RAILforum: long distance closures in 1979

This is topic long distance closures in 1979 in forum Amtrak at RAILforum.

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Posted by mr williams (Member # 1928) on :

In a recent thread the "alternative" route to the Empire Builder on the Chicago-MSP-Seattle route was described as "one of 5 long distance routes closed in 1979".
What were the other four?

Posted by Geoff Mayo (Member # 153) on :

The Floridian (Chicago - Miami) is the only other one I know.

The Empire Builder was cut back to thrice weekly in 1979. Luckily traffic has since picked up!
http://www.trainweb.com/cgi-bin/top/tw_do.cgi?routes/retired.html has a list of discontinued routes but few dates.

Geoff M.

Posted by MOKSRail (Member # 3163) on :

That was known as the Carter Bloodbath when, no matter the patronage, some successful trains were gutted to save the federal government some money.

The Trains-
1) LONE STAR - CHI-OKC-FTW-HOU
2) FLORIDIAN - CHI-NSH-BIRMINGHAM-FL
3) N. COAST HIAWATHA
4) NATIONAL LDT - NYC-PGH-IND-STL-KC

A couple others on the E Coast were also gutted.

The plan made no sense. The Lone Star, for example, was the 7th most ridden LD at the time. It had many more riders than the Eagle, then called the Inter-American.

Interestingly, the weak Inter-American, after it finally went daily, its ridership soared.
Imagine how the other routes' ridership would have grown too and the entire Amtrak system would have been healthier for the business, expanded customer base and expanded political support, had they been allowed to continue.

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Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :

There were several significant schedule modifications to Eastern Amtrak service in October 1979. I'd guess that the '5th' train lost would have been the 'Hilltopper', which was discontinued outright.

The 'Hilltopper' was a truncated and rerouted remnant of Amtrak's failed Chicago-Norfolk 'Mountaineer'. It originated in Washington, DC (but was teamed with the Night Owl with through cars to/from Boston for a time) with a morning departure, operated south to Richmond and Petersburg where it left SCL rails and entered N&W to travel westward through Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Bluefield. The train terminated after midnight in Catlettsburg, KY where passengers could continue westbound on the Cardinal after a 6 or 7 hour layover. By the end the 'Hilltopper' was mostly a two car train....an amfleet I coach and an amcafe.

During the same round of cuts the 'Cardinal' (which had operated daily BUT overnight through WV at that time) was also discontinued. The Cardinal returned several months later in early 1980 as a tri-weekly train following heavy lobbying by WV legislators.

Finally, the 'Shenandoah' which operated Washington-Cincinnati on the old B&O route through Cumberland and Parkersburg, WV was discontinued. Amtrak's 'Capitol Limited' now maintains service on this route east of Cumberland, MD.

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David Pressley

[This message has been edited by notelvis (edited 06-04-2004).]