Misplaced Pages

Shenandoah

The Shenandoah at Gaithersburg in March 1978
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	West Virginia
First service	October 31, 1976
Last service	September 30, 1981
Successor	Capitol Limited
Former operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Termini	Washington Cincinnati
Stops	18
Distance travelled	546 mi (878.70 km)
Average journey time	14 hours 28 minutes
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	32, 33
On-board services
Class(es)	Unreserved coach
Catering facilities	On-board café
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Route map Legend 0 mi Washington, D.C. DC MD 7 mi 11 km Silver Spring 16 mi 26 km Rockville 21 mi 34 km Gaithersburg 49 mi 79 km Brunswick MD WV 55 mi 89 km Harpers Ferry 61 mi 98 km Duffields 74 mi 119 km Martinsburg 96 mi 154 km Hancock WV MD 146 mi 235 km Cumberland MD WV 170 mi 274 km Keyser WV MD 200 mi 322 km Oakland MD WV 223 mi 359 km Rowlesburg 248 mi 399 km Grafton 271 mi 436 km Clarksburg 352 mi 566 km Parkersburg WV OH 389 mi 626 km Athens 449 mi 723 km Chillicothe 518 mi 834 km Loveland Cardinal to Washington, D.C. 546 mi 879 km Cincinnati (River Road) Cardinal to Chicago This diagram: view talk edit

The Shenandoah was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Washington and Cincinnati from 1976 until 1981.

History

The Shenandoah began operating on October 31, 1976. The name came from the Shenandoah, a Washington–Akron train operated by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad until Amtrak took over the nation's passenger trains in 1971.

Connecting service at Cincinnati to Chicago was provided by the Mountaineer/James Whitcomb Riley until 1977, after which it was provided by the Cardinal.

Amtrak discontinued the Shenandoah on September 30, 1981, citing low ridership. Amtrak considered the Shenandoah one of its weakest lines, and the Department of Transportation had recommended its discontinuance in 1979. Service on the Washington–Cumberland segment of the Shenandoah was replaced by the new Washington–Pittsburgh–Chicago Capitol Limited. The Cincinnati–Cumberland portion never regained passenger rail service, and CSX subsequently abandoned much of the track.

Equipment

The Shenandoah originally operated with Amfleet coaches and a cafe car; one or two coaches were used west of Martinsburg, with two additional coaches on the more-heavily-used segment between Martinsburg and Washington, D.C. The original GE P30CH locomotives were replaced by new EMD F40PH locomotives in 1977. Consists varied based on demand; many trains were just two to three cars long.

The 1978 switch to overnight service required the train to have sleeping facilities per Interstate Commerce Commission rules. Amtrak added two sleeping compartments each to a pair of Amfleet coaches (dubbed "Ampad"), which began service on May 3, 1978. A Congressional mandate resulted in a conventional 10-6 sleeper (10 roomettes and six double bedrooms) being added on October 28, 1979. The sleeper was removed on April 26, 1981.

References

1. Corridor Takeover, New Equipment, Highlight Amtrak's 1976 Amtrak News January 15, 1977, page 1
2. Sanders, Craig (2007). Akron Railroads. Images of Rail. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-4141-9. OCLC 123357483.
3. "Shenandoah, Cardinal Make Final Runs: Congressmen Seek Ways To Keep Cincinnati Routes". Toledo Blade. October 1, 1981. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
4. Reynolds, Kirk; Oroszi, Dave (2000). Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Osceola, WI: MBI. ISBN 0760307466. OCLC 42764520.
5. Schwieterman, Joseph P. (2001). When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment, Eastern United States. Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University Press. ISBN 978-0-943549-97-2.
6. ^ Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
7. West Virginia Department of Transportation, State Rail Authority (March 12, 2013). "West Virginia State Rail Plan: Intercity Service Review". pp. 4–6. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.

External links

Media related to Shenandoah (Amtrak train) at Wikimedia Commons

• 1981 timetable

• Former Amtrak routes
• Passenger rail transportation in Maryland
• Passenger rail transportation in Ohio
• Passenger rail transportation in Washington, D.C.
• Passenger rail transportation in West Virginia
• Railway services introduced in 1976
• Railway services discontinued in 1981