| Overview | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||||||
| Status | Discontinued | ||||||||
| Locale | Northeastern United States/Ontario | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Toronto | ||||||||
| First service | 1937 | ||||||||
| Last service | February 3, 1961 | ||||||||
| Former operator(s) | Lehigh Valley Railroad Canadian National Railway Reading Railroad | ||||||||
| Route | |||||||||
| Termini | New York City and Philadelphia Toronto | ||||||||
| Distance travelled | 548 miles (882 km) (New York City-Toronto) | ||||||||
| Average journey time | 13 hours, 50 minutes, northbound 13 hours, 25 minutes, southbound (1953) | ||||||||
| Service frequency | Daily | ||||||||
| Train number(s) | Northbound: 7 Southbound: 8 | ||||||||
| On-board services | |||||||||
| Seating arrangements | Coach | ||||||||
| Sleeping arrangements | Open-sections, double bedrooms and drawing room | ||||||||
| Catering facilities | Dining car (New York City-Lehighton, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| Observation facilities | Cafe-lounge (New York City-Lehighton); cafe-parlor car (Niagara Falls, ON-Toronto) | ||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The Maple Leaf was an international night train between New York City and Toronto, operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in coordination with the Canadian National Railway. It ran from Penn Station in New York City and concluded at Toronto's Union Station. The train's service began in 1937; a predecessor Lehigh Valley Railroad train, the Toronto, traveled the same route. The Maple Leaf and the John Wilkes were the last named passenger trains operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
The route was double tracked from New York City to Niagara Falls and the Finger Lakes Region. In contrast to the Lehigh Valley Railroad's Black Diamond and Star, it bypassed Ithaca on the northbound trip. However, in the final years of the Maple Leaf, after the discontinuance of those trains, it did stop in Ithaca. The train had an alternate section operated with the Reading Railroad, which originated at Reading Terminal in Philadelphia and linked with the main part of the Maple Leaf train in Bethlehem.
The train had its final departure on February 3, 1961.
In 1981, Amtrak and Via Rail reintroduced the Maple Leaf name for their New York–Toronto train, the first direct rail service between these cities since 1967. The modern Maple Leaf uses the Empire Corridor through New York state rather than the historic route of the Lehigh Valley train, neither entering New Jersey nor Pennsylvania.
References
- "Lehigh Valley Railroad Timetable". Lehigh Valley Railroad . 25 October 1959. p. 144. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ Timetable. Lehigh Valley Railroad. September 27, 1953. Tables 1, 2
- ^ "Last of the Railroad - Era Passes Tonight as Lehigh Ends Service". Geneva Times. February 3, 1961. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.
- "Direct Link To N.Y. CN Link To Be Cut". St. Catherines Standard. February 2, 1961.
| Named trains of the Canadian National Railway | |
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| Named trains of the Lehigh Valley Railroad | |
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| Named trains of the Reading Company | ||
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- Canadian National Railway
- International named passenger trains
- Lehigh Valley Railroad
- Named passenger trains of Canada
- Named passenger trains of Ontario
- Named passenger trains of the United States
- Night trains of Canada
- Night trains of the United States
- Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey
- Passenger rail transportation in New York (state)
- Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania
- Railway services discontinued in 1961
- Railway services introduced in 1937
- Reading Company