The ''New England States'' was a

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 ...

operated 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 Mi ...

and its successor

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 th ...

over the

Water Level Route 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 ...

(predominantly alongside rivers and lake shores) between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and

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 ...

. It was launched in 1938, in tandem with the relaunch of the newly-streamlined ''

20th Century Limited The ''20th Century Limited'' was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from 1902 to 1967. The train traveled between Grand Central Terminal in New York City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along ...

'', and assumed responsibility for that train's Boston sleepers. In 1949 it became the first Chicago–Boston

streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor " bullet trains". Less commonly, the term i ...

. The New York Central dropped the name in 1967; an unnamed remnant continued running until 1971.

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 ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an overnight Amtrak intercity passenger train that runs between Chicago and either New York City or Boston via two sections east of Albany. The train began service in 1975; its predecessor was Amtrak's Chicago– ...

'' now serves the route.

History

The New York Central introduced the ''New England States'' on June 15, 1938, coinciding with the relaunch of the ''

''. The ''New England States'' was an all-Pullman train which ran from Chicago to

via Toledo and Albany. With the launch of the ''New England States'', the ''Twentieth Century Limited'' ceased carrying sleepers for Boston, which had to be switched in and out at Albany. In 1949, the New York Central purchased new streamlined equipment from the

Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...

for the train at a cost of $3.5 million. Once so-equipped, the ''New England States'' became the first Chicago–Boston streamlined train. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the ''New England States'' gradually diminished along with the rest of the New York Central's passenger fleet. The train lost its all-sleeper status in the summer of 1949 with the addition of coaches; the New York Central withdrew its observation car in 1956. In 1954, a typical eastbound train carried Chicago-Boston and Chicago- Buffalo sleepers, while its westbound counterpart carried Boston-Chicago sleepers and a Boston-

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

sleeper which it dropped-off for the ''Pittsburgh-Buffalo Express'' in Buffalo. "Sleepercoaches", economy sleepers known elsewhere as Slumbercoaches, were added in 1959. The New York Central consolidated the eastbound ''New England States'' and the ''Pacemaker'', a Chicago-New York train, on April 30, 1961. On November 5, 1967, the New York Central consolidated the ''New England States'' and ''Twentieth Century Limited'' west of Buffalo: a precursor to the latter's discontinuance on December 3, 1967. In a major restructuring of passenger services the following day, December 3, the ''New England States'' lost its name (becoming known just by its numbers, 27/28) and began running with a mixed consist of coaches and sleepers between Chicago and New York/Boston. The New York Central merged with its long-time rival, the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

, on February 1, 1968, to become the

. On March 10, 1970, the Penn Central petitioned to end the former ''New England States'', along with all other trains on its route. The passage of the

Rail Passenger Service Act 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. ...

interrupted these proceedings, and the former ''New England States'' remained running until the start of

on May 1, 1971, when it was discontinued. Amtrak revived direct Chicago–Boston service in 1975 with a section of the ''

'', which continues to provide service over the route.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

1954 timetable1965 timetable
{{NYC named trains Railway services introduced in 1938 Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the New York Central Railroad Railway services discontinued in 1967 Passenger rail transportation in Massachusetts Rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Passenger rail transportation in Indiana Passenger rail transportation in Illinois