View source for Capitol Limited (B&O train)

{{Short description|Former B&O train between New York and Chicago}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width       = 
| name            = ''Capitol Limited''
| logo            = 
| logo_width      = 
| image           = Capitol Limited crossing the Potomac at Harpers Ferry, May 1969.jpg
| image_width     = 300px
| caption         = The westbound ''Capitol Limited'' [[B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing|crossing the Potomac River]] at [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia]] in 1969
| type            = [[Inter-city rail]]
| status          = Discontinued
| locale          = [[Eastern United States]]
| predecessor     = 
| first           = May 12, 1923
| last            = April 30, 1971
| successor       = 
| operator        = 
| formeroperator  = [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]]
| ridership       = 
| ridership2      = 
| website         = 
| start           = [[Baltimore]], Maryland (1958)
| stops           = <nowiki/>
*23 (Baltimore - Chicago)
*21 (Chicago - Baltimore)
| end             = [[Chicago]], Illinois
| distance        = 
| journeytime     = <nowiki/>
*18 hours, 40 minutes (Baltimore - Chicago)
*18 hours, 15 minutes (Chicago - Baltimore)
| frequency       = Daily
| trainnumber     = <nowiki/>
*105-5 (Baltimore - Chicago)
*6-106 (Chicago - Baltimore)
| line_used       = 
| class           = 
| access          = 
| seating         = Lounge Seating Rooms
| sleeping        = <nowiki/>
*[[Roomette]]s
*[[Sleeping car#Compartments and Double Bedrooms|Double Bedrooms]]
*Bedroom Suites
| autorack        = 
| catering        = <nowiki/>
*[[Lounge car|Lounge]]
*Magazine Library
| observation     = 
| entertainment   = 
| baggage         = Limited Baggage Service
| otherfacilities = 
| stock           = [[Strata-Dome]]
| gauge           = {{RailGauge|sg}} 
| el              = 
| speed           = <nowiki/>
*43.2 (Baltimore - Chicago)
*44.2 (Chicago - Baltimore)
| owners          = 
| routenumber     = 
| map             = [[File:B&O Capitol Ltd route.png|300px]]
| map_state       = 
}}
The '''''Capitol Limited''''' was an American [[passenger train]] run by the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], originally between [[New York City]] and [[Grand Central Station (Chicago)|Grand Central Station]] in [[Chicago]], via [[Washington Union Station]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Camden Station]] in [[Baltimore]], and [[Pittsburgh]]. For almost 48 years, it was the B&O's [[wikt:flagship#English|flagship]] passenger train, noted for personalized service and innovation. At the time of its discontinuation on May 1, 1971, when [[Amtrak]] took over most rail passenger service in the U.S., the ''Capitol Limited'' operated between Washington and Chicago.

==History==
[[File:Capitol Limited and Potomac River postcard.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Capitol Limited'' in its early years]]
The ''Capitol Limited'' was inaugurated on May 12, 1923, as an all-[[Pullman (car or coach)|Pullman sleeping car]] train running from [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|Pennsylvania Station]] in New York City to Chicago, via Washington, D.C. Once west of [[Pennsylvania Station (Newark)|the Pennsy's Newark station]] in New Jersey, the train used the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad|Lehigh Valley]] and [[Reading Company|Reading Railroad]] as far as Philadelphia, where it reached B&O's own rails to Chicago.<ref name=Stover /> It was designed to compete against the luxury trains of the rival [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] and [[New York Central Railroad]].  Although the B&O's longer route put it at a competitive disadvantage in New York for time-sensitive travelers,  the B&O offered such luxuries in the 1920s as onboard secretaries, barbers, manicures, and valets.<ref name=Steg>Harry Stegmaier, ''Baltimore & Ohio Passenger Service, Vol. 2 &ndash; Route of the Capitol Limited''. Lynchburg, Va.: TLC Publishing, 1997 ({{ISBN|1-883-089-00X}}).</ref><ref name=rasmuss>{{cite news|author=Rasmussen, Frederick N.|title=Bidding B&O passenger trains goodbye|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|date=May 7, 2011|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-xpm-2011-05-07-bs-md-backstory-capitol-limited-20110506-story.html|access-date=July 6, 2019}}</ref> The ''Capitol's'' "Martha Washington"-series dining cars were particularly noted for their Chesapeake Bay cuisine, served in ornate cars with [[lead glass|leaded glass]] windows, glass chandeliers and colonial-style furnishings.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kratville|1962|p=168}}</ref> The ''Capitol Limited'' derived much of its passenger traffic from businessmen and government officials traveling between Washington and the midwest.<ref name=Steg />
[[File:Capitol Limited EMD EA and Tom Thumb 1937.jpg|thumb|left|Brand-new diesel equipment in 1937]]
On September 1, 1926, the Pennsylvania Railroad terminated its contract with the B&O, which had permitted the latter to use the "Pennsy's" Hudson River tunnels and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan.<ref name=rasmuss /><ref name=Stover>John F. Stover, ''History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad''. W. Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, 1987. ({{ISBN|0-911198-81-4}})</ref> Thereafter, the ''Capitol Limited'', along with all other B&O passenger trains to New York, operated over the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey|Jersey Central]]'s main line from the connection with the Reading in [[Bound Brook, New Jersey|Bound Brook]] into its [[Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal|Jersey City terminal]], where passengers were then transferred to buses that met the train right on the platform. These buses were ferried across the Hudson River into Manhattan, where they proceeded to various "stations" including the [[4 Park Avenue|Vanderbilt Hotel]], [[Wanamaker's]], [[Columbus Circle]] and [[Rockefeller Center]], as well as Brooklyn.<ref name=Harwood>Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., ''Royal Blue Line''. Sykesville, Md.: Greenberg Publishing, 1990. ({{ISBN|0-89778-155-4}})</ref>

In 1938, the B&O dieselized the train after purchasing two sets of the new [[EMC EA/EB|EA and EB locomotives]] from General Motors' [[Electro-Motive Diesel|Electro-Motive Corporation]].<ref name=rasmuss /><ref name=Stover />  The B&O was heavily in debt during the [[Great Depression|Depression]] and could not afford to buy new equipment, so it rebuilt its old heavyweight passenger cars into streamlined ones when the diesels were introduced in 1938, making the ''Capitol Limited'' the first dieselized streamlined train in the eastern U.S.<ref name=Steg /> By September 1940, the through sleeping cars operating to New York were all streamlined.<ref name= Harwood />  For the aesthetic features of the train, the B&O turned to renowned industrial designer [[Otto Kuhler]], who turned the ''Cap'', as it was affectionately known, into a regal operation complete with a stunning royal blue, silver, and gold pin-striping livery (a paint scheme that would become one of the classics of the streamliner era).<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Kelly, John |title=Styled to sell: The names behind the Streamlined Era |magazine=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]] |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/history/styled-to-sell/ |date=July 6, 2006 |access-date=December 28, 2024}}</ref>

==Route and equipment==

[[File:B&O RR dome car.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dome car]] on the ''Capitol Limited'']]
Following [[World War II]], the B&O and the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe railway]] launched through sleeping car service between Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles on the ''Capitol Limited'' and the Santa Fe's ''[[Chief (train)|Chief]]''.<ref name=Steg /> In 1954 these continuous trains were offered only eastbound on the Capitol Limited. For the westbound trip, passengers would take the B&O's ''[[Shenandoah (B&O train)|Shenandoah]]'' for a continuous ride from the eastern cities. Additionally, for the Santa Fe segment from Chicago to Los Angeles and the reverse, the train was shifted from the ''Chief'' to the SF's ''[[Super Chief]].''<ref>{{cite journal |title=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 'Pullman, Coach and Dining Car Service' |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=87 |issue=7 |date=December 1954}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Santa Fe Lines, Table A |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=87 |issue=7 |date=December 1954}}</ref><ref name="old.atsfrr.org">'Santa Fe Transcontinental Passenger Service' http://old.atsfrr.org/resources/Sandifer/TransconPass/Index.htm</ref> In February, 1956, the ''Capitol Limited'' departed Jersey City at 12:45&nbsp;p.m. as train #&nbsp;5. As an express, all-[[Sleeping car|Pullman sleeping car]] train, the ''Capitol Limited'' made limited stops along its {{convert|991|mi|km|adj=on}} route to Chicago.<ref>{{Official Guide of the Railways|February|1956|pages=414–418}}</ref> This all-Pullman configuration allowed passengers to avoid the process of transferring between the B&O's Grand Central Station and [[Dearborn Station]], where the Santa Fe's trains departed from.

