are on the Chicago & St. Louis and the Dallas & San Antonio segments of the Texas Eagle route. I rode on the Texas Eagle 5 times. I travel long distance by Amtrak & when I'm home in the Civilized San Diego area on visits for up to a week away from the damned Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,1870's,Sh@thole,Loser City Tucson metro area which is the very worst Metropolitian area that I Have lived & worked in in my entire life. The very best Metropolitian area that I have lived & worked in is the Civilized San Diego area which I can't afford to lived in which is not my fault, it's the damned Clinton base closures is why I wound up the the damned Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,1870's,Sh@thole,Loser City Tucson Metropolitian area. Next year I'm leaving it for good after I sell everything I don't need & don't want & will lived 8,500 miles from there.
larry Wilson I Live in Kansas City and mist drive 8 hours to Fort Worth every Thanksgiving, relative birthday, summer, and all sorts of other things often. I would never drive again.
There were a number of trains out of Boston back in the 90's when I worked as a LSA, they all now fall under the Northeast Direct heading..Here are a few I can remember. The Baystater , The Senator, The Commonwealth, Bankers, Colonial, and more..Here is a list :en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amtrak_routes#Northeast_Corridor
I like the video however there were several other trains and and train names that weren't mentioned. One of them was the Chief. The Chief which was run during the summer of 1972 on approximately the same schedule as the old Sante Fe Chief which was discontinued on May 15th 1968. Another Train that was discontinued was the Champion which Amtrak had run from New York City to Tampa. It was one of several trains that were discontinued on October 30th 1979 which included the North Coast Hiawatha, the National Limited, the Floridian, the Lone Star and the Hilltopper.
It is interesting that the photos at the beginning and end of each segment are of the Turboliners that were owned by New York State and run by Amtrak in a subsidized service. These trains could hit 120 mph on parts of the route and shortened the travel time by as much as an hour from New York City to Buffalo. But they were plagued with problems and finally retired. For a time, Amtrak ran conventional equipment at nearly the same speeds. But with the breakup of Conrail and sale of the Conrail track to CSX, the number of trains was reduced and service was slowed. There are still four trains per day starting at New York City, Penn Station. Two trains per day run to Niagara Falls (Empire Service), one to Toronto (The Maple Leaf, jointly operated by Via Rail Canada) and one to Chicago (the Lakeshore Limited). Additional trains run between New York City only to Albany, NY (the state capital) and one per day continues through the Adirondacks to Montreal, P.Q.
Fun fact: the Amtrak's version of SNCF's CC 21000 is known as Broken Nose or Nez Cassés in French. According to the designer Paul Arzens this form was inspired by the position of the "sprinter in its starting block" and evokes the speed.
Well the story from what I know is that the train was contracted between both Amtrak and VIA, VIA provided the motive power, and Amtrak had the passenger cars. The train was equipped with Superliners during the late 90s, then back to single level equipment until the end of the service, but Superliners did appear here and there. Also the VIA units were eventually replaced by AMTK power by 1999.
The Calumet ran between Chicago and Valparaiso IN until 1990. The River Cities ran between Kansas City and Centralia IL when it connected with the City of New Orleans.
Willis it was a sad shame that the Dallas to Houston segment of the Texas Eagle was discontinued, that is a gap that needs to be filled which is will once the Texas Central railway high speed passenger train line is all built & running the High speed trains between Dallas & Houston. Where I live at in the damned Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,Sh@thole,1870's,Loser City Tucson metro area there was only talk of getting passenger train service between Ugly,Fake,Phoney,Plastic,Smog City Phoenix & Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,Sh@thole,Loser City Tucson, the route is already approved ng that is as far it will go in anti passenger train Arizona which has the nation. Very worst roads & very worst drivers are. Tailgating & pothole dodging are sports & sports events in the Tucson area. I plan on leavign the damned Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,Sh@thole,Loser City Tucson metro area for good and will live 8,500 miles from that damned place.
I figured the Metroliner would be #1. I was fortunate enough to ride it once during a trip out East in the summer of 1993, and thanks to some info I got off Internet listservs, was able to ride on an X2000 trainset from NYC to Philadelphia .
I would have made the National Limited #1. Not mentioned also the Shenandoah, the International, the Fort Pitt, the Clockers, and of course the Panama limited.
No the Maple Leaf runs from New York to Toronto ane the Adirondack runs New York to Montreal. Speaking of which, they should have the Vermonter extended back to Montreal.
Matt thanks for the list. I've would've thought the Colonial was going to be on the list, but your opinion is your opinion. P.S. The Colonial is now know as The Northeast Regional 188 pulled by Amtrak ACS-64 601.
