New Haven Passenger Trains on the Springfield line

[Duo]

Hello, I am looking to find out more about the New Haven RR passegner trains that ran on the Springfield line in the late 1940's to the late 1950's. Like what was the usual consist of local, mainline trains, baggage trains if any, mail and express and any pictures someone might have of them would be really nice. Thank you who ever responds to this.

[daveklepper]

The Bankers was the premier train, after 1949 usually had all or mostly the postwar 8600 fluted side coaches, a diner, and one or two full parlors and possibly a combine parlor-baggage, with back-to-back PA's up front, later bacvk-to-back FL-9's through from and to Greand Central Terminal.   The parlors ran ahead of the diner and the coaches behind.   Prewar 8200-seat coaches were used as extras and spares.   To NY in the morning and back in the evening, (I think 6pm dpearture.)

[henry6]

Hello, I am looking to find out more about the New Haven RR passegner trains that ran on the Springfield line in the late 1940's to the late 1950's. Like what was the usual consist of local, mainline trains, baggage trains if any, mail and express and any pictures someone might have of them would be really nice. Thank you who ever responds to this.

 The line was a "full service" line with everything from the Montrealer handed off  and from the Boston and Maine, sometime Boston trains via the Boston and Albany, NYP and GCT coach trains, etc. Find timetables and official guides from the era at rail shows, flea markets, antique and hobby shops or in ads in TRAINS or CLASSIC TRAINS magazines.  Also check your library for some very good histories of the line.

[wanswheel]

Springfield line was crucial to CV passenger service

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/1606/cvcvr.jpg

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/1606/cvmaintt.jpg

http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/images/adaccess/T/T30/T3015/T3015-med.jpeg

http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?200804102150472426.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~railimages/newhaven/NH793.jpg

[daveklepper]

In the post WWII years there were two Montreal trains that lasted a long time, the Montrealer as discussed, from Washington (and called the Washingtonian running southbound, which ran via the Hell Gate Bridge route and Penn Station New York.  The daytime companion train was the Ambassador, which ran from Grqand Central Terminal in New York, and until sometime in the late 60's, added and subtracted a Boston section at White River Junction, Vermont.  Until the early 60'sm the overnight Montrealer was supplimented by another sleeper and coach train just to serve New Hampshire and Vermont areas, and did not run to Montreal, possibly terminating at Newpaort or Burlington.  Similarly, there was the Day White Mountains Express.   When these two trains were dropped, stops were added to the Ambassador and Montrealer (Springfield Junnciton, Clairmont Junction, and othe line of your interest, Berlin, Meridan).   The two Montreal trains all carried a mixture of New Haven, Boston and Maine, and Canadian National equipment, including sleepers, sleeper-lounge-buffet-diner (usually a New Haven car for this), coaches, and head end equipment.   The Montrealer also included PRR equipment, often coaches and/or a sleeper, but always head end equipment.   The B&M coaches often a non-airconditioned heavyweight, very often a prewar American Flyer with daytime seating.  But in 1952, the B&M introduced two Pullman-built sleepers identacle to the a New Haven series, but without the green, later orange, window band, named "Dartmouth College I" and "Dartmouth College II", specifically for the New York - White River JUnction service, ending up as dropped off the back of the Montrealer and picked up by the Washingtonian and runnig from and to Washington, not New YOrk.   Most New Haven coaches on the Montrealer were the preward 8200 American Flyers with the postwar interiors like the 8600's, the PRR's were rebuilt P70's looking like modern streamlined coaches but sometimes only semi-rebuilt cars showed.   The one CN coach was almost always a modern postwar car.  I only remember lightweight sleepers bing used, even during the period when the "Dreadnaught" 1-and-12 "Dollar Saver-Sleeper' was on the NY-Boston overnight "Owl."

With all the through and local trains, service between Spingfield and New Haven averaged about one in each direction each hour.

And then there were about two or three New York (GCT)-Springfield-Boston trains with a mixture of New Haven and New YOrk Central equipment, the latter usually just coaches, with the New Haven providing any parlors or diners.

That was one stretch of track where both PRR and NYC passenger equipment could often be seen, usually not in the same train, however.

In addtion to the Montrealer using the Hell Gate Route, I think there was the Quaker, which had through Pittsburgh - Springfield coach equipment, although it may also have had the Boston Section as the main section.   In any case, there was one day train each way to and from Springfield that ran over the Hell Gate Bridge, instead of into GCT.

Once the FL-9's came on line, the prewar Alcos dissapeared.  FP's were mostly confined to the Penn Station trains, with the changeover to EP-2's, EP3's, EP-4's and EP-5's, later paired FL-9's on occasion, at New hAVER, while heavy GCT trains had two FL-9's, and short six or less car-trains usually just had one, running through to and from GCT.