Chesapeake (train)

Chesapeake

Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Mid-Atlantic states
First service	April 30, 1978
Last service	October 29, 1983
Successor	SEPTA MARC Train
Former operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Start	Washington, DC
End	Philadelphