End of N&W Passenger Service and the beginnings of Amtrak

[NW Mailing List]

On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 12:10 PM Shawn wrote:

> After the end of N&W passenger service, I assume Amtrak continued to
> operate passenger trains on at least some N&W lines. The latest issue of
> "Trains" magazine indicates Amtrak operated a Cincinnati-Roanoke-Norfolk
> train, the Mountaineer, until 1977. The Hilltopper, a
> Cincinnati-Roanoke-Richmond, VA train, operated until 1979. Did these
> trains use the N&W line across southern Ohio between Cincinnati and
> Portsmouth?
>

The route of the Hilltopper in Trains is an error. The train replaced the
Mountaineer, somewhat under protest, so it was scheduled to fail. The train
ended in Catlettsburg, Ky., across the river from Kenova, in the middle of
the night with nowhere to go and no way to get there. While the train did
enjoy a lot of short-trip riders, especially in West Virginia, they weren't
enough to save the train from Amtrak budget cuts.

Bruce in Blacksburg
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