And, don't forget the Anne Rutledge and State House between Chicago and St. Louis which have all been replaced with the boring, milquetoast Lincoln Service. There were also extensions to those Illinois routes, including The Prairie Marksman (probably left out b/c the name offends someone) which ran from Chicago to Peoria, via the TP&W and the City of Decatur which ran on the IC Mainline out of Chicago, then over the N&W to Decatur. Also there was the Black Hawk service between Chicago and Dubuque that ran in the 70's.
That fine if you think that Amtrak didn't run from LA to Jacksonville. Of course Hurricane Katrina had a little bit to do with the trains not coming across, despite the fact that CSX replaced all of the track that had been torn up, they never came back across. Recently, however they have been holding hearings about restarting it and stopping in places that it never had stopped. This has yet to develop any further those cities involved are New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, Tallahassee and lastly Jacksonville. All of these lost out when Amtrak discontinued the route.
+Hugh Gautier The only issue with that is the Sunset Limited still runs New Orleans to Los Angeles. Yes I know full well of a train running from LA to Florida, but unfortunately it doesn't fit the criteria seeing the name Sunset Limited is still in use.
Thought about that, I just went for names that had big presences or some historic connection. I remember Northeast Direct when I was young, the logos on the Amfleets, that though was in the twilight of it's time since the Acela brand was starting to invade the Northeast.
Only reason is Sunset Limited still runs. The criteria in this was names that run under Amtrak currently. Yes there's no service between New Orleans and Orlando, but since it still runs the western part of the route, it doesn't fall into the criteria.
Another gone train..... the Niagara Rainbow, which existed in two incarnations in the Amtrak era. Version 1 ran from 1974 to 1979, essentially combining a Wolverine with an Empire route, and running in southern Ontario between. At one point they sealed most of the train at the border so those going from New York to Michigan (or vice versa) didn't have to worry about customs and immigration. It was a victim of the 1979 cuts. Parts of the trackage have since been removed. Version 2 was an experiment in the early 90's, which was an overnight train between New York and Toronto, ran on weekends, and at the border it would join up with a VIA Rail train (at the time known as the General Brock, now known as "non-existent", as only the Maple Leaf runs between Toronto and Niagara, except for GO trains in the summer)
Here's one you missed, however it is being brought back.The Sunset Limited1894-2004(2004 as in suspension from New Orleans to Miami, this isn't really a service that was delayed,however,I don't know if it runs to Miami now,however,it is still cancelled.)
Nice try...the cars are still in service, the service name is gone. Most of them run on the Keystone and Springfield shuttles, but no, the service died out a decade ago.
Personally, I don't miss the name "San Diegan" because the "Pacific Surfliner" is faster, more frequent, and more comfortable than the ex-ATSF streamliner.
Hi Matt, great video. I have two questions and would be honored if you answered them. 1st Why are the Americans unable to build fast trains which go faster than 180mph? Your country is so big, you have some of the straightest routes in the world. 2nd Why didn't Amtrak favor the ICE in particular and why didn't they try the french TGV (which is the best and I am german) or cooperate with the Japanese to get their know-how? It makes no sense to me ^^ Germany is exporting their train knowledge to China now a few years later they build their own good trains in joint ventures with Bombardier for an example...
Rail service in Europe runs through densely populated areas which makes ridership high and covers most or all of the cost. In the U.S., the long straight routes often run through sparsely populated areas where ridership is low and does not cover the cost. Our Congress does not want to subsidize rail service. The one profitable route is the Northeast Corridor connecting Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and smaller cities in between. This is the only route that has even moderately high speed service (Acela) but parts are not very straight and rerouting them would be very costly and difficult.
J Stephens answered part of it, but the other key issue is more than half of Amtrak's routes run on trackage owned by freight railroads who often times hold Amtrak to allow a high-priority and high paying freight to run on time. Certain state owned services have started to gain small traction for more efficient service, but not for high speed, but for instance, 4 years ago Amtrak obtained control over the northernmost portion of the Empire Corridor to Albany, and Amtrak along with the Michigan Department of Transportation have acquired a majority of the Wolverine service that runs from Chicago to Detroit and have been upgrading the tracks to serve speeds of 110 MPH. It's unfortunate because it's not just having trains to go faster, but there should be more trains at least serving the US. Then when you have those services, people should ask can we have more of them and can they go faster...problem though is that it takes a long period to make it happen if it ever does. Take the Boston to Maine Downeaster, took them 12 years to get service of 114 miles from Boston to Portland up and the running after an absence of nearly 40 years.
Ironically The Downeaster turns a profit for Amtrak and has been very successful. We also shouldn't leave out the fact that gasoline has always been relatively cheap in the US which feeds our tendencies to drive instead of use mass transit options. That is slowly changing and Amtrak ridership is at all time highs.
![Engines of Amtrak - Budd Metroliner [REMAKE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lXs8uaeQNRM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Engines of Amtrak - Turboliner [REMAKE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kl_zerDgLuY/mqdefault.jpg)
Fun fact! The AEM-7 locomotives became known as "Toasters" because of their shape.
