James Whitcomb Riley (train)

James Whitcomb Riley

The James Whitcomb Riley at Charlottesville, VA in 1974.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Midwestern United States
First service	1941
Last service	1977
Successor	Cardinal
Former operator(s)	New York Central (1941-1968) Penn Central (1968-1971) Amtrak (1971-1977)
Route
Start	Chicago
End	Cincinnati, Ohio (1941-1971) Newport News, Virginia (1971-1976) Washington, D.C (1971-1977)
Distance travelled	884 mi (1,422.66 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	50, 51
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map 0.0 Chicago 22 mi 35 km Homewood City of New Orleans to New Orleans 54 mi 87 km Kankakee Illinois/Indiana border 129 mi 208 km Lafayette 193 mi 311 km Indianapolis South Wind to Florida Indiana/Ohio border 302 mi 486 km Cincinnati George Washington This diagram:

Route map
0.0 Chicago 22 mi 35 km Homewood City of New Orleans to New Orleans 54 mi 87 km Kankakee Illinois/Indiana border 129 mi 208 km Lafayette 193 mi 311 km Indianapolis South Wind to Florida Indiana/Ohio border 302 mi 486 km Cincinnati George Washington This diagram:

The James Whitcomb Riley was a passenger train operated by the New York Central between Chicago, Illinois, and Cincinnati, Ohio, via Indianapolis, Indiana. Under Amtrak it merged with the C&O's George Washington to become a Chicago-Washington train, and would later be renamed the Cardinal, which remains in operation.

The James Whitcomb Riley was introduced by the New York Central on April 28, 1941, as a daytime, all-coach train between Chicago and Cincinnati by way of Indianapolis. It was named after the Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, known for his celebration of Americana. The Riley was a companion to the Mercury streamliners which operated on the Chicago-Detroit and Chicago-Cleveland routes. The Riley was retained by the Penn Central (as trains 303 and 304) after its formation from the ruins of the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad, but in 1968 it petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) for permission to abandon the service, citing the loss of a mail contract and the C&O's termination of through sleepers on the Chicago-Newport News route. The ICC refused, and the Riley survived until the formation of Amtrak.

Amtrak, upon its 1971 commencement of operations, kept the Riley intact. Through Washington-Chicago and Newport News-Chicago coaches began July 12, and a through sleeping car began September 8. With the November 14, 1971, schedule, the Riley and George Washington routes were merged, with the George Washington name being applied eastbound and the James Whitcomb Riley westbound. At the same time the route was extended from Washington to Boston, Massachusetts, and was assigned train numbers 50 eastbound and 51 westbound.