Three Rivers (train)

Not to be confused with Three Rivers Rambler.

The Three Rivers was an Amtrak passenger train that ran daily between New York City and Chicago via Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Akron. It started in 1995, replacing the Broadway Limited, and ran until March 7, 2005, when Amtrak cancelled a contract with the United States Postal Service that was specific to the train.

Three Rivers

The Three Rivers at Lewistown in 2002.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Northeastern United States Midwestern United States
Predecessor	Broadway Limited
First service	September 10, 1995
Last service	March 7, 2005
Successor	Pennsylvanian
Former operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Termini	New York City Chicago, Illinois
Stops	19
Distance travelled	908 miles (1,461 km)
Average journey time	19 hours 30 minutes
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	40, 41
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet coaches Horizon or Amfleet dinettes Viewliner or Heritage Fleet sleepers
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	Amtrak Conrail (until 1999) Norfolk Southern CSXT
Route map 0 mi New York New York New Jersey 10.0 mi 16.1 km Newark Penn 58 mi 93 km Trenton New Jersey Pennsylvania 91 mi 146 km Philadelphia 110 mi 177 km Paoli 159 mi 256 km Lancaster 195 mi 314 km Harrisburg 256 mi 412 km Lewistown 293 mi 472 km Huntingdon 313 mi 504 km Tyrone 327 mi 526 km Altoona 366 mi 589 km Johnstown 403 mi 649 km Latrobe 413 mi 665 km Greensburg 444 mi 715 km Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Ohio 510 mi 821 km Youngstown 563 mi 906 km Akron 674 mi 1085 km Fostoria Ohio Indiana 811 mi 1305 km Nappanee 893 mi 1437 km Hammond–Whiting Indiana Illinois 908 mi 1461 km Chicago

History

Amtrak began the Three Rivers on September 10, 1995, as a replacement for the discontinued Broadway Limited. The train originally ran between New York and Pittsburgh, extending a New York–Harrisburg Keystone Service train. Using train numbers 46/47, it exchanged mail cars with the Chicago–Washington, D.C. Capitol Limited in Pittsburgh, while through passengers disembarked and changed trains.

Through service began on February 1, 1996, by coupling two Three Rivers Amfleet coaches to the Superliner consist of the Capitol Limited. Passage between the single-level and double-level cars was facilitated by a transition dorm car.

Amtrak ended the switching operation on November 10, 1996, in favor of extending the Three Rivers to Chicago as an independent train. In doing so, they restored the Broadway Limited's numbers (40/41), albeit neither its full dining service nor its sleeping cars due to equipment shortages and an unfavorable schedule.

On April 1, 1999, Amtrak added a sleeping car to the Three Rivers, using four previously stored Heritage Fleet sleepers that they had restored for $250,000 since no Viewliners were available. The last standard 10-6 sleepers operated by Amtrak, they required a Federal Railroad Administration waiver to operate because of their direct-dump toilets. When the waiver expired in October 2001, Amtrak retired the Heritage sleepers and replaced them with Viewliners, which had since become available.

Route

The Pittsburgh–New York Three Rivers stopped at Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Johnstown, Altoona, Huntingdon, Lewistown, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Paoli, Philadelphia, Trenton, Newark and New York. With the extension to Chicago in 1996, service began to Hammond–Whiting and Nappanee. Other stops in Ohio were added as station improvements were funded: Youngstown (May 16, 1997), Fostoria (December 15, 1997) and Akron (August 10, 1998). Latrobe was added as a flag stop on May 17, 1998.

Highlights along the route included Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the Allegheny Mountains. The New York–Chicago trip took about 20 hours.

Service over the former route of the Three Rivers east of Pittsburgh is now provided by the Pennsylvanian. While its route west of Pittsburgh to Hammond–Whiting is no longer served by passenger trains, the Capitol Limited and Floridian (temporary revival) still connects Pittsburgh and Chicago, albeit on a different route via Cleveland.

Equipment

The Three Rivers used Amfleet coaches and either Amfleet or Horizon dinettes in addition to the later Heritage sleeper. At the height of Amtrak's experiment with mail and express business, a typical late 1990s Three Rivers had 4–6 passenger cars and upwards of 25 mail cars.

External links

• 2004 timetable