The Salt City Express Syracuse to NY GCT--Very convenient morning departure time around 7:45AM--Great for making a connection with the Adirondack to Montreal and avoiding that pesty 7AM departure of that regional. We all miss the name "Empire State Express". It was a nice train that with a little newer equipment and business class seating would have kept this famous name going. The Wolverine was a good train and went NY GCT to Chicago via Detroit. It was well patronized but seemed to always have a lot of trash in the coaches. A Good and convenient schedule and I believe it went through Canada and could not make stops so the travel time was very good.
0:53 via F40ph be like:
Hey I don't work for Amtrak.
Amtrak Used F40PH-2 Via Rail To Borrow It Or They Use An Eqquiment.
Matt. You have a superb speaking voice. Really easy to listen to. Thanks for making these.
Well Thank you, I appreciate that, and soon down the road, I'll be making another list, once I get a new microphone.
Fantastic and fascinating list. Very well put together. I was thinking the Ann Ruttlage would have been mentioned, but no matter.
I thank everyone for their comments and I wish I could've included more names. Just to remind that this three part video and the list was through a personal opinion from myself. Thanks for all the support and comments again.
I can't seem to find any reliable videos or photos of the 1972 Amtrak Potomac Special (Washington - Parkersburg). I know that this particular service was only around for a brief moment. But I would like to know what this train looks like. Can you, or someone you know, provided info on a video or photo featuring this train's consist?
Another discounted train was the hoiser state runner from Chicago to Indianapolis and was discounted on June 30 2019
how much off?
I have an honorable mention: The Lone Star. It was a train that ran from Chicago, IL to Houston, TX via Kansas City, MO, Wichita, KS, Oklahoma City, OK and Fort Worth, TX with a section splitting off in Fort Worth, TX that went to Dallas, TX. It was originally named the Texas Chief which was a train that was run by the Santa Fe beginning in 1948. In 1971 the train was spun off to Amtrak. In 1973 Amtrak proposed rerouting the train as a through Dallas, TX train over the Southern Pacific between Dallas, TX and Houston, TX however this failed after SP opposed the plan and by 1974 the Santa Fe felt that the train no longer met their passenger train standards so they banned Amtrak from using the Chief name as a result Amtrak renamed it the Lone Star. The train continued to operate until the train made it’s last run on October 8, 1979 due to budget cuts leaving Oklahoma with no train service until 1999 when Amtrak restored service with the Fort Worth, TX to Oklahoma City, TX Heartland Flyer service and are proposing to extend the service to Newton, KS.
The North Star ran for years between St. Paul/Minneapolis and Duluth. It ran overnight to Chicago for a few years. It had a beautiful route through some pretty parts of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. It was hampered by the condition of the bridge between Superior, WI and Duluth, MN, taking 30 minutes to travel just a few miles as a result.
Here is the Wikipedia summary of the old North Star:
>>The North Star was introduced in the spring of 1978, when Amtrak moved Twin Cities operations from the Great Northern Depot in Minneapolis to Midway station in Saint Paul and combined the previous Chicago-Minneapolis Twin Cities Hiawatha and the Minneapolis-Duluth Arrowhead services into one train. Where the Arrowhead's route was 148 miles (238 km) long, the North Star was a 573-mile (922 km) sleeper originating in Chicago at 10:30 PM in the initial schedule. It took 8 hours 45 minutes to reach Saint Paul, where there was a 35-minute layover. It then took another 3:45 to reach Duluth for an overall schedule of just over 13 hours from Chicago.
Three other trains shared parts of the North Star route: the quad-weekly Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, via the Milwaukee Road to St. Paul and the former Great Northern beyond; the thrice-weekly North Coast Hiawatha, also from Chicago to Portland and Seattle, on the Milwaukee to St. Paul and the former Northern Pacific beyond; and the daily Turboliner between Chicago and Milwaukee. The Empire Builder became a daily train again in 1979 when the North Coast Hiawatha was eliminated.
There were perennial budget battles involving the North Star. In October 1981 cost-cutting measures forced the service to be converted to a Twin Cities-Duluth local, which left the daily Empire Builder as the only Chicago-Twin Cities connection. No effort was made to link the schedules of the two trains. At this time, the schedule was 3 hours 35 minutes from Saint Paul to Duluth. It briefly stopped service in September 1982 when Amtrak requested $27,000 (equivalent to $67,007 in 2016) in funding to keep it operating as a weekend and peak period train. Duluth businessman Jeno Paulucci offered a $25,000 (equivalent to $62,043 in 2016) donation, with the rest intended to be covered from some other source. U.S. Senator David Durenberger (R-MN) also requested that Amtrak run a financial audit, which uncovered an extra $100,000 (equivalent to $248,172 in 2016) in available funds.
