Hilltopper (train)

Hilltopper
The Hilltopper at Roanoke, Virginia in April 1978
Overview
Service type Inter-city rail
Status Discontinued
Locale Eastern United States
Predecessor Mountaineer
Former operator(s) Amtrak
Route
Start Boston, Massachusetts
Stops 34
End Catlettsburg, Kentucky
Distance travelled 1,674 miles (2,694 km)
Average journey time 26 hours 35 minutes
Service frequency Daily
Train number(s) 34, 35 (until January 8, 1978)
66, 67
On-board services
Class(es)
  • Sleeping car service (Boston-Washington)
  • Reserved and unreserved coach
Catering facilities On-board cafe
Technical
Rolling stock Amfleet coaches
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s) Amtrak, RF&P, N&W

The Hilltopper was a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It ran daily from South Station in Boston, Massachusetts to Catlettsburg, Kentucky. The 1,674 mi (2,694 km) run made 34 stops in 11 states and the District of Columbia.[1]

History

1977 map of the Hilltopper route

The Chicago-Norfolk Mountaineer, introduced in 1975, suffered from low ridership and high costs. Despite its failings, West Virginia senator Robert Byrd demanded that Amtrak replace it with another train on the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) to serve his rural constituents - and that the new train would use new Amfleet equipment and serve Washington, D.C.[2]:72 The Washington-Catlettsburg Hilltopper replaced the Mountaineer on June 1, 1977.[3] The Hilltopper retained all Mountaineer stops between Catlettsburg and Petersburg, Virginia, while the James Whitcomb Riley (which had run combined with the Mountaineer west of Catlettsburg) continued to provide a Chicago connection. Only Norfolk and Suffolk, Virginia lost train service; a bus connection to Petersburg was provided.[4]

Beginning on January 8, 1978, the Hilltopper was combined with the Night Owl, creating through service from Boston to Catlettsburg, Kentucky.[5][2]:73

The Hilltopper had warm supporters in Byrd and West Virginian congressman Harley Staggers but it was "cited by critics as an example of everything that was wrong with Amtrak".[6][7]:51 The train averaged 33 passengers per trip in 1978, dropping to between 2 and 15 per trip in 1979, and its average speed of 37.1 miles per hour (59.7 km/h) was the lowest on the long-distance system. Farebox recovery was a dismal 25%, with the train losing $200,000 per year.[8]

The Hilltopper was one of five routes cut on October 1, 1979 as part of a reorganization by the Carter Administration, and the only of the five where no federal injunctions were obtained to keep service running.[8] Many of the train's riders were former N&W employees with lifetime passes. The Night Owl continued to be run after the cut.[8]

Service has not returned many of its stops in Southwest Virginia and West Virginia, although one daily Northeast Regional round trip was extended from Lynchburg to Roanoke on October 31, 2017.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "National Train Timetables". National Railroad Passenger Corporation. July 29, 1979. p. 34 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
  2. 1 2 Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
  3. ↑ "Hilltopper Begins Service". Amtrak NEWS. Vol. 4 no. 11. Amtrak. June 15, 1977.
  4. ↑ "Hilltopper Begins Service". Amtrak NEWS. Vol. 4 no. 10. Amtrak. June 1, 1977.
  5. ↑ Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. January 8, 1978. pp. 9, 34.
  6. ↑ Dilger, Robert Jay (2003). American Transportation Policy. Praeger. p. 91. ISBN 9780275978532.
  7. ↑ Solomon, Brian (2004). Amtrak. Saint Paul, Minnesota: MBI. ISBN 978-0-7603-1765-5.
  8. 1 2 3 Franklin, Ben A. (October 1, 1979). "Amtrak Hilltopper Given Last 'All Aboard!'". New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  9. ↑ Sturgeon, Jeff (23 May 2016). "Building of Roanoke's Amtrak platform expected to start this fall, state says". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 15 July 2016.

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