Washingtonian (B&O)

The "Washingtonian" was one of two daily American named passenger trains operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) during the 1940s–1950s between Baltimore, Maryland and Cleveland, Ohio, via Washington, D. C. and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Inaugurated on April 27, 1941, the "Washingtonian" was primarily a daytime train with a morning departure, in contrast to B&O's other train on the route, the "Cleveland Night Express".Harry Stegmaier, "Baltimore & Ohio Passenger Service, Vol. 2 – Route of the Capitol Limited". Lynchburg, Va.: TLC Publishing, 1997 (ISBN 1-883-089-00X).] Between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, the "Washingtonian's" cars left B&O rails and were coupled to the "Steel King" train of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) to Youngstown, Ohio, where the Erie Railroad handled the train to Cleveland.

The "Washingtonian" was the venerable B&O's last passenger train to be powered by steam locomotives on its Washington, D. C. –Cumberland, Maryland mainline, not getting diesel locomotives until April, 1954. Two years later, it was replaced on October 27, 1956 by the faster and more economical Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC)-equipped "Daylight Speedliner" between Baltimore and Pittsburgh, reducing operating expenses by half. The streamlined "Daylight Speedliner's" seven-hour schedule on B&O's convert|333|mi|km|sing=on Baltimore–Pittsburgh route also trimmed almost two hours travel time compared to the "Washingtonian"."Official Guide of the Railways". New York: National Railway Publication Co., February 1956, pp. 414–418.]

chedule and equipment

The westbound "Washingtonian", operating as Train # 21, left Baltimore at 9:00 a.m., arriving in Cleveland twelve hours later at 9:00 p.m. Eastbound, the "Washingtonian" was designated Train # 22. The train's consist was typically a pair of baggage/express cars, a Railway Post Office car, three air conditioned coaches, and a combination parlor-diner-lounge car. In the late 1940s, as many as six additional coaches were added on weekends to accommodate the throngs of East Coast-bound passengers boarding the train at the numerous Appalachian Mountain communities along the B&O's right-of-way.

In its final year of service, westbound "Washingtonian" Train # 21 operated on the following schedule (principal stops shown in blue, P&LE–Erie "Steel King" denoted in yellow):

References