Amtrak that once ran...

[amtrakadirondack]

Here are some Amtrak trains that has been discontinued that I know.

The Wishbone

The Desert Wind

The Pioneer

The National Limited

The Sprit Of St. Louis

The Cascadia

The North Star

The Arrowhead

The Black Hawk

The Champion

The Miamian

The South Wind

The Floridian

The Vacationer

The Montréaler

San Diegan’s

The Gulf Limited

The Gulf Breeze

The Lone Star

The Night Owl

The Twilight Shoreliner

The Cape Codder

The Texan

The Niagara Rainbow

The Panama Limited

The Mt. Baker Intl

The Mt Adams Talgo

The Clocker

The North Coast Limited

The North Coast Hiawatha

The Sprit Of California

The Silver Palm

The National Chief

The Texas Chief

The Southwest Limited

The Lake County Limited

The San Francisco Zephyr

The Rio Grande Zephyr

The Lake Shore (Not Lake Shore Limited)

The Texas Limited

The Hilltopper

The Hoosier State

The Blue Ridge

The Shenandoah

River Cities

Inter American

The Loop

Dusquesne

Broadway Limited

Blue Water Limited

List some you know.

 

[AlanB]

You can simply go to this page from Prodigy's On Track On Line. There you can find two listings of almost every train that Amtrak ever ran, along with their names if they had one.

 

[PRR 60]

Two additional entries:

The Atlantic City Express: a "can't miss" service that was the first (and only) time that Amtrak restored an abandoned rail line for pure passenger service. A dream of then and now NJ Senator Frank Lautenberg, it failed to attract even 20% of the originally projected ridership, and even had some runs that operated with no one on board other than the crew. Local service operated by NJ Transit continues to this day, with the NJT trains extended to Philadelphia following Amtrak's pull-out.

The Lake Country Limited: need we say more about that one? True testimony to the management genius of George Warrington and the political clout of Tommy Thompson.

 

[jccollins]

San Diegan’s

The San Diegans weren't really discontinued... just renamed to the Amtrak California Pacific Surfliners. Ridership continues to skyrocket on this route, now the second heaviest traveled intercity rail route in the United States.

 

[Allen Dee]

The San Diegans weren't really discontinued... just renamed to the Amtrak California Pacific Surfliners. Ridership continues to skyrocket on this route, now the second heaviest traveled intercity rail route in the United States.

The Surfliners are the only trains, other than Metrolink and Metro Rail (LACMTA), that I have ridden in years. Hopefully, this will change in the near future. The dramatically increased passenger traffic on this route is very noticeable.

 

[jccollins]

The Surfliners are the only trains, other than Metrolink and Metro Rail (LACMTA), that I have ridden in years. Hopefully, this will change in the near future. The dramatically increased passenger traffic on this route is very noticeable.

Glad to hear it, Allen! I have noticed major ridership increases on the San Joaquins within the past two years also.

I haven't really noticed the ridership increases on the Capitols, but that is probably because it evens out more and more as new trains have continued to be added almost every few months, it seems. The Capitols will probably see overcrowded conditions in about a year since no new funds will be available within the next year (at least) to continue adding service frequencies. Hopefully the Capitols will eventually receive business class service when this begins to happen.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

On that list of discontinued trains, it is not quite as bad as it looks. For example, some represent name changes, i.e. South WInd was renamed the Floridian. Southwest Limited was renamed the Southwest Chief, Panama Limited was re-named City of New Orleans. San Diegans service still exists, of course, just not under that name. The San Francisco Zephyr reverted to its old name of California Zephyr... these come to mind at once...there may well be others.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Oh yes, Amtrakadirondack, thanks for providing that list. Kind of sobering...I would never have estimatred that many trains no longer here(once Amtrak began).

One other note, the Rio Grande Zephyr is really part of the breakdown of the original California Zephyr. .Also, at least at first, it was not an Amtrak train--its old operator , Denver & Rio Grande, operated it(as that post ALan gives shows). Eventually the whole CZ operation was restored(though on a different Salt Lake City-SF route) by Amtrak after several years of deteriation and breakdowns in through and/or daily service. A good thing , too, because it is possibly the most scenic route in the country. The original CZ(1949) ws widely advertised as "The most talked about train inthe country" and it probably was, at that.

ANywya thnks for th list. I acknowedge the

 

[P40Power]

Which route was "The Wishbone"?

 

[amtrakadirondack]

Which route was "The Wishbone"?

Dear member P40Power,

The "Wishbone" route was when the Desert Wind, Pioneer and the California Zephyr connected in Salt Lake City (Back when the Pioneer went into Salt Lake City), it was called the Wishbone because it was like a wishbone, because it split into three different routes. But the name was dropped when the Desert Wind and Pioneer were discontinued, due to a Superliner car shortage. Hope this helps.

