Did the Nickle Platte have a crack steam passenger train

[gabe]

Did the Nickle Platte have a crack steam passenger train? What color were the cars and what was it pulled by? Where did it run?

Thanks,

Gabe

[jimrice4449]

The NKP was kind of like the Erie in the Cicago to NYC market only more so. In my 1945 Official Guide it shows only 2 psgr trains between Chicago & NYC (the NKP would only run as far as Buffalo, the Lackawana forwarded the cars from Buf. to NYC). Of these only the Nickle Plate Limited would qualify as "crack". It would have coaches and Pullmans and a few head end cars. One of the pullmans is listed as an 18 roomette which would make it, most likely, a heavywieght. From my WWII era train watching in Chicago (on the few occasiona I saw a NKP psgr trains) it seems to me all the cars were Pullman green. The good news is that they were pulled by a really pretty little 4-6-4 w/ smoke deflectors.
The route of the train was Chicago to Ft. Wayne to Cleaveland and form there parrallel to the NYC to Buffalo. The Lackawana ran Buf. to Binghamton NY to Scranton Pa and thence to Hoboken NJ (NYC was accsessed by ferry). Interestingly enough, the Lackawanna referred to this train as the "Lackawana Limited Buf. to NYC.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that the 18 roomette sleeper was lightweight ... the first of these cars were produced in 1938 for the Pennsylvania's Fleet of Modernism (the NYC's were 17 roomette with 1 open section for the porter, where passengers could sit while their roomettes were being made up for the night or in the morning). Roomettes were an invention of the lightweight-streamlined era, although there's no reason some heavyweights could not have been rebuilt with roomettes.

And the correct spelling is Nickel Plate, not Nickle Plate.

I'd be surprised if the Nickel Plate ever operated a train that might have been considered "crack." It was providing secondary service in markets dominated by the New York Central. The potential for "crack" service was limited by the fact that to a considerable extent the Nickel Plate's service must have been dependent on traffic from intermediate points, rather than through service from New York to Cleveland or Chicago or from Buffalo or Cleveland to Chicago or St. Louis. An exception would the the Cleveland-Chicago line where the NKP did carry a fair number of sleepers. It's difficult to imagine that it ever fielded enough trains to be really competitive with the Central.

[passengerfan]

Actually the two lightweight 18-Roomette Sleeping Cars were the ROOMETTE I built 1937 and ROOMETTE II built 1938 both were later named by the NKP MOSES CLEAVELAND and ROBERT DE LA SALLE respectively. They were sold to the NKP in 1945. They were operated by the NKP between Chivago and Cleveland beginning in 1945. In December 1949 the ROBERT DE LA SALLE was numbered and renamed 215 CITY OF ST. MARYS. In February 1950 the MOSES CLEAVELAND was numbered and renamed 216 CITY OF COLDWATER.

[daveklepper]

In diesel days the Nickel Plate Limited and the Lackawanna Limited were essentially one through train, and did have through coaches as well as sleepers. I rode a Nickle Plate lightwieght coach on this train between Scranton and Hoboken in 1950. If the Erie Limited was considered a crack train than so would be the Lackawanna Limited - Nickel PlateLImited.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

While the Erie Limited and the Nickel Plate Limited were undoubtedly the premier passenger trains on their roads, I would hardly consider them to be in the same category as the 20th Century Ltd or the Chief.

[tpatrick]

Nickel Plate was slow - but with a purpose. NKP catered to the business traveler who would leave Buffalo in the evening, travel overnight and arrive in Chicago in the morning rested and ready for a full day of work. Train no. 5 scheduled a 7:45 pm departure and an arrival time of 7:35 am. With the one hour time change en route that meant a transit time of 12 hours 50 minutes.

Rival New York Central made the trip on only 8:41. Train 27, The New England States, left Bufalo at 1:34 am, reaching Chicago at 9:15 am. Presumably a lot of passengers found the earlier NKP departure more to their liking even if it meant a slower trip.

Both railroads used Chicago's La Salle St Station.

[Anonymous]

The 1:34 a.m. departure time of the New England States would not have been an issue. Any Buffalo to Chicago sleepers would have been open for occupancy about 10 p.m. NYC also offered the option of the North Shore Limited for Buffalo to Chicago overlight service.