By the end of service in 1985, the North Star no longer served Superior and made intermediate stops only in Cambridge and Sandstone. State funding ran out in March 1985, and the train made its final run on April 7 of that year.[
Yes! One of the more interesting trains neglected from this list. The Metroliner name may have gone away, but the premium service it offered still exists, for the most part. It was a very poor choice for #1. The author's bias certainly shows.
The Bay State. Washington to Boston via the inland route through Springfield.
I have made up 7 Amtrak routes.
Tailslandian River Runner: Boston/Springfield/Greenfield - Larson/Fort Myers
Grand Strand: Boston/Springfield/Greenfield - Myrtle Beach
Winchester Star: Station stops may vary - Winchester
Coloradoan: Denver - Colorado Springs
Smoky Mountain and Appalachian: New Haven - Nashville
South Park Express and Spirit: Nashville - South Park
Update from Angela: Winchester Star is now operating from Jacksonville to Winchester. The South Park Express and Spirit will still continue if I watch South Park videos. The Mountain Prairie also ran from New Haven to Nashville. The Tailslandian River Runner has an additional terminus called Ocala. The Mockingbird runs from Boston to Starlight City, not Miami, because the Windy City runs from Chicago to Miami via Chaseville and Atlanta. The Widower runs from Doncaster to Dublin in Virginia ONLY. The Black Widow runs from Roanoke to Harrisburg. The Black Widow Train numbers are 554 and 555. It consists of a baggage car, 2 sleepers, a dining car, a cafe car, and 4 coaches. It has 2 engines to pull it and prove it.
Update: The South Park Spirit and Express have disappeared from the timetables. The Tailslandian River Runner does not go north of New York nor does the Mockingbird. The Smoky Mountain, Appalachian, and Mountain Prairie now terminates in Hartford.
What’s the song for number 1
I loved all the videos and the good commentary
7 years later, I'm here to bring up The Potomac haha
Testimony to the significance of "Metroliner" is that non-railfans are more likely to use the phrase "Metroliner Corridor" than "NEC." Now that same non-railfans say "Acela Corridor," but that's due to the success of Metroliner, which helped save passenger rail in the USA.
Silver Comet. I used to take that in HS to visit my grandma in Virginia. I don't know where it originated - NY I think - and it went all the way to Miami.
When I had lived in Newark, Delaware from 6/21/1969 to 6/27/1972 the day I went active duty in the U.S.Navy I would many times see the Penn Central Metroliners which became Amtrak Metroliners on May 1,1971, I would also see many other Penn Cnetral later Amtrak trains as well as the Penn Central freights, the Penn Central commuter later SEPTA/DART commuter trains on the Northeast Corridor which was & is still a great rail fanning watching spot.
The River Cities that ran from Kansas City to New Orleans was my favorite. You can do some of it now but with a bus bridge.
I loved the Desert Wind and rode it from Chicago to Vegas. Multiple trains were run as one from Chicago to Denver. Then you had to get off while they broke the train up into various segments that went different directions. When you hit Salt Lake City you were allowed to stay on the train as broke off the last part and then all you had left was the Desert Wind. That train was always sold out and I never understood why they would cancel the service. Also, the Hiawatha name is still used on trains from Chicago to Milwaukee.
I took the National Limited in the '70s from Indianapolis to La Junta, Colorado. It was a beautiful Missouri River trip.
When I rode it from NYC to St. Louis in 1976, it terminated in KC.
Who else recognized a lot of these songs from other things. Some of them I have heard in the Trains DVD's and the song at the end was in Railroad Tycoon. Just watched all 3 of these videos and loved them all.
Amtrak discontinued The North Star in 1985, St. Paul, MN to Duluth, MN
Did you cover the Broadway Limited? That was the only LD train I’ve ever taken, in 1987.
That's mentioned in the previous part.
Blackhawk Dubuque-Chicago 1981
One that very few know about was the Amtrak “Blackhawk”. A Chicago IL to Dubuque IA train making a stop in Rockford IL. Running from 1974 to 1981 over mostly Illinois Central Trackage, now the Canadian National Freeport Subdivision. It was a beautiful final/first hour of the ride going through NorthWestern Illinois. There was a confirmed plan in place to reopen the route, but for the first half between Chicago and Rockford would run first over the Canadian Pacific Elgin Subdivision from Chicago to the large suburb of Elgin Illinois. From there it would get on the Union Pacific Belvidere Sub, making stops in the growing suburb(and my hometown) Huntley IL. The line’s namesake town of Belvidere(home too the Chrysler and Fiat Assembly plant and the line’s main source of revenue) and Rockford. Before then taking the CN to Dubuque. Though the plan was put on hold in 2015, but with the election of Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2019, there are plans to continue with reviving the route. I personally hope so. I’d love to see my home town get Amtrak!(And as I railfan I’d love to have a consistent train schedule, most Union Pacific Trains come at random times!)