Eastbound, the train departed Chicago at 4:30&nbsp;p.m. as train #&nbsp;6.  This scheduled departure was timed so that travelers riding western railroads such as the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe]], [[Chicago and North Western Railway]] or the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad|Burlington]] could readily connect for an eastward journey on B&O's deluxe train. During the height of train travel in the 1920s, the ''Capitol Limited'' occasionally ran in multiple sections, although never as frequently or extensively as the competing [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s ''[[Broadway Limited]]'' and [[New York Central Railroad]]'s ''[[20th Century Limited]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kratville|1962|p=166}}</ref>

The B&O was the first railroad to introduce [[air conditioning]] on its trains, beginning with the ''[[Columbian (B&O train)|Columbian]]'' in 1931, followed by the ''Capitol Limited'' on May 22, 1932, well ahead of its competitors.<ref name=Harwood /> This innovation received favorable comment nationwide by the news media.<ref name=Stover />

The ''Capitol Limited'' received [[Streamliner|streamlined]] heavyweight [[sleeping car|sleeping]] and [[dining car]]s in 1938. A typical consist included the following: baggage-dormitory, 8-section 1-drawing room 1-compartment sleeping car, dining car, three to four 8-section 5-double bedroom sleeping cars, 14-section sleeping car, two 12-section 1-drawing room sleeping cars, and a sleeper-buffet-lounge with a drawing room and three compartments. In 1941 these cars were augmented by several lightweight 10-roomette 5-bedroom sleeping cars.<ref name="wayner">{{Wayner - Car names, numbers, consists|pages=52-55}}</ref>

By the early 1950s, the B&O had combined through cars for the ''Capitol Limited'', the ''Columbian'' (#&nbsp;25), and the ''[[Ambassador (B&O train)|Ambassador]]'' (#&nbsp;19) into one train between New York and Washington. Beyond Washington, the three trains then operated separately, with several additional Washington-to-Chicago Pullman sleeping cars added to the ''Capitol Limited'', along with a [[twin-unit]] [[dining car]], two [[Strata-Dome]] [[dome car]]s, club car, and a flat-end [[observation car]].

The B&O re-equipped the ''Capitol Limited'' with new, [[Streamliner|streamlined]] sleeping cars in 1950 and 1954, including the new duplex-[[roomette]] type. The Pullmans were named after rivers and lakes along the train's route, such as [[Cacapon River|"Cacapon"]] and [[Lake Wawasee|"Wawasee"]]. Dome cars "Moonlight Dome" and "Starlight Dome", having sleeping compartments on their lower levels, were added on January 8, 1951.<ref name=Steg /> A twin-unit dining car seating 64&nbsp;passengers at a time was obtained from the New York Central in 1957.<ref name=Harwood />

==Discontinuance==
[[File:Capitol Limited at Shenandoah Junction, October 1970.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Capitol Limited'' in October 1970]]
The ''Capitol Limited'', in common with most name trains in the U.S. by the mid-1950s, suffered steadily-declining patronage as the traveling public abandoned trains in favor of airplanes and the automobile.  The B&O gave up on competing with the Pennsylvania Railroad into New York, discontinuing all passenger service north of Baltimore on April 26, 1958. Also, on January 16 of that year, the B&O and the Santa Fe discontinued the Los Angeles-Washington sleeper.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 'Pullman, Coach and Dining Car Service' [reporting the April 1958 timetable]|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=87 |issue=7 |date=August 1958}}</ref><ref name="old.atsfrr.org"/> With the April 26 schedule, the ''Capitol Limited'' operated between Washington and Chicago as a through train, with a few cars originating in Baltimore until 1966. Other B&O passenger trains were combined with the ''Capitol Limited'': the [[Ambassador (B&O train)|''Ambassador'']] to Detroit and the formerly all-coach [[Columbian (B&O train)|''Columbian'']] to Chicago. The combined train in the early 1960s had as many as 22 cars pulled by five locomotives.<ref name=Steg />

