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The Cleveland Night Express was an American named train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) on its route between Baltimore, Maryland, and Cleveland, Ohio, with major station stops in Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The B&O inaugurated the Cleveland Night Express in 1915. Its discontinuation in 1962 marked the end of B&O passenger service to Cleveland.

History

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was chartered in 1827 and grew to be one of the largest passenger railways in the United States, often by acquiring other, smaller railroads. In Cleveland the B&O purchased two local companies, the Cleveland Lorain & Wheeling Railroad and the Cleveland, Terminal & Valley Railway in 1915.

From 1915 until 1962 the B&O provided overnight sleeping car service between Baltimore and Cleveland on the Cleveland Night Express. After June 1934, the Cleveland Night Express used Cleveland's Union Terminal as its passenger station. At times in this period, the train was called the Baltimore-Washington-Cleveland Express westbound and Cleveland-Washington-Baltimore Express.

On February 7, 1956, the train had four passenger cars overturn in a sudden rockslide near McKeesport, Pennsylvania, no deaths occurred with only one injured.

Decline and end of the train

In 1962, as railroad passenger traffic was declining nationwide, the B&O discontinued the Cleveland Night Express on December 7, 1962, which ended all B&O passenger service to Ohio's largest city, Cleveland.

Stations

Schedule and equipment

In 1961, the westbound Cleveland Night Express departed Union Station (Washington, D.C.) at 9:20 p.m. daily as train No. 17, arriving in Cleveland the following morning at 8:45 a.m., equipped with a Pullman sleeping car, coaches, and a lounge car having a snack bar serving what B&O described in its timetable as a "light breakfast" prior to arrival.

The westbound Cleveland Night Express train No. 17 made the following principal station stops, with a connecting Budd Rail Diesel Car departing at 8:10 p.m. from Baltimore, Maryland:

References

1. ^ Vantassel, David D.; John J. Grabowski. "The BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Archived from the original on 2006-09-08. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
2. Official Guide of the Railways, May 1946, Baltimore & Ohio section
3. Place, John (Feb 7, 1981). "It Happened Feb. 7". The Pittsburgh Press. p. A-2.
4. ^ Baltimore & Ohio Railroad — Passenger Train Schedules, October 29, 1961.

v t e Named trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Abraham Lincoln Ambassador Blue Ridge Limited Capitol Limited Chicago Night Express Washington–Chicago Express Cincinnatian Cleveland Night Express Columbian Daylight Speedliner Diplomat Fort Pitt Limited Great Lakes Limited Marylander Metropolitan Special National Limited New York Night Express Night Express Pittsburgh 79 Royal Blue Shenandoah Washington–Chicago Express Washington Night Express Washington 80 Washingtonian West Virginian West Virginia Night Express

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• Passenger trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
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• Railway services introduced in 1915
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