Everyone - For my personal milestone 5000th post I am going to remember my FIRST Amtrak long distance
train ride on Train #41 The Broadway Limited - New York Penn Station to Chicago Union Station - 50 years
ago TO THE DAY of my arrival in Chicago on Tuesday June 26, 1973...
Back then I was in my early teens just finishing up Grade 7 in JHS the previous Friday...Our family of four
got reserved coach seats on #41 NYP-CHI...I was so enthused for this trip that I got virtually no sleep for
the entire trip on the personal thought "of not missing anything" enroute to Chicago to visit my relatives
residing on the SW Side of the City. From The Amtrak April 29, 1973 National Schedules - Page 28 left:
(My device has NO scanning capabilities)
Train #41 The Broadway Limited
Leave New York-Penn Station 4:55 PM EDT - Mile 0
Newark, NJ - 5:10 PM - Mile 10
Trenton, NJ - 5:50 PM - Mile 58
North Philadelphia, PA - 6:18 PM - Mile 85
Paoli, PA - 6:48 PM - Mile 111
Lancaster, PA - 7:35 PM - Mile 159
Arrive Harrisburg, PA - 8:09 PM - Mile 194
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Train #541 WAS-HAR - VIA Perryville
Washington, DC - 4:35 PM - Mile 0
Capital Beltway, MD - 4:48 PM - Mile 10
Baltimore, MD - 5:20 PM - Mile 40
Harrisburg, PA - 8:00 PM - Mile 141
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Depart Harrisburg 8:24 PM - Mile 194
Altoona, PA - 10:54 PM - Mile 325
Johnstown, PA - 11:41 PM - Mile 362
Pittsburgh, PA - 1:25 AM - Mile 439
Canton, OH - 3:16 AM - Mile 541
Crestline, OH - 5:03 AM - Mile 628
Lima, OH - 6:15 AM - Mile 700
Fort Wayne, IN - 6:20 AM (Indiana Time) - Mile 759
Gary, IN (5th & Chase Street) - 8:16 AM - Mile 882
Chicago, IL - Union Station 9:00 AM CDT - Mile 907
Equipment - Train #41 and #541 The Broadway Limited NYP/WAS-CHI
New York-Chicago: Lounge Car (Recreation); Dining Car (Twin-Unit); Sleeping Cars (Roomettes and Bedrooms)
Slumbercoach (Single and Double Rooms); Coaches (Reserved Seats)
Washington-Chicago: Sleeper-Lounge Observation (Bedrooms and Buffet Service); Sleeping Car (Roomettes and
Bedrooms); Coach (Reserved Seats). Checked baggage handled between New York and Chicago (except to and
from Canton, Crestline, Lima, OH and Gary, IN); Sealed Baggage Car between Washington and Chicago.
From my recollections #41 left NYP ON TIME - One GG1 locomotive with about 12 cars westbound...We made
good time on the electrified NYP-HAR portion of the trip...I learned very quickly how to ride "Dutch Doors"...
As we were nearing Harrisburg remembering the flooding from Hurricane Agnes the year before a Trainman
mentioned something about the depth of the floodwaters that stood out in my mind - there was a industrial
plant in Steelton that manufactured tools and work implements - paint used had floated on top of the flood
waters leaving a discernible line showing how deep the Susquehanna River was in June 1972 in that area...
The engine change at Harrisburg added the cars from the Washington section - power west was at least
three (or four) E units...Left on or close to schedule for the ride over the former PRR Middle Division with
my memory of crossing the Rockville Bridge after dusk...Ate Dinner with my Family between HAR-ALT...
Rode a Dutch Door-Left Side to view the Horseshoe Curve after ALT through the Gallitzin Tunnel...JST
was a fascinating station with its twin high-level platforms that were in a very deteriorated condition
(Johnstown, PA Station Platforms replaced with twin low-level platforms in 1975)...Pittsburgh Penn
Station was a fascinating place - I will not forget how the platform concrete twinkled with whatever
concrete alloy that was used - I learned to ask the Train Crew first about leaving times at stations to
take precaution and not chance being left behind...Rode a Dutch Door leaving PGH west up the Ohio
River towards Conway Yard and the PA-OH State Line just E of East Palestine, OH (48.5 from PGH)...
We were less than one hour late into Canton, OH - the train would have slow orders on PC track across
north central Ohio account of track conditions as a result of recent heavy rains west of Canton through
Crestline towards Lima remembering crossing some swollen rivers at/near flood stage along with PC
ongoing track work...After Fort Wayne our family rode in the stainless-steel blunt-end Observation Car
westward remembering the train running at maximum operating speed to make time on the mostly
level straightaway track for the 122 miles between FWA and Gary...After Gary the former PRR went
through the Calumet Industrial District to the IN-IL State Line entering the City of Chicago...
The ride northwest through Southeast Chicago went along fast on the former PRR route - remember
going through Englewood then over the Dan Ryan Expressway and its CTA Rapid Transit Route - and
Englewood "L" line than due north towards Downtown Chicago - I remember that the line passes by
Comiskey Park (then-home of the Chicago White Sox) on the way towards the South Branch Bridge.
Seeing Downtown Chicago for the first time was quite a sight - the Sears Tower (under construction
at that time) stands out to me for its domination of the Chicago skyline...
Train #41 arrived into Chicago Union Station around three hours late - this actually made picking up
our family by the relatives easier - had the train been on time for the originally scheduled 9 AM arrival
they would have had to deal with morning peak traffic to drive in to Downtown...Our relatives even on
that first ride to the SW Side took the extra effort to show us around Chicago - "My Kind of Town" which
peaked my interest - I remember obtaining a copy of the Standard Oil Street Map of Chicago early on -
which I studied in depth to learn the geography of the City - Example: 8 long blocks equal one mile...
For a few days afterwards I had strange hallucinations or flash-backs from the train ride - I was literally
an insominiac on board "not wanting to miss anything" getting almost no sleep with my adrenaline...
I later learned that this was a form of "motion sickness" most likely from never traveling long duration
before - that interestingly never occurred again in subsequent rail (or car) travel...
In closing this first-ever long distance train ride stands out in my mind as one of my best memories from
my teen years - because of the personal logistics this would be the one and only time we would all travel
together as a family of four - I would eventually travel by myself NYP-CHI beginning in the Summer of 1975.
If you have any interest in trains or rail transit you will never forget your first significant ride...MACTRAXX
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS