passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, jointly operated by the
Reading Railroad
The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Commonly cal ...
, the
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...
and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. These lines offered a long distance overnight line in Train 1301 (north-bound)/ 1306 (south-bound). Connecting service by the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
offered continuing service south from Philadelphia to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Service limitations
The train was presented as affording Washington to Syracuse travel. However, the trip required a change from riding a B&O train in metropolitan Philadelphia to a train originating from the
Reading Terminal
The Reading Terminal ( ) is a complex of buildings that includes the former Reading Company main station located in the Market East section of Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the Reading Terminal Headhou ...
. The one-station transfer would be available at Wayne Junction in North Philadelphia. However, by 1949 the ''Interstate Express'' did not stop at Wayne Junction in the northbound direction; so, passengers would need to transfer at Lansdale station. Riders seeking to transfer in Philadelphia would need to disembark at the B&O's 24th & Chestnut Station in Philadelphia, take a cab or the
Market Street subway
The Market Street subway is a two-level subway tunnel that carries Muni Metro and BART trains under Market Street in San Francisco, California.
Originally, the entire trip was possible via coach. However, by mid-1949, there were no coaches between
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...
, and the next stop, Binghamton, New York. Thus, full-length travel was only possible by sleeper car. The Binghamton to Syracuse segment was joined by cars from a direct DLW Railroad train from that company's
Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one ...
. However, the operators allowed for passengers to split their trip between part of the trip in sleeping cars or in parlor cars and other parts of the trip in coaches.
The train's service ended by 1957.
The scheduled stops
''Reading southbound as one reads down''
*Syracuse ( Lackawanna Station)
*Tully
*Homer (stopping north-bound only by the mid-1950s)
*Cortland
*Marathon
*Whitney Point (stopping north-bound only by the mid-1950s)
*Binghamton ( Lackawanna Station)
*Wilkes-Barre ( Central of New Jersey Station)
*Jim Thorpe (''nee'' Mauch Chunk)
*Allentown (
Allentown station (Central Railroad of New Jersey)
Allentown is a defunct train station in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was constructed by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and Reading Railroad from 1888–1889. The station closed in 1967 with the cessation of CNJ passenger service. The st ...
) (eliminated by the mid-1950s)
*Bethlehem (
Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
) (stopping south-bound only by the mid-1950s)
*Lansdale ( Lansdale station)
*North Philadelphia ( Wayne Junction) (stopping south-bound only by the mid-1950s)
*Philadelphia (
Reading Terminal
The Reading Terminal ( ) is a complex of buildings that includes the former Reading Company main station located in the Market East section of Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the Reading Terminal Headhou ...
)
Connecting spur from Buffalo to Binghamton
The train was timed to receive passengers from the Hoboken to Buffalo night train, the ''Owl'' (#15). Southbound, the connecting train was the ''New York Mail'' (#10).
''Reading west-east as one reads down''
*Buffalo ( Lackawanna Station)
*Corning
*Elmira
*Binghamton ( Lackawanna Station)
Connecting Baltimore & Ohio service from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
''Reading north-south as one reads down''
*Wilmington
*Baltimore ( Mount Royal Station)
*Washington, D.C. (
Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
)
Services
This overnight train offered sleeper car service from Philadelphia to Syracuse. The connecting Washington to Philadelphia service offered a
dining car
A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant.
It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...
-
parlor car A parlor car (or parlour car outside the United States of America) is a type of passenger coach that provides superior comforts and amenities compared to a standard coach.
History
Parlor cars came about on United States railroads to address th ...
.Maiken, Peter. ''Night Trains'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989, pp. 371, 384. .