An Amtrak route segment no longer in use

[Twin Star Rocket]

I'll limit this to existing Amtrak trains. Is there a section of a route you could ride over
at one time but has been taken out of service more or less permanently?
I'm thinking of:
the Phoenix AZ segment of the SUNSET LIMITED.
the Dallas-Ft. Worth segment of the TEXAS EAGLE on the T&P/UP.
the Auburn-Pasco segment of the early EMPIRE BUILDER.
the section of the CITY OF NEW ORLEANS in Mississippi re-routed onto a different IC line.

 

[RPC]

The Silver Star used to take the Seaboard Air Line Petersburg-Raleigh.

 

[jis]

The various Silver service route via Ocala in Florida.

Empire Service and LSL from Spuyten Duyvil to New York Grand Central Terminal, though occasionally used as diversion.

 

[hastybob]

Again, the Silver Star - Between Savannah and Jacksonville, actually Burroughs Jct (south of Savannah) and Callahan (north of Jacksonville), with a stop in Thalman, Ga.
Most of this track is gone now. It was a very fast route when it was used.

My favorite though is a train not running any longer - The Floridian.
Folkston, Ga to Crawfordsville, In.

 

[amtkstn]

The part of the Chief that used to use the former Santa Fe east of Galesburg IL. I rode it back in 1986. Also the former Santa Fe though Pasadena CA also on the same trip.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Of course The Sunset East is the one I think of First, but I also miss the Routing of the old Texas Chief/ Lone Star thru Kansas and Oklahoma.

I also miss the International that ran from San Antonio to Laredo where one could connect to the Aztec Eagle( sadly Long Gone also!) for the trip to Mexico City.

Also the Texas Eagle ran on the East Bank of the Mississippi in Illinois for awhile after Cape Girardeau,Mo on the way to St Louis.

 

[jis]

The Empire Builder's original route via Breckenridge between Minneapolis and Fargo. The North Coast Hiawatha used to run on the via Detroit Lakes, the current route taken by the Empire Builder between those two points.

 

[PRR 60]

Southwest Chief originally ran on the Santa Fe from Chicago to Galesburg via Joliet now uses the former Burlington to Galesburg via Naperville. The Southwest Chief's routing in the Los Angeles area is also changed from the original Santa Fe line through Pasadena and Pomona to San Bernardino to the current route through Fullerton to San Bernardino.

 

[BiscuitBakers]

The Floridian, Chicago to Miami/Tampa, which ran one segment from Chicago to Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham, and small towns like Montgomery, Dothan, Thomasville, and Valdosta, on down through Jacksonville into Florida. I rode this as a very small boy (with only some vague dim memories) in 1978 or 1979, just before it was discountinued.

Also - the split off from the Crescent that used to break off at Birmingham and travel south through rural Alabama into Mobile.

 

[PRR 60]

The Empire Builder originally was routed from Spokane to Seattle via Yakima and Stampede Pass.

 

[jis]

Southwest Chief originally ran on the Santa Fe from Chicago to Galesburg via Joliet now uses the former Burlington to Galesburg via Naperville. The Southwest Chief's routing in the Los Angeles area is also changed from the original Santa Fe line through Pasadena and Pomona to San Bernardino to the current route through Fullerton to San Bernardino.

Yeah, the SWC moved from its original route to the route that was used by the Desert Wind between San Bernardino and Los Angeles, before it disappeared.

At Galesburg, the new route of SWC joins the original route a little ways beyond Galesburg at the Cameron crossover which connects the erstwhile SantaFe and the CB&Q routes together. It was built by BNSF after BN merged with SF.

BTW, Adirondack at one time used to run from Rouses Point on CP to Montreal Windsor (now replaced by Lucien L'Allier a few blocks west). It was rerouted to Central station on CN, so that Amtrak could have a single presence in Montreal serving the Montrealer and the Adirondack. Then of course the Montrealer went away.

The Adirondack also used to run via Mechanicville between Saratoga Springs and Albany- Rensselaer. Now it runs via Schenectady.

Also San Francisco Zephyr via Lucine Cutoff between Ogden and Elko, not to mention via Wyoming between Denver and Ogden, before it became California Zephyr and was routed via the Moffat Line to Salt Lake City instead.

 

[bratkinson]

For me, the entire route of the North Coast Hiawatha between MSP and SEA. I had the good fortune of riding the last run of the NCH in '79.

The C&O of Indiana portion of the Cardinal is a close second.

 

[JustOnce]

The original Amtrak incarnation of the Capitol Limited ran on the ex-PRR Fort Wayne Line, the current routing goes up to Cleveland and then takes the NS Chicago Line.

 

[Willbridge]

The Empire Builder's original route via Breckenridge between Minneapolis and Fargo. The North Coast Hiawatha used to run on the via Detroit Lakes, the current route taken by the Empire Builder between those two points.

