Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Federal Express (train)
The Federal Express (after April 1939, officially known as just the Federal) was an overnight named passenger train run by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad between Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C., and South Station in Boston, from 1912 to 1971. At different times, its route has taken it across the Hudson River via a car float between Port Morris and Jersey City (the ferry Maryland), the Poughkeepsie Bridge, and finally the Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad. The final routing was identical to today's high-speed Northeast Corridor.
The train carried sleeping cars and coaches, as well as mail and baggage. As the train operated well outside of dinner hours after 1917 (10:00–11:00 PM departure), food service was limited to beverages and light snacks on departure, and continental breakfast in the morning, generally dispensed from a lounge car which also contained sleeping accommodations.
Through trains between Boston and Washington, D.C., began operation on May 8, 1876, using the steamship Maryland to transport up to six passenger cars between NYNH&H's Harlem River station and Harsimus Cove (close to the Exchange Place terminal) on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The first services were an overnight train that ran on the combined New York and New England Railroad (Boston-Hartford) and NYNH&H route, and a day train on the shore route. A sample timetable shows that in 1893 there was a Boston-Washington day train called the Colonial Express but the overnight train (now using the NYNH&H shore route) still had only generic names like Boston and Washington Express (its southbound name on the NYNH&H). By 1903 the overnight train was called the Federal Express. The boat passage allowed passengers to avoid the complicated transfer in New York via city streets and a Hudson River ferry. It was especially convenient for the overnight train where passengers could choose to remain in their Pullman sleepers. The two trains made their last trip by steamer on October 17, 1912.
The Pennsylvania Railroad was by that date running all other through trains into its new Pennsylvania Station in New York rather than via Jersey City. The Colonial Express was changed to involve an omnibus connection between Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. Because of the overnight run, the Federal Express was run this way for only one transitional day.
On October 19, the Federal Express began operating over an all-rail route via the Poughkeepsie Bridge. The routing involved a long detour between New Haven and Trenton, using the NYNH&H Maybrook Line (via Derby, Danbury, and Brewster, New York), the NYNH&H's Central New England Railway across the bridge to Maybrook, New York, the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway to Belvidere, New Jersey, and the PRR's Belvidere-Delaware Railroad branch. Due to freight congestion on the Maybrook Line, the train was discontinued on January 9, 1916.
With the opening of the New York Connecting Railroad on April 1, 1917, the Federal Express and Colonial Express were restored as through trains via Penn Station and the Hell Gate Bridge. On this final routing the Federal Express initially made the run in 12 hours 10 minutes, later reduced to 9 hours 45 minutes averaged both ways.
The Federal operated without interruption through World War II, also avoiding (barely) the yearlong 1945 Office of Defense Transportation ban on sleeping car routes less than 450 miles, though the train's intermediate sleepers such as Philadelphia-Boston and Washington-Providence were so affected. This ban was in anticipation of Operation Magic Carpet.
After the war, the Federal was gradually re-equipped with railroad-owned lightweight sleepers and coaches from Pullman-Standard, including New Haven coaches of the 8600-8702 series, sleepers of the 14-roomette, 4-double bedroom Point-series of 1948 and the 6-section, 4-double bedroom, 6-roomette Beach-series of 1955. Food service was provided by a buffet-lounge car which also contained 6 double bedrooms, from the prewar and postwar PRR Falls-series until 1960, and a 1955 New Haven State-series car of similar configuration thereafter. Other PRR coaches and sleepers could sometimes be found as well on the postwar Federal, though its consist was mostly New Haven by joint agreement.
Hub AI
Federal Express (train) AI simulator
(@Federal Express (train)_simulator)
Federal Express (train)
The Federal Express (after April 1939, officially known as just the Federal) was an overnight named passenger train run by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad between Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C., and South Station in Boston, from 1912 to 1971. At different times, its route has taken it across the Hudson River via a car float between Port Morris and Jersey City (the ferry Maryland), the Poughkeepsie Bridge, and finally the Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad. The final routing was identical to today's high-speed Northeast Corridor.
The train carried sleeping cars and coaches, as well as mail and baggage. As the train operated well outside of dinner hours after 1917 (10:00–11:00 PM departure), food service was limited to beverages and light snacks on departure, and continental breakfast in the morning, generally dispensed from a lounge car which also contained sleeping accommodations.
Through trains between Boston and Washington, D.C., began operation on May 8, 1876, using the steamship Maryland to transport up to six passenger cars between NYNH&H's Harlem River station and Harsimus Cove (close to the Exchange Place terminal) on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The first services were an overnight train that ran on the combined New York and New England Railroad (Boston-Hartford) and NYNH&H route, and a day train on the shore route. A sample timetable shows that in 1893 there was a Boston-Washington day train called the Colonial Express but the overnight train (now using the NYNH&H shore route) still had only generic names like Boston and Washington Express (its southbound name on the NYNH&H). By 1903 the overnight train was called the Federal Express. The boat passage allowed passengers to avoid the complicated transfer in New York via city streets and a Hudson River ferry. It was especially convenient for the overnight train where passengers could choose to remain in their Pullman sleepers. The two trains made their last trip by steamer on October 17, 1912.
The Pennsylvania Railroad was by that date running all other through trains into its new Pennsylvania Station in New York rather than via Jersey City. The Colonial Express was changed to involve an omnibus connection between Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. Because of the overnight run, the Federal Express was run this way for only one transitional day.
On October 19, the Federal Express began operating over an all-rail route via the Poughkeepsie Bridge. The routing involved a long detour between New Haven and Trenton, using the NYNH&H Maybrook Line (via Derby, Danbury, and Brewster, New York), the NYNH&H's Central New England Railway across the bridge to Maybrook, New York, the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway to Belvidere, New Jersey, and the PRR's Belvidere-Delaware Railroad branch. Due to freight congestion on the Maybrook Line, the train was discontinued on January 9, 1916.
With the opening of the New York Connecting Railroad on April 1, 1917, the Federal Express and Colonial Express were restored as through trains via Penn Station and the Hell Gate Bridge. On this final routing the Federal Express initially made the run in 12 hours 10 minutes, later reduced to 9 hours 45 minutes averaged both ways.
The Federal operated without interruption through World War II, also avoiding (barely) the yearlong 1945 Office of Defense Transportation ban on sleeping car routes less than 450 miles, though the train's intermediate sleepers such as Philadelphia-Boston and Washington-Providence were so affected. This ban was in anticipation of Operation Magic Carpet.
After the war, the Federal was gradually re-equipped with railroad-owned lightweight sleepers and coaches from Pullman-Standard, including New Haven coaches of the 8600-8702 series, sleepers of the 14-roomette, 4-double bedroom Point-series of 1948 and the 6-section, 4-double bedroom, 6-roomette Beach-series of 1955. Food service was provided by a buffet-lounge car which also contained 6 double bedrooms, from the prewar and postwar PRR Falls-series until 1960, and a 1955 New Haven State-series car of similar configuration thereafter. Other PRR coaches and sleepers could sometimes be found as well on the postwar Federal, though its consist was mostly New Haven by joint agreement.