Passenger Trains > Promises Made Promises (not) Kept

Some may think this is nostalgia but it is still with us.

1. From the back cover of the November 1, 1971 Nationwide Schedules

"Eat a little better. Right now we're concerned with making sure that you get a real good dinner every time
you enter our dining car."

"You can't run a good railroad without good railroad cars."



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/25 14:12 by Englewood.

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Welcome to Amtrak 

"So please be patient.  It's going to take some time."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/25 14:08 by Englewood.

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The Amtrak Era
Brochure of May 19, 1974

"Turbo powered trains, capable of speeds up to 125 mile an hour, cover the tracks between Chicago and St. Louis.."

 

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For people who'd rather sleep lying down.
March, 1976

"The lounge car is a pleasant gathering place"
Just for crew members ?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/25 15:08 by Englewood.

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Let Us Tell You About

April, 1976

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Let Us Tell You (contd).

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Train of the future

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Those were the days........And that's when there was just so much more positivist and determination to try and "make a go at it" despite all the odds - more so then than now. 

Thanks for posting this journey down memory lane. I wish we could get back to that level of stamina and even operational success with capacity and new rail cars - that work and can be placed into service upon delivery!

Thanks for posting those!  I was a bit young when Amtrak was formed (I had no idea), and I remember ads from the late 70s, but not much before.  I do have a vague memory of riding from Columbus, Ohio to Dayton when I was pretty young.  All I remember is that the train was a bit late, the air conditioning our coach did not work (it was in the upper 90s that day), but we got to Dayton before 11 am, so it was not terrible.  The end doors of the cars were left open.

And...I had a dougnut and juice in the cafe/diner, whatever it was.

So, actually, it IS better now than it was then, but not enough better!

The 70's look like a golden era by comparison with now.  They actually did marketing and selling and even short haul trains had good food available.  The last decade or two is like a company that is exhausted and has just given up.  The pity is that a more customer focused company, with things like comfortable seating, good food that was available, baggage handling at most stops etc would find a ready market at least for shorter distance trips with a public fed up with cramped seating on planes, paying $50 or so per bag each way when flying, another fee to have a seat assignment etc.  But they simply do not care and have no understanding of what most travelers want or would pay for.  It is akin to nuns talking about sex.

".....top talent from aerospace, airlines........."
Yea, like Roger Lewis. Actually, Lewis was OK.
Secured 25 year contracts with host railroads

Chessie1963 - Glad you rode The National Limited.
"Better now?" No, the 1970's Amtrak was better.
At least then, the promises WERE kept......Well, 
for the first 8 years.

The gaping hole in today's network is Chicago-Florida. But next time I would run it via Cincinnati and Atlanta. Rathole anyone?

So much hope, so much progress, so much promise. I feel the same way whenever I look through old timetables and promotional pieces like these. I particularly remember when the Amfleet I cars and F40s and P30s were starting to run in the Midwest corridors that I traveled, and the Superliners were going into service on the LD routes. The future seemed really bright and promising. Service was good, generally timely and getting better, more reliable with new equipment and a generally good level of operation and cooperation by host railroads. A lot still to be done. But the feeling was definitely positive and forward-looking.

It's hard to comprehend all that happened since. In my book it started with the Jimmy Carter cutbacks. His deep humanity and service so properly celebrated at his funeral could not cover up his rigid, self-righteous and petulant approach to policy. It hurt Amtrak badly at a time when things were getting better and going forward. And it locked in an attitude that Amtrak was superfluous and a pesky inconvenient beggar that always needed to be kept on a tight leash. Just enough, no more, don't bother us - but you always gotta do better and better even if we give you less and demand more. You want a place in a national transportation policy? Seriously? You gotta be kidding.

And so much has been downhill since then.

It's still worthwhile. I'll never join the "just shut it all down - it's failed" chorus - because it hasn't failed. But the inconsistency of the Amtrak experience today stands in such contrast to all of the hope and progress of these promo pieces. Incrementally, it gets better (such as with now-record ridership) and worse (poor reliability, Charger breakdowns and inconsistent service standards) - all at the same time. That's what's so maddening to many of us I think - that there's some progress and promise, but simultaneously big failures. One step forward, two or three back. It's crazy. And no way to run a passenger railroad.

Fingers crossed and prayers said for the success of new board members like Ron Batory to get the whole show back on track and moving forward - consistently - once again in the post-Gardner era. I think Amtrak will survive Trump. But will it fulfill the kind of hope and promise for this era that we see for a previous era in all of the wonderful promo pieces that we see here? - thanks much, "Englewood", for sharing them.

Only time will tell. Let's hope, and work to make it happen. Onward!

MC

You are not wrong, CP.

That was my only ride on the National.  I did manage the Shenandoah from Athens to Cincy a few times before the train went away in 1981.

CPMorris Wrote:
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> ".....top talent from aerospace,
> airlines........."
> Yea, like Roger Lewis. Actually, Lewis was OK.
> Secured 25 year contracts with host railroads
>
> Chessie1963 - Glad you rode The National Limited.
> "Better now?" No, the 1970's Amtrak was better.
> At least then, the promises WERE
> kept......Well, 
> for the first 8 years.

Someone should update that picture from a steam heated car to a Horizon coach!  LOL!

mp51w Wrote:
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> Someone should update that picture from a steam
> heated car to a Horizon coach!  LOL!

Exactly, why not convert them to a new service: Open air coaches for a different riding experience! When something breaks off, just cut it out for more air; if the shell fails completely, let 'em ride excursion style!

BTW, the late 70s-90s do feel like the halcyon days now, so I wonder if the small conveniences and upgrades you have now outweigh all the stuff that's worse and the wild inconsistencies? Hmmm...

JG



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/25 17:20 by jgilmore.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post these. I sure miss the positive outlook and physical timetables, as well as the National Limited. Can't get to Columbus or Dayton anymore by train. That's the flaw with PRIA.

Posted from Android

Up until the 1990s, I rode the Broadway Limited more than any other train.

During the 1970s, it was not a great train (although as a railfan, I enjoyed seeing the E-units and riding in the old coaches).  It was often late due to the deteriorated track in Ohio and Indiana during the Penn Central and early Conrail days.  Due to the cars' age, it was difficult to keep them at comfortable temperatures.

On one particularly bad trip in December, 1977 (which I've discussed in previous TO posts), the Broadway's E-units broke down in Fort Wayne Indiana.  We all got off the train, Amtrak put us up in a hotel and we waited for a make-up train comprised of an F40 and Amfleet coaches to get us east of Fort Wayne.  I arrived in Altoona around 24 hours late!

However, by the 1980s, when the Broadway Limited was equipped with F40s, renovated Heritage Fleet cars and Amfleet cars it was a decent train.  Conrail improved the track through Ohio and Indiana which reduced delays.  The Broadway Limited was a decent train.  I last rode it in August 1995, a month before it was discontinued and remember having a very good dinner in the diner.

At least from 1980 to 1995, for the Broadway Limited, Amtrak kept its promise.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/25 20:39 by RuleG.

Always a pieasure to see  R. Paul Carey  !!!!

Thank you for posting this.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  I think I'm just frustrated seeing the marketing materials from this era, and knowing what the follow-thru brought.

Both the National Limited and Broadway Limited -- the trains that went through towns I grew up around -- gone.  PRR Panhandle Line -- gone.  But Conrail made a bunch of money selling off the RoW, with NS & CSX making sure there were never gonna be competitors (besides them) again.

The B & O line through Parkersburg, WV -- gone.  The rail trail bunch would probably fix tanks on display at local National Guard armories to fight people advocating placing tracks down again.

I haven't even started griping about Amtrak management.  Seems like it's all been downhill since Graham Claytor.

Mixed emotions indeed, leaving a tinge of depression.