To stem the loss of passengers and resulting deficits, the B&O in the early 1960s offered reduced mid-week fares, auto shipment for passengers (similar in concept to the [[Auto Train]]), and onboard movies, to attract more passengers. The train was marginally-profitable, when mail and express revenue was included.<ref name=Steg />

While the train began 1964 as the ''Capitol Limited,''<ref>C&O/B&O timetable, April 26, 1964, Table 3 https://streamlinermemories.info/Eastern/C&OB&O64TT.pdf</ref> by the year's end it was changed to the ''Capitol.'' The renamed train began stopping in both directions at intermediate stations such as [[Akron Union Station]] and [[Baltimore & Ohio Station (Youngstown)|Youngstown Station]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Baltimore & Ohio Road, Table 1 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=97 |issue=7 |date=December 1964}}</ref> (The B&O restored the ''Limited'' part of the name by 1967, but kept the stops at intermediate stations.)<ref>{{cite journal |title=Baltimore & Ohio Road, Table 1 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=100 |issue=2 |date=July 1967}}</ref>

The loss in 1967 of mail and express contracts, which by then accounted for almost 70 percent of passenger train revenue for the B&O,  severely affected the B&O's passenger service. The Post Office Department's cancellation of its mail contract for the ''Capitol Limited'' and other trains, on October 28, 1967, was the death knell.<ref name=Harwood /> Many passenger trains were dropped and the consist of the ''Capitol Limited'' was considerably-reduced. B&O discontinued all long-distance train service to Baltimore's Camden Station. Between October 1966 and April 1971, a connecting [[Budd Rail Diesel Car|RDC]] operated between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., as train # 105.<ref name=Dome>Stephen J. Salamon etal., ''Baltimore and Ohio &ndash; Reflections of the Capitol Dome''. Silver Spring, Md.: Old Line Graphics, 1993. ({{ISBN|1-879314-08-8}})</ref> By June, 1969, two E diesel electric engines pulled a train consisting of one baggage car, sleeper (10/6), one diner / lounge, one dome coach, and four coaches.<ref name=McKinney>Kevin McKinney, "Chicago Afternoon", ''[[Passenger Train Journal]]'', Summer, 1969, Flossmoor, Il., pg 14.</ref> Additionally, by that year, with the cancellation of the ''[[Washington-Chicago Express]],'' the ''Capitol Limited became the B&O's only Washington - Chicago train.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Table 1 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=102 |issue=3 |date=August 1969}}</ref>

With the advent of [[Amtrak]] on May 1, 1971, the ''Capitol Limited'' was discontinued by the B&O, along with all of its other passenger trains save local commuter services. For the final run of the old ''Capitol Limited'' on April 29, 1971, the B&O ran the entire trainset from Baltimore's Camden Station, including the dome car.<ref name=Dome /> The B&O printed special commemorative tickets and returned its bottled [[Deer Park Spring Water Co.|Deer Park spring water]] and B&O's signature, "all-you-can-eat" giant salad bowls to the final run's dining car, some of the ''Capitol Limited''{{'}}s amenities from more prosperous times. A 31-year veteran dining car waiter on the last run of the ''Capitol Limited'' recalled to a reporter for ''The Baltimore Sun'' that, "all the vegetables we served were freshly cooked on board—no frozen or canned food at all."<ref>Michael J. Clark, "Capitol Limited Now Page In Rail History", ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', May 1, 1971.</ref>

At its inception, Amtrak did not continue any of the B&O's former passenger train routes, and the ''Capitol Limited'' ended its 48-year run on the B&O. After a lapse of ten years, Amtrak revived Washington–Chicago service, using the same B&O tracks (now [[CSX Transportation]]) between Washington and [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], for the Amtrak ''[[Capitol Limited]]''.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{Kratville-SSL}}

==Further reading==
* {{Welsh-B&O}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}

{{Infobox B&O Named Trains}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capitol Limited}}
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]]
[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Night trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in West Virginia]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1923]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1971]]