As a Northwest Railfan, I have to say the Pioneer is my favorite discontinued Amtrak route.
Amtrak discontinued the “Shawnee” (which ran from Chicago to Carbondale) on June 2, 1986.
Been replaced by two other trains.
Now it’s Illini and Saluki.
I noticed one of the timetables there was a train called the "Skyline Connection" that ran the same route as the "Three Rivers" - but then I recently came to find out it was never actually implemented - that's probably why you've never heard of it
I’m very surprised these 3 videos, and not too many people in the comment section mentioned the Clocker. The Clocker was a commuter style service running between Philadelphia-New York. It mainly consisted of Amfleets and an NJT ALP-46. I honestly have no clue why Amtrak didn’t use their own power often on the Clocker. Sometimes an E60 was provided, but it was mainly a NJT ALP-46. The Clocker was discontinued around 2005.
The Lake Country Limited should've made the list. The Lake Country Limited was very short, running from April 200 to September 2001. The Lake Country Limited ran over the same route as the current Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha, but it split onto Wisconsin Southern Railroad (WSOR) trackage at Fox Lake. The WSOR trackage was in poor condition, leaving the speed limit only 30mph. The train was part of Amtrak's Network Growth Stragety, in which it expanded a roll with mail and express business. It would've exchanged goods with Skyline Connection, but it ended before it started.
Very true, I considered that for the list, and could've shared the Kentucky Cardinal's spot on the list due to the same operational issues it had being mostly run to handle Mail and Express.
MattProtrains
The track was owned by the shortline railroad Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, which mostly has SD40-2s. So that was half. It should've shared it with the Three Rivers, because it was mostly made to interchange with, as I said in the comment, the Skyline Connection, which was supposed to replace the Three Rivers. It's still being planned, and might begin soon.
The train split for the Hiawatha/Empire Builder at Roundout and run along the Metra MD-W until its Fox Lake terminus while it continued to Wisconsin with a "Lake Geneva" stop in Zenda WI, a few miles south from Lake Geneva. So it couldn't be a reliable tourist train. Like the Cape codder.
I wish they brought the National Limited route back, I want to take the train to NYC but live in Kansas City. The International Limited also seems like a good idea to bring back
I used to ride Amtrak Metroliner service out of Paoli, PA to Washington DC only (around late 80s or very early 90s). It didn't last long but it definitely existed.
This was great and I would like to see more. It is ironic that it took me a year to find out about it. However not only is the Lone Star Texas Chief missing but so is the Champion that went from New York to St. Petersburg Florida and was also discontinued in October 1979 but you also left out the National Limited that went from Kansas CIty Missouri to New York CIty via St Louis,Indianapolis, Columbus,PIttsburgh,Harrisburg and Philadelphia and was also was part of the October 1979 Amtrak Massacre when Amtrak had lost 6 major train routes thank to the JImmy Carter adminstration cutting Amtrak routes by 15%. The Hilltopper was also discontinued on Oct 1st 1971 which ran from Catlettsburg Kentucky to Boston Massachusetts and before that the Mountaineer ran from Chicago to Norfolk Virginia from 1975 until 1977.
I can't believe the Texas Chief/Lone Star wasn't mentioned.
larry Wilson yeah, but the Texas eagle is in place now
Nick Morris The Texas Chief/Lone Star should have never been discontinued . It's ridership numbers were better than the Texas Eagle, it's time from Chicago to Fort Worth was faster than that of the Texas Eagle.The only reason The Texas Eagle was save was because Amtrak liked the fact that the train stopped in St. Louis. The Texas Eagle should have been discontinued and this coming from some one who lives in St. Louis.
larry Wilson I see
I ride the Texas Eagle between San Antonio & Dallas in the through coach from Los Angeles on he Sunset Limited to Dallas to visit there & back to San Antonio on the Texas Eagle. The majority of the Texas Eagles riders are on the Chicago & St. Louis and the Dallas & San Antonio segments of the Texas Eagle route. I rode on the Texas Eagle 5 times. I travel long distance by Amtrak & when I'm home in the Civilized San Diego area on visits for up to a week away from the damned Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,1870's,Sh@thole,Loser City Tucson metro area which is the very worst Metropolitian area that I Have lived & worked in in my entire life. The very best Metropolitian area that I have lived & worked in is the Civilized San Diego area which I can't afford to lived in which is not my fault, it's the damned Clinton base closures is why I wound up the the damned Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,1870's,Sh@thole,Loser City Tucson Metropolitian area. Next year I'm leaving it for good after I sell everything I don't need & don't want & will lived 8,500 miles from there.
larry Wilson I Live in Kansas City and mist drive 8 hours to Fort Worth every Thanksgiving, relative birthday, summer, and all sorts of other things often. I would never drive again.
What Was the song used on the Metroliner section?
*End of the section.
