Nostalgia & History > C&O/B&O and Early Amtrak

Though the rolling stock would suggest otherwise, this is not a Chesapeake & Ohio train, and it's not on C&O rails. The train is Amtrak's then-new West Virginian, train No. 643, loading passengers at the Baltimore and Ohio station at Silver Spring, Md. It is 11:12 a.m., on Saturday, Oct. 23, 1971 and the train, which originated in Washington, is bound for Parkersburg, W.V. Two C&O 1600 series coaches make up the train.

At Amtrak's inception the previous May, this route was not included. But following the strong suggestion of powerful West Virginia Congressman Harley Staggers, the train was soon added to Amtrak's lineup--primarily for the benefit of Rep. Staggers' constituents.

Art House
Gettysburg, Pa.

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Which is why it was nicknamed "Harley's Hornet."

It even rated the UA TurboTrain for a while.  It would be difficult to imagine a less-likely route for the TurboTrain - to this day, America's fastest train, tested at 176 mph through Princeton Jct - but there it was wandering along between Washington and Parkersburg.  I'm sure the dome were a beautiful ride up and down the Potomac River valley.

yeah and how important is W Va. now ... here we are in 2015 with no present day rail service to Parkersburg ...

did the train terminate in Parkersburg ???

There was an article in Trains Mag back then about this train.. The author stated he was the only one sitting down to dinner on the B&O system....

Steve

Out_Of_Service Wrote:
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> yeah and how important is W Va. now ... here we
> are in 2015 with no present day rail service to
> Parkersburg ...
>
> did the train terminate in Parkersburg ???

The train terminated westbound at Parkersburg, and originated there eastbound.  Later the run was extended on an overnight basis to Cincinnati as The Shenandoah, Amtrak trains 32 and 33.   They were discontinued in the early 1980s, and there has been no service to northern West Virgnia (other than the Capitol Limited route via Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg, since.

Art House

During the early 1970s, Amtrak ran the Potomac Special between Washington, DC and Cumberland, MD.  Subsquently, this was replaced by the Blue Ridge which ran between Washington and Martinsburg, WV.

Here's some photos of the train in Febraury, 1973. First photo Oakland, MD Westbound. Snow scene at Swanton, MD. Eastbound.

B&OBill



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/15 07:22 by bandob.

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bridgeportsub Wrote:
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> Train had to terminate at Parkersburg because the
> bridge over the Ohio River was out of service due
> to being struck by runaway barges on the river. It
> proved to be the end of thru rail service between
> Cumberland,Md and Cincinnati,Oh.Also there was
> very little business for the railroad between
> Clarksburg,WV and Parkersburg,WV.
>
> GRS

Sorry to correct you, but Amtrak Train Nos. 32 and 33, The Shenandoah, ran through to Cincy into the early 1980s, replacing the Parkersburg schedules. I rode it often in the 1978-80 timeframe.

Art House

You are right .I stand corrected.

GRS