December 1975 in Minneapolis GN Station...

 

[dogbert617]

December 1975 in Minneapolis GN Station... View attachment 14499 View attachment 14496 View attachment 14497 View attachment 14498

So in 1975, the westbound #7 EB did not serve Rugby, Stanley, Wolf Point, Glasgow, Malta, Shelby, and Cut Bank? Or were they only listing most boarded/disembarked stations on that board, so that the listing of train #7 would fit on that board? If so, I could see how less boarded stations like Wolf Point and etc., were omitted from being listed. I enjoyed looking at these pics, and thanks for sharing your vintage pics. Were these taken at the location of the former Midway Depot in St. Paul, before the EB station serving St. Paul was moved to Union Depot?

 

[jiml]

BTW, Adirondack at one time used to run from Rouses Point on CP to Montreal Windsor (now replaced by Lucien L'Allier a few blocks west). It was rerouted to Central station on CN, so that Amtrak could have a single presence in Montreal serving the Montrealer and the Adirondack. Then of course the Montrealer went away.

You beat me to it!

 

[dogbert617]

You beat me to it!

Now that I think more about the Amirondack, Montrealer, and other nearby trains, didn't the Vermonter once upon a time go up to Montreal? And not just like is sadly the case today, start/end somewhere just outside of Burlington? Never mind I had been hearing talk, that supposedly Vermonter may soon directly again serve Burlington.

 

[jiml]

Now that I think more about the Amirondack, Montrealer, and other nearby trains, didn't the Vermonter once upon a time go up to Montreal? And not just like is sadly the case today, start/end somewhere just outside of Burlington? Never mind I had been hearing talk, that supposedly Vermonter may soon directly again serve Burlington.

The Vermonter is the Montrealer truncated. The train as a whole has seen many route variations (think Guilford mess) but the Vermont portion is close to the old route stopping short of the border. There is video on YouTube of Amtrak recently running a test train north of the Vermonter's terminus on to Montreal, with a view to restoring service. Fingers crossed. Of course any restored train likely won't have a dining car - a staple of the old incarnation.

 

[jiml]

Posting error

 

[dogbert617]

The Vermonter is the Montrealer truncated. The train as a whole has seen many route variations (think Guilford mess) but the Vermont portion is close to the old route stopping short of the border. There is video on YouTube of Amtrak recently running a test train north of the Vermonter's terminus on to Montreal, with a view to restoring service. Fingers crossed. Of course any restored train likely won't have a dining car - a staple of the old incarnation.

Ah, so the Vermonter is essentially the new name, after it was cut back from Montreal. Thanks for mentioning this info, here!

 

[jis]

Ah, so the Vermonter is essentially the new name, after it was cut back from Montreal. Thanks for mentioning this info, here!

One major difference between the erstwhile Montrealer and the current Vermonter is that the Montrealer was an overnight train with Sleepers, while the Vermonter is basically a daytime Regional train.

If and when it is extended to Montreal as a daytime train, it is likely that its departure from Washington will have to be one to two hours earlier and arrival one to two hours later to keep its arrival and departure in Montreal at somewhat reasonable hours.

 

[jiml]

One major difference between the erstwhile Montrealer and the current Vermonter is that the Montrealer was an overnight train with Sleepers, while the Vermonter is basically a daytime Regional train.

If and when it is extended to Montreal as a daytime train, it is likely that its departure from Washington will have to be one to two hours earlier and arrival one to two hours later to keep its arrival and departure in Montreal at somewhat reasonable hours.

I wouldn't be surprised if the southern terminus of a restored Montrealer (daytime or overnight) became NYP, requiring a change to regional/Acela to get to WAS. This would improve departure times in both directions. Personally I'm hoping for a night train for the ease of connections to FL service or Crescent. Not likely, I know.

 

[jis]

As per current plans the restored Montrealer is not going to be an overnight trains since it will be primarily funded by the State of Vermont. It will be a daytime train through Vermont. It will esswentially be a train with three additional hours tacked onto its schedule to get from St. Albans to Montreal through C&I. The additional time will be one hour less when C&I gets taken care of at Montreal Central instead of at Lacolle/Cantic/St. Albans.

If it were an overnight train there is no timetabling issue at the end points. The original Montrealer worked fine from Washington DC to Montreal.

 

[jiml]

Back on topic, The International. Although the complete route is still in use by trains, the Amtrak train terminates at Port Huron with a name change and VIA provides the service on the other side. Formerly one of my "go-to" routes: Toronto to Chicago for western connections or change at Hammond-Whiting for Broadway/Capitol and on to Florida. The equipment variations alone were worth the ride, along with some great old stations on both sides of the border.

 

[jiml]

If it were an overnight train there is no timetabling issue at the end points. The original Montrealer worked fine from Washington DC to Montreal.

Totally agree. I was on it several times. I was just suggesting that NYP would work better for a daytime train.