Above and Beyond, Hope and Tri-State.
The lake county limited ran from Chicago to Janesville, Wisconsin
Colonial 93 and 94 from Newport News VA to Boston. 1976 to 1992. Potomac 1985 to 1988. Chase MD happened on the Colonial.
There were a number of trains out of Boston back in the 90's when I worked as a LSA, they all now fall under the Northeast Direct heading..Here are a few I can remember. The Baystater , The Senator, The Commonwealth, Bankers, Colonial, and more..Here is a list :en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amtrak_routes#Northeast_Corridor
Yes, most all the Corridor trains had names at one time. Since the services still exist, they aren't worth mentioning here. A shame for sure.
I like the video however there were several other trains and and train names that weren't mentioned. One of them was the Chief. The Chief which was run during the summer of 1972 on approximately the same schedule as the old Sante Fe Chief which was discontinued on May 15th 1968. Another Train that was discontinued was the Champion which Amtrak had run from New York City to Tampa. It was one of several trains that were discontinued on October 30th 1979 which included the North Coast Hiawatha, the National Limited, the Floridian, the Lone Star and the Hilltopper.
Love your content! Subscribed! :)
Man. Its a shame for the Metroliner. Soon enough the AEM-7s are going to go soon. probably by this year :(. I hope the ACS-64 Has a good life tho :)
You were right about that. Sadly the last AEM was ran 6/18/16 and all have been decommissioned.
Septa is still going strong right now with there AEM-7's. and they even have a ALP-44 Running.
Oh, I didn't know Septa used AEM7's either. Cool though
Still?
Mike Barnes MARC also used AEM-7's and HHP-8's.
It is interesting that the photos at the beginning and end of each segment are of the Turboliners that were owned by New York State and run by Amtrak in a subsidized service. These trains could hit 120 mph on parts of the route and shortened the travel time by as much as an hour from New York City to Buffalo. But they were plagued with problems and finally retired. For a time, Amtrak ran conventional equipment at nearly the same speeds. But with the breakup of Conrail and sale of the Conrail track to CSX, the number of trains was reduced and service was slowed. There are still four trains per day starting at New York City, Penn Station. Two trains per day run to Niagara Falls (Empire Service), one to Toronto (The Maple Leaf, jointly operated by Via Rail Canada) and one to Chicago (the Lakeshore Limited). Additional trains run between New York City only to Albany, NY (the state capital) and one per day continues through the Adirondacks to Montreal, P.Q.
Fun fact: the Amtrak's version of SNCF's CC 21000 is known as Broken Nose or Nez Cassés in French. According to the designer Paul Arzens this form was inspired by the position of the "sprinter in its starting block" and evokes the speed.
0:51 wait! Why is there an F40 as the VIA rail? Wrong train pulling the superliner cars
Well the story from what I know is that the train was contracted between both Amtrak and VIA, VIA provided the motive power, and Amtrak had the passenger cars. The train was equipped with Superliners during the late 90s, then back to single level equipment until the end of the service, but Superliners did appear here and there. Also the VIA units were eventually replaced by AMTK power by 1999.
The Calumet ran between Chicago and Valparaiso IN until 1990.
The River Cities ran between Kansas City and Centralia IL when it connected with the City of New Orleans.
Skyline Connection that ran from Philadelphia to Chicago? Although I think that train ran for a very short time (in the early 2000s)
+PeterLydenIV Never heard of that, I know for a brief time the Three Rivers mostly in it's young years originated out of Philadelphia.
+PeterLydenIV It was a train that ran from New York to Chicago, and goods would've been traded with the Lake Country Limited.
911 Sept 11Guy 80 176
What'd I do?
Also The Lake Cities that ran between Toledo and Chicago, via Detroit
I rode the Lake Cities when it was between Pontiac and Chicago in 2003 just shortly before it was re branded under the Wolverine Service.
The AEM's and now ACS-64's are nicknamed "Toasters" because of their designs.
What about the section of the Texas Eagle that ran to Houston?
That was known as the Lone Star
Willis it was a sad shame that the Dallas to Houston segment of the Texas Eagle was discontinued, that is a gap that needs to be filled which is will once the Texas Central railway high speed passenger train line is all built & running the High speed trains between Dallas & Houston. Where I live at in the damned Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,Sh@thole,1870's,Loser City Tucson metro area there was only talk of getting passenger train service between Ugly,Fake,Phoney,Plastic,Smog City Phoenix & Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,Sh@thole,Loser City Tucson, the route is already approved ng that is as far it will go in anti passenger train Arizona which has the nation. Very worst roads & very worst drivers are. Tailgating & pothole dodging are sports & sports events in the Tucson area. I plan on leavign the damned Ugly,Backward,Barbarian,Sh@thole,Loser City Tucson metro area for good and will live 8,500 miles from that damned place.
excellent.
