Capitol Limited (Amtrak)

Infobox rail line
name = "Capitol Limited"
color =

logo_width =

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image_width = 300
caption = The "Capitol Limited" passing through the MARC station in Point of Rocks, Maryland.
type = Inter-city rail
system = Amtrak
status =
locale =
start = Washington, D.C.
end = Chicago
stations =
routes =
ridership =
open = October 1, 1981
close =
owner = NS, CSX (track)
operator = Amtrak
character =
stock =
linelength = convert|764|mi|km
tracklength =
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gauge =
el =
speed =
elevation =

infobox rdt|Amtrak Capitol Limited
map_state = show

Amtrak's "Capitol Limited" is one of the two routes connecting Washington, D.C. to Chicago, running convert|764|mi|km via Cleveland, Ohio (the other is the "Cardinal" via Cincinnati). It was begun in 1981, and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's "Capitol Limited" which ended in 1971 with the formation of Amtrak. It carries the Amtrak train numbers 29 and 30, which were previously assigned to the discontinued "National Limited".

On October 1, 1981, Amtrak inaugurated their "Capitol Limited". It ran over the same route as the B&O's train east of Pittsburgh, but west of Pittsburgh it used the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. (The B&O route west of Pittsburgh was used by the "Broadway Limited" and "Three Rivers" from 1990 to 2005, with gaps in between.) On November 12, 1990 trains were rerouted west of Alliance, Ohio due to Conrail's desire to abandon part of the former PFW&C in northwestern Indiana; the "Capitol Limited" now uses the former Pennsylvania Railroad Cleveland and Pittsburgh (C&P) line north from Alliance through Hudson, Ohio to Cleveland route.

On the eastbound trek, it leaves from Chicago in the late evening (7:05 p.m.) and arrives in Washington, D.C. the next day in the early afternoon. (1:30 p.m.) On the westbound trek, it leaves Washington, D.C. late afternoon (4:05 p.m.) and arrives early morning in Chicago the next day. (8:40 a.m.) The appearance of a shorter westbound ride is due to the one-hour time difference between Washington, DC and Chicago.

Between Washington and Pittsburgh, it mostly follows the historic B&O route along narrow river valleys hemmed in by steep slopes, including the upper Potomac, Youghiogheny, and Monongahela Rivers. Rail trails parallel much of this route, often on the opposite banks. The route straightens and levels out from Ohio onward.

Route details

The "Capitol Limited" operates over CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway trackage:
*CSX Metropolitan Subdivision, Cumberland Subdivision, Cumberland Terminal Subdivision, Keystone Subdivision, Pittsburgh Subdivision, and P&W Subdivision, Washington to Pittsburgh
*NS Pittsburgh Line and Fort Wayne Line, Pittsburgh to Alliance
*NS Cleveland Line, Alliance to Cleveland
*NS Chicago Line, Cleveland to Chicago

tation stops

References

* Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, "Trains" June 1991

External links

* [http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Horizontal_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081256321384&ssid=133 Amtrak - "Capitol Limited"]