Washington - Chicago Express

The "Washington–Chicago Express", an American named passenger train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), was one of four daily B&O trains operating between Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Illinois, via Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 1920s–1960s. Other B&O trains of that period on the route were the "Capitol Limited", "Columbian", and the "Shenandoah".Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., "Royal Blue Line". Sykesville, Maryland: Greenberg Publishing, 1990 (ISBN 0-89778-155-4).]

Operating westbound as Train # 9, the "Chicago Express", and eastbound as Train # 10, the "Washington Express", it was an "accommodation" train, meaning that it made stops at most stations along the route bypassed by B&O's other trains, resulting in a slower timecard than the more prestigious "Capitol Limited". The "Washington–Chicago Express" required a leisurely 18½ hours for its convert|767|mi|km|sing=on journey, compared to the faster "Capitol Limited" 's 16-hour pace. The "Washington–Chicago Express" was also B&O's primary train for mail and Railway Express Agency shipments, having heavy head end equipment consisting of several Railway Post Office (RPO) cars, baggage cars, and bulk mail boxcars. [Stephen J. Salamon, David P. Oroszi, and David P. Ori, "Baltimore and Ohio — Reflections of the Capitol Dome". Silver Spring, Maryland: Old Line Graphics, 1993 (ISBN 1-879314-08-8).]

The "Washington–Chicago Express" continued to offer Pullman sleeping car and dining car service into the mid-1960s, but the ending of B&O's mail contract in the late-1960s by the U.S. Postal Service spelled the doom of the train, resulting in its discontinuation before the advent of Amtrak in 1971.

chedule and equipment

In addition to a Washington–Chicago through sleeping car and dining car providing full meal service en route, the B&O's "Washington–Chicago Express" also offered a "set-out" sleeper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1961, for example, the set-out sleeper for Washington was parked on a siding at Pittsburgh's P&LE Station (used by B&O's long-distance trains) and available for occupancy by passengers at 9:00 p.m., prior to the arrival of the eastbound "Washington Express" at 10:30 p.m. The sleeper was then coupled to the rear of the train during the 25-minute layover there."Baltimore & Ohio — Passenger Train Schedules", October 29, 1961.] In 1961, the westbound "Chicago Express" Train # 9 operated on the following schedule (departure times at principal stops shown in blue, connecting Budd Rail Diesel Car from Baltimore, Maryland, in yellow):

References