Nice list, here's a few more: Lone Star Chi-Houston Champion NYC/Was-Florida Inter-American Chi-Laredo ( San Antonio-Laredo discontinued) Today's Texas Eagle technically.Black Hawk Chi-DubuquePrairie Marksman Chi-PeoriaNorth Star Chi-Duluth Arrowhead Min-Superior/Duluth
Don't forget the Red Wind that ran between Minneapolis & Duluth in the mid 1970's
for Amtrak.
I thought the Prairie Marksman went from Davenport to Champaign Via Peoria and Bloomington
Now we need the top 10 Amtrak train names. (Knows what # 1 should be!)
I figured the Metroliner would be #1. I was fortunate enough to ride it once during a trip out East in the summer of 1993, and thanks to some info I got off Internet listservs, was able to ride on an X2000 trainset from NYC to Philadelphia .
This was like war between the Acela and the metroliner btw 3:52 the driver waves his hand
How do you get the game
The Metroliner really deserved #1 spot
Did you get the 20th century limited?
I would have made the National Limited #1. Not mentioned also the Shenandoah, the International, the Fort Pitt, the Clockers, and of course the Panama limited.
Does the Heartland Flyer still operate??
Yes. Look at a timetable. Google is your friend.
Wasn't there an Adirondak service that was New York to Toronto thatwas replaced by the Maple Leaf?
No the Maple Leaf runs from New York to Toronto ane the Adirondack runs New York to Montreal. Speaking of which, they should have the Vermonter extended back to Montreal.
Matt thanks for the list. I've would've thought the Colonial was going to be on the list, but your opinion is your opinion. P.S. The Colonial is now know as The Northeast Regional 188 pulled by Amtrak ACS-64 601.
No mention of the Shenandoah?
There was the Prairie Marksman that was discontinued in 1979
What about the Super Chief (Now the Southwest Chief?
Stephen Hinkle when Amtrak took it over it was called southwest limited then later renamed to Southwest chief
The Mule that ran between Chicago/St Louis and Kansas City. Now replaced by Stl to KC via Missouri River Runner service
And, don't forget the Anne Rutledge and State House between Chicago and St. Louis which have all been replaced with the boring, milquetoast Lincoln Service. There were also extensions to those Illinois routes, including The Prairie Marksman (probably left out b/c the name offends someone) which ran from Chicago to Peoria, via the TP&W and the City of Decatur which ran on the IC Mainline out of Chicago, then over the N&W to Decatur. Also there was the Black Hawk service between Chicago and Dubuque that ran in the 70's.
By the way love your channel Matt!😀
Amtrak Arrowhead and North-Star MSP-DUL (Minn/St Paul to Duluth)
The Blackhawk from Chicago to Dubuque
Before Amtrak. It went to Waterloo IA
Have you ever heared of the Moutaineer that went through Roanoke VA?
Amtrak blue ridge,,hilltopper, west Virginian which ended up as blue ridge. the George Washington which is now the cardinal
International limited was discontinued in 2004? That was the year I was born!
Oh
That fine if you think that Amtrak didn't run from LA to Jacksonville. Of course Hurricane Katrina had a little bit to do with the trains not coming across, despite the fact that CSX replaced all of the track that had been torn up, they never came back across. Recently, however they have been holding hearings about restarting it and stopping in places that it never had stopped. This has yet to develop any further those cities involved are New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, Tallahassee and lastly Jacksonville. All of these lost out when Amtrak discontinued the route.
+Hugh Gautier The only issue with that is the Sunset Limited still runs New Orleans to Los Angeles. Yes I know full well of a train running from LA to Florida, but unfortunately it doesn't fit the criteria seeing the name Sunset Limited is still in use.
+MattProtrains Well this service is being returned next year so yea ;)
Did Amtrak ever operated the Rock Island Line to Davenport
How about the Northeast Direct, however, excellent collections
Thought about that, I just went for names that had big presences or some historic connection. I remember Northeast Direct when I was young, the logos on the Amfleets, that though was in the twilight of it's time since the Acela brand was starting to invade the Northeast.
The Colonial 1978-1987 stopped by collision. locomotives a total loss after slamming into conrail locomotives. conrail locomotives ignored signals
Alec Martin because of drugs witch is sad because I like conrail
Amtrak needs a Kansas City-Tulsa-Oklahoma City train.
ShinyArceusGames50 the only trains that go to Oklahoma is the heartland flyer I think
With a stop in Joplin
ShinyArc they’ve been trying to expand the heartland flyer to KC for a while now, still hasn’t come through...
I can't believe that the Sunset Limited to Orlando was not on this list
Only reason is Sunset Limited still runs. The criteria in this was names that run under Amtrak currently. Yes there's no service between New Orleans and Orlando, but since it still runs the western part of the route, it doesn't fall into the criteria.
