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]
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".[5][6]: 51 Beginning on January 8, 1978, the Hilltopper was combined with the Night Owl, creating through service from Boston to Catlettsburg, Kentucky.[7][2]: 73 Even with this effort to improve its farebox recovery ratio, the train averaged 33 passengers per trip in 1978, dropping to between 2 and 15 per trip in 1979. 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]
As recently as October 2019, passenger rail advocates are pushing for restoration of east-west service from Christiansburg and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Hampton Roads area, via Roanoke, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, and Richmond with a "Commonwealth Corridor." This would be the first cross-Virginia passenger train since the Hilltopper.[10][11]
ReferencesEdit
^"National Train Timetables". National Railroad Passenger Corporation. July 29, 1979. p. 34 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
^Amtrak National Train Timetables. Amtrak. January 8, 1978. pp. 9, 34.
^ abcFranklin, Ben A. (October 1, 1979). "Amtrak Hilltopper Given Last 'All Aboard!'". New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
^Sturgeon, Jeff (May 23, 2016). "Building of Roanoke's Amtrak platform expected to start this fall, state says". Roanoke Times. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
Media related to Hilltopper (train) at Wikimedia Commons
1979 timetable
October 16, 2023
hilltopper, train, hilltopper, passenger, train, operated, amtrak, atlantic, region, united, states, daily, from, south, station, boston, massachusetts, catlettsburg, station, catlettsburg, kentucky, made, stops, states, district, columbia, hilltopperthe, hill. 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 station in Catlettsburg Kentucky The 1 674 mi 2 694 km run made 34 stops in 11 states and the District of Columbia 1 HilltopperThe Hilltopper at Roanoke Virginia in April 1978OverviewService typeInter city railStatusDiscontinuedLocaleEastern United StatesPredecessorMountaineerFirst serviceJune 1 1977Last serviceSeptember 30 1979Former operator s AmtrakRouteTerminiBoston MassachusettsCatlettsburg KentuckyStops34Distance travelled1 674 miles 2 694 km Average journey time26 hours 35 minutesService frequencyDailyTrain number s 34 35 until January 8 1978 66 67On board servicesClass es Sleeping car service Boston Washington Reserved and unreserved coachCatering facilitiesOn board cafeTechnicalRolling stockAmfleet coachesTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm Track owner s Amtrak RF amp P N amp WRoute mapLegendBoston SouthBoston Back BayRoute 128MARIProvidenceKingstonWesterlyRICTNew LondonOld SaybrookNew HavenBridgeportStamfordCTNYNew York CityNYNJNewark PennMetroparkTrentonNJPAPhiladelphiaPADEWilmingtonDEMDAberdeenBaltimoreCapital BeltwayMDDCWashington D C DCVAAlexandriaQuanticoFredericksburgRichmond Staples Mill RoadPetersburg Fleet Street Nottoway CountyFarmvilleLynchburg Woodall Road BedfordRoanokeChristiansburgNarrowsVAWVBluefieldWelchWilliamsonWVKYTri StateThis diagram viewtalkedit Contents 1 History 2 Proposed restored service 3 References 4 External linksHistory Edit nbsp 1977 map of the Hilltopper routeThe 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 amp 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 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 5 6 51 Beginning on January 8 1978 the Hilltopper was combined with the Night Owl creating through service from Boston to Catlettsburg Kentucky 7 2 73 Even with this effort to improve its farebox recovery ratio the train averaged 33 passengers per trip in 1978 dropping to between 2 and 15 per trip in 1979 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 amp W employees with lifetime passes The Night Owl continued to be run after the cut 8 The end of the Hilltopper spelled the end of intercity rail service along much of its route in Southwest Virginia and West Virginia However one daily Northeast Regional round trip was extended from Lynchburg to Roanoke on October 31 2017 9 Proposed restored service EditAs recently as October 2019 passenger rail advocates are pushing for restoration of east west service from Christiansburg and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Hampton Roads area via Roanoke Lynchburg Charlottesville and Richmond with a Commonwealth Corridor This would be the first cross Virginia passenger train since the Hilltopper 10 11 References Edit National Train Timetables National Railroad Passenger Corporation July 29 1979 p 34 via Museum of Railway Timetables a b Sanders Craig 2006 Amtrak in the Heartland Bloomington Indiana Indiana University Press ISBN 978 0 253 34705 3 Hilltopper Begins Service Amtrak NEWS Vol 4 no 11 Amtrak June 15 1977 Hilltopper Begins Service Amtrak NEWS Vol 4 no 10 Amtrak June 1 1977 Dilger Robert Jay 2003 American Transportation Policy Praeger p 91 ISBN 9780275978532 Solomon Brian 2004 Amtrak Saint Paul Minnesota MBI ISBN 978 0 7603 1765 5 Amtrak National Train Timetables Amtrak January 8 1978 pp 9 34 a b c Franklin Ben A October 1 1979 Amtrak Hilltopper Given Last All Aboard New York Times Retrieved July 15 2016 Sturgeon Jeff May 23 2016 Building of Roanoke s Amtrak platform expected to start this fall state says Roanoke Times Retrieved July 15 2016 Wyatt Gordon Greater Greater Washington Virginia is planning an east west rail route connecting the Blue Ridge Mountains to the beach October 16 2019 https ggwash org view 74274 commonwealth corridor rail route may run from the blue ridge mountains to beach Virginians for High Speed Rail Southern Environmental Law Center EXPANDING VIRGINIA S PASSENGER RAIL CONNECTING THE BLUE RIDGE TO THE BEACH WITH THE COMMONWEALTH CORRIDOR http www vhsr com sites default files 2019 09 VCC 20Report 20Final pdfExternal links Edit nbsp Media related to Hilltopper train at Wikimedia Commons 1979 timetable Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hilltopper train amp oldid 1142871617, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
