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The ''Chesapeake'' was a daily passenger train operated by
Service began on May 1, 1978, with funding from the
October 1, 1979 Amtrak Chesapeake Timetable (Railroad Picture Archives)Inaugural Run of Amtrak's Chesapeake (Window on Cecil County's Past)
{{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Passenger rail transportation in Washington, D.C. Passenger rail transportation in Maryland Passenger rail transportation in Delaware Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Railway services introduced in 1978 Railway services discontinued in 1983
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 ...
along the Northeast Corridor between 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, ...
and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
from 1978 to 1983. It was one of the few commuter train
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are cons ...
s operated by Amtrak.
History
Service began on May 1, 1978, with funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
and the State of Maryland; a demonstration trip ran from Philadelphia to Bowie on April 30. BWI Rail Station
BWI Airport Station is an intermodal passenger station in Linthicum, Maryland near Baltimore–Washington International Airport (BWI). It is served by Amtrak Northeast Corridor intercity trains, MARC Penn Line regional rail trains, and severa ...
was added to the service when it opened in October 1980. From February 4, 1980 to October 25, 1981, the ''Chesapeake'' was extended from 30th Street to Suburban Station.
The train primarily served higher-ranking business executives and government officials on the southbound trip in the morning, as it arrived too late for most civil servants. The northbound trip primarily served the latter group, as it departed too early to serve the morning riders for their return trip.
On January 1, 1983, Conrail was relieved of its obligation to run commuter service. Commuter service in Pennsylvania was merged into SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...
, and MDOT contracted with Amtrak to run other Washington–Baltimore commuter trips. The ''Chesapeake'' was discontinued on October 30, 1983 and replaced by an unnamed Washington–Baltimore train. Commuter rail service is now provided over the former route of the ''Chesapeake''excepting the segment between Perryville and Newark by the SEPTA Wilmington/Newark Line
The Wilmington/Newark Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in the Philadelphia area. The line serves southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with stations in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and ...
and MARC Penn Line
The Penn Line is a MARC commuter rail service running from Union Station in Washington, D.C., to Perryville, Maryland, along the far southern leg of the Northeast Corridor. However, the great majority of trains terminate at Baltimore's Penn ...
.
Equipment
The ''Chesapeake'' operated with leased Arrowelectric multiple units
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...
.
Station stops
The following station stops were made by Chesapeake trains during the October 1980 to October 1981 period:See also
* List of Amtrak routes#Northeast Corridor for other Amtrak trains named ''Chesapeake''.References
External links
October 1, 1979 Amtrak Chesapeake Timetable (Railroad Picture Archives)
{{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Passenger rail transportation in Washington, D.C. Passenger rail transportation in Maryland Passenger rail transportation in Delaware Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Railway services introduced in 1978 Railway services discontinued in 1983