MBX Pictures- Good point
Another gone train..... the Niagara Rainbow, which existed in two incarnations in the Amtrak era. Version 1 ran from 1974 to 1979, essentially combining a Wolverine with an Empire route, and running in southern Ontario between. At one point they sealed most of the train at the border so those going from New York to Michigan (or vice versa) didn't have to worry about customs and immigration. It was a victim of the 1979 cuts. Parts of the trackage have since been removed. Version 2 was an experiment in the early 90's, which was an overnight train between New York and Toronto, ran on weekends, and at the border it would join up with a VIA Rail train (at the time known as the General Brock, now known as "non-existent", as only the Maple Leaf runs between Toronto and Niagara, except for GO trains in the summer)
Here's one you missed, however it is being brought back.The Sunset Limited1894-2004(2004 as in suspension from New Orleans to Miami, this isn't really a service that was delayed,however,I don't know if it runs to Miami now,however,it is still cancelled.)
Unfortunately the name is still used, yes it doesn't run the section from New Orleans to Florida, but it didn't fit the criteria.
MattProtrains Aww... Well I really meant the section to Miami was cancelled.
Waaaaait a minute!
The Metroliner service ISNT REALLY CANCELLED! We've got the carcass still, so their technically still in service right?
Nice try...the cars are still in service, the service name is gone. Most of them run on the Keystone and Springfield shuttles, but no, the service died out a decade ago.
What about the River Cities from Kansas City to New Orleans
the Spirit of California , an overnight train between Los Angeles and Oakland and Sacramento
what about the clamdigger?
You didn't mention the Clocker.
I can say Clocker was going to be considered, but lack of information and pictures led to it not being part of this production.
The Acela Express is 1 year away from being on this list. . . Farewell.
amtrak 515 in the picturer at the beginning
LoL im surprised the Acela Regional isn't on this list. Well it was the shortest lived service.
There was a train that ran to southern Delaware does anyone know what it was called
What about the Champion?
Why did the acela replace it well at least the northeast regional is like the metroliner that's awesome
Personally, I don't miss the name "San Diegan" because the "Pacific Surfliner" is faster, more frequent, and more comfortable than the ex-ATSF streamliner.
No TurboTrain?
i think that the metroliners will be back u u ask the new ace64s
Hi Matt, great video. I have two questions and would be honored if you answered them. 1st Why are the Americans unable to build fast trains which go faster than 180mph? Your country is so big, you have some of the straightest routes in the world. 2nd Why didn't Amtrak favor the ICE in particular and why didn't they try the french TGV (which is the best and I am german) or cooperate with the Japanese to get their know-how? It makes no sense to me ^^ Germany is exporting their train knowledge to China now a few years later they build their own good trains in joint ventures with Bombardier for an example...
Rail service in Europe runs through densely populated areas which makes ridership high and covers most or all of the cost. In the U.S., the long straight routes often run through sparsely populated areas where ridership is low and does not cover the cost. Our Congress does not want to subsidize rail service. The one profitable route is the Northeast Corridor connecting Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and smaller cities in between. This is the only route that has even moderately high speed service (Acela) but parts are not very straight and rerouting them would be very costly and difficult.
J Stephens answered part of it, but the other key issue is more than half of Amtrak's routes run on trackage owned by freight railroads who often times hold Amtrak to allow a high-priority and high paying freight to run on time. Certain state owned services have started to gain small traction for more efficient service, but not for high speed, but for instance, 4 years ago Amtrak obtained control over the northernmost portion of the Empire Corridor to Albany, and Amtrak along with the Michigan Department of Transportation have acquired a majority of the Wolverine service that runs from Chicago to Detroit and have been upgrading the tracks to serve speeds of 110 MPH. It's unfortunate because it's not just having trains to go faster, but there should be more trains at least serving the US. Then when you have those services, people should ask can we have more of them and can they go faster...problem though is that it takes a long period to make it happen if it ever does. Take the Boston to Maine Downeaster, took them 12 years to get service of 114 miles from Boston to Portland up and the running after an absence of nearly 40 years.
Ironically The Downeaster turns a profit for Amtrak and has been very successful. We also shouldn't leave out the fact that gasoline has always been relatively cheap in the US which feeds our tendencies to drive instead of use mass transit options. That is slowly changing and Amtrak ridership is at all time highs.
lake country limited
Forgot the Lake country limited
The Metroliners were converted to cab cars and still run on the Keystone
You forgot the Amtrak Metroliner Zephyr.
+George San Pedro Where did that run? The Metroliner covered was only the one that traversed the NEC.
train 94 and 95 the Colonial was discontinued also.
It still runs.
So does 66 and 67 even though its not called the night owl.
Great videos! The Broadway Limited, though, and not the Metroliner, should have been Number 1, in my opinion.
Any one of the previous choices would have been better than the Metroliner.
I think that the National Limited should've been #1