The ''Diplomat'' was a named passenger train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) during the 1930s–1950s connecting

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 ...

and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, via

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Other B&O trains on the route during that period were the premier ''

National Limited The ''National Limited'' was the premier train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) on its route between Jersey City, New Jersey and St. Louis, Missouri, with major station stops in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio. (Buses took passen ...

'' and the workhorse '' Metropolitan Special''. The train was inaugurated in August 1930 after several changes to trains along the St. Louis Route. After World War II, the ''Diplomat'' operated as Train No. 3 westbound, and No. 4 eastbound. It was timed to provide connections to several western railroads that terminated in St. Louis, including the Frisco, the Santa Fe,

Cotton Belt The Cotton Belt is a region of the Southern United States where cotton was the predominant cash crop from the late 18th century into the 20th century.

and

Missouri Pacific The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

, among others. B&O's New York terminal was actually in Jersey City, New Jersey, using the New Jersey Central's Jersey City terminal. Passengers were then transferred to buses that met the train right on the platform. These buses were then ferried across the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, where they proceeded to various "stations" including the

Vanderbilt Hotel 4 Park Avenue (formerly known as the Vanderbilt Hotel) is a 22-story building in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Warren and Wetmore, the structure was built for Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and opened in 191 ...

Wanamaker's John Wanamaker Department Store was one of the first department stores in the United States. Founded by John Wanamaker in Philadelphia, it was influential in the development of the retail industry including as the first store to use price tags. ...

, Columbus Circle, and

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

, as well as

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Stations

Route and schedule

In 1947, westbound ''Diplomat'' Train # 3 operated on the following schedule (departure times at principal stops shown): After the B&O's discontinuation of passenger service to New York on April 26, 1958, the eastern terminus of the ''Diplomat'' was

Unfortunately, the B&O was never in a position to directly compete against the much faster and more populous routes the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad trains used between New York and St. Louis. Instead, the B&O concentrated on service, and won consistent loyalty from business travelers and the general public alike. However, the B&O suffered from a lack of large population centers along the route. Only

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, represented a truly large city big enough between Washington and St. Louis that could add a significant amount of passenger traffic. The B&O discontinued service between Cincinnati and Baltimore on September 17, 1960, leaving a rump train between St. Louis and Cincinnati. The B&O discontinued the train altogether on April 30, 1961, leaving the ''National Limited'' to handle passengers on the route. The ''Diplomat'' was equipped with a dining car, lounge car, and Pullman sleeping cars, in addition to coaches.

Altered revival of the ''Diplomat''

By the end of 1964, the B&O revived the train, but with a new itinerary. It would now travel as #7 from

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 ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Grand Central Station Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

, and as #8 in the east-bound direction. Major intermediate stops for this route's itinerary northwest of Maryland included Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Akron and Gary. Amenities in equipment consisted of, in addition to coaches:

roomette A roomette is a type of sleeping car compartment in a railroad passenger train. The term was first used in North America, and was later carried over into Australia and New Zealand. Roomette rooms are relatively small, and were originally g ...

/ double bedroom sleeping cars, dining-lounge car and a dining car. Schedules advertised a connection in

Deshler, Ohio Deshler is a village in Henry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,799 at the 2010 census. History Deshler was platted in 1873, and named for John G. Deshler, the original owner of the town site. A post office has been in operatio ...

to the B&O's ''

Cincinnatian The ''Cincinnatian'' was a List of named passenger trains, named passenger train operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). The B&O inaugurated service on January 19, 1947, with service between Baltimore, Maryland and Cincinnati, Ohio, ca ...

'' bound for Toledo and Detroit. Passengers making the Washington-bound trip would take the '' Night Express'' from Detroit. However, in 1966, catering was simplified to a food bar coach. 1968 was the final year that the ''Diplomat'' appeared. In the final years approaching the termination of B&O passenger service, the ''

Capitol Limited The ''Capitol Limited'' is a daily Amtrak train between Washington, D.C., and Chicago, running via Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Service began in 1981 and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's ''Capitol Limited'' which ended in 197 ...

'' was the only remaining Washington-Chicago B&O train.'Passenger Trains Operating on the Eve of Amtrak,' ''Trains,'' https://ctr.trains.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/f/7/7/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf Table reprinted from Harold A. Edmondson, ''Journey to Amtrak (Kalmback Publishing, 1972)

References