 

[Superliner Diner]

Which route was "The Wishbone"?

Dear member P40Power,

The "Wishbone" route was when the Desert Wind, Pioneer and the California Zephyr connected in Salt Lake City (Back when the Pioneer went into Salt Lake City), it was called the Wishbone because it was like a wishbone, because it split into three different routes. But the name was dropped when the Desert Wind and Pioneer were discontinued, due to a Superliner car shortage. Hope this helps.

I never saw the name "Wishbone" referred to in the timetables or any other media -- was this Amtrak's official name for the combined train?

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Nope---just a nickname. I had forgotten about it until it came up on this forum.

 

[Superliner Diner]

The Clocker

Clocker service is still currently very much alive, thanks to the fact that it is not being renamed Acela Commuter as was planned in 1999. In the next few years, however, the service is supposed to be shifted to NJ TRANSIT operation.

Now let me add one to the list:

The Chesapeake

This train ran along the Northeast Corridor, but it was an oddball of sorts: It ran just Philadelphia to Washington in each direction, but it made many local stops, such as Chester, PA, Perryville, MD, etc. as more of a commuter train than anything else. It pre-dated Maryland's MARC commuter service. The only thing close to it nowadays is current Amtrak Train #151, which does make more local stops in Maryland than are shown in the Amtrak timetable.

 

[amtrakadirondack]

Nope---just a nickname. I had forgotten about it until it came up on this forum.

Yes, just a nickname, like "Everywhere West", but I forgot which RR company used that, but I do know that it was routes that Amtrak received in the May 1st, 1971 takeover.

 

[amtrakadirondack]

Dear member Superliner_Dinner,

The Clocker was taken over by the Acela Regional (Acela Regional is now just Regional), so in a way it has been replaced.

 

[AlanB]

Dear member Superliner_Dinner,                                                   The Clocker was taken over by the Acela Regional (Acela Regional is now just Regional), so in a way it has been replaced.

Amtrakadirondack,

I'm sorry to disagree, but the Clocker service was not taken over by Acela Regional. Acela Regional refered to trains that run between Boston and New Port News, now they are just called Regional trains.

The Clocker service was supposed to have been renamed Acela Commuter, but that change never happened. So to this day Clocker continues to be the name for all trains that run only between NYP and Philadelphia. Superliner Diner is correct, when he says that the name Clocker was not dropped.

 

[amtrakadirondack]

Well that’s what I heard, guess the person that told me that was wrong, it happens

 

[battalion51]

While Clockers may have competition they will not be replaced anytime in the near future. The Reigonals may attract people because of better times, Reserved Coach, Business Class, fewer Station stops, etc. but the Clockers are still a part of the Amtrak system.

 

[AlanB]

While Clockers may have competition they will not be replaced anytime in the near future. The Reigonals may attract people because of better times, Reserved Coach, Business Class, fewer Station stops, etc. but the Clockers are still a part of the Amtrak system.

For now!

Amtrak has agreed to turn the Clockers over to NJT. I don't recall exactly when it's supposed to happen, but for some reason 2005 sticks in my mind.

Of course they could always change their minds and call the deal off.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Amtrak adirondack, "Wishbone" was, as we both agree, a nickname---but "Everywhere West" was an advertising slogan(slight distinction) of a specific railroad, not a specific train, and I am embarrased to say I have forgotten which railroad used that slogan. My initial reaction was Burlington, but that would be a far fetched claim for them.

One thing you might be thinking about, instead of "Everywhere West" is "City of Everywhere". That was the nickname for the Milwaukee, UP giant train out of Chicago which combined City of LA, City of SF, City of Portland, City of Denver(what was left of it), all in one train...thus "City of "Everywhere". Of course all of these trains had been operated as individual trains before the decline started in passenger train business.

I think that nickname circulated much more than did "wishbone".

P.S. I just typed in "Everywhere West" on the net, and it came up Burlington! Guess my initial reaction was correct after all.

 

[Guest]

Ok, Thanks For The Info On That!

 

[amtrakadirondack]

Ok, Thanks For The Info On That!

The message above is from me, Amtrakadirondack, I forgot to log in, sorry! It was in regards to the "Everywhere West" info, thanks for finding that out.

 

[Superliner Diner]

While Clockers may have competition they will not be replaced anytime in the near future. The Reigonals may attract people because of better times, Reserved Coach, Business Class, fewer Station stops, etc. but the Clockers are still a part of the Amtrak system.

Despite the lack of amenities on the Clockers and the Keystones, there are some people who prefer these over the Regionals. If you're going just from Philadelphia to New York, a Clocker that originates in PHL or a Keystone that has a long layover in PHL due to the necessary engine change is more likely to be on time than a Regional that came from Washington, DC or Virginia.

 

[amtrakadirondack]

I've never ridding them, but by the sound I would pick the Regional, but I would have to ride them first!