The ''Merchants Limited'', sometimes shortened to ''Merchants'', was a

New York, New Haven and Hartford The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

(the "New Haven") passenger train on the Shore Line between

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It was the New Haven's premier passenger train and the last all-

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 the ...

train in the United States. The train entered service in 1903, and survived the turbulent

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

merger to become one of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's Boston–

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, ...

services. The name disappeared from Amtrak's timetables in 1995 when most Northeast trains were rebranded " NortheastDirect".

History

The New Haven introduced the ''Merchants Limited'' on December 14, 1903. The train offered first class

seating only; amenities included a dining car and private rooms. The trains departed New York and Boston at 5 PM and made the trip between the two cities in five hours. This schedule would be reduced to hours in 1935, hours in 1940, and finally 4 hours flat in 1949. This proved unsustainable as conditions deteriorated on the New Haven and would be raised to hours in 1956. The New Haven considered the ''Merchants Limited'' its premier train and it always ran with the best equipment possible. When it received coaches in May 1949 it was the last all-parlor car train running in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. A second section, the ''Advance Merchants Limited'', operated fifteen minutes ahead of the ''Merchants Limited'' at various times in the 1950s. The New Haven was merged on Jan. 1, 1969 into the

, formed the previous year by the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

and Pennsylvania Railroad. The Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970 and divested itself of its passenger trains in 1971.

, the new national operator, retained the ''Merchants Limited'', although it would soon be extended through to

Amtrak dropped individual names from its Northeast Corridor trains, save the '' Metroliners'', on October 28, 1995. The ''Merchants Limited'' had long lost its individual character, although it continued to offer first class service.

Notes

References

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External links

1949 timetable
{{PC named trains Former Amtrak routes Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Penn Central Transportation Railway services introduced in 1903 Railway services discontinued in 1995 Passenger rail transportation in Connecticut Passenger rail transportation in Massachusetts Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transportation in Rhode Island

History

Notes

References

Further reading

External links