Blue Ridge (train)

Blue Ridge
The Blue Ridge in December 1980
Overview
Service type Commuter rail
Status Transferred to MTA Maryland
Locale West Virginia
Predecessor Potomac Special
First service May 7, 1973
Last service 1986
Successor Brunswick Line (MARC Train)
Former operator(s) Amtrak
Route
Start Washington, D.C
Stops 9
End Cumberland, Maryland
Distance travelled 143 mi (230 km)
Average journey time 3 hours, 5 minutes
Service frequency Daily
Train number(s) 701–704
On-board services
Class(es) Unreserved coach
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s) B&O Railroad

The Blue Ridge was a daily Amtrak passenger train that operated between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland (Martinsburg, West Virginia after 1976). Service began in 1973; it was merged into the MARC Brunswick Line commuter rail service in 1986.

History

The Blue Ridge was introduced on May 7, 1973, as a replacement for the Potomac Special. It was curtailed from the Potomac Special terminus of Parkersburg, West Virginia to Cumberland, and retimed to better serve commuters.[1] In December 1975, the Blue Ridge became the first train outside the Northeast Corridor to receive new Amfleet coaches.[1] The Blue Ridge was truncated to Martinsburg on October 31, 1976 upon the introduction of the Washington–Cincinnati, Ohio Shenandoah.[2][1] Weekend service was dropped in 1981 when the Shenandoah was replaced by the Capitol Limited.[3][4]

In 1986, Amtrak transferred the Blue Ridge to the Maryland Mass Transit Administration (now the Maryland Transit Administration), who incorporated it into the MARC Brunswick Line.[5] As part of the transfer, Amtrak agreed to subsidize the train for five years.[6] MARC continued to use the name during the late 1980s.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 West Virginia Department of Transportation, State Rail Authority (March 12, 2013). "West Virginia State Rail Plan: Intercity Service Review". pp. 4–6. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ Sanders 2006, p. 68
  3. ↑ Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. April 26, 1981. p. 32 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
  4. ↑ Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. October 25, 1981. p. 32 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
  5. ↑ Reynolds & Oroszi 2000, pp. 126-127
  6. ↑ West Virginia Department of Transportation, State Rail Authority (March 12, 2013). "West Virginia State Rail Plan: Maryland Area Regional Commuter Service". p. 2. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016.

References

  • Reynolds, Kirk; Dave Oroszi (2000). Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Osceola, WI: MBI. ISBN 0760307466. OCLC 42764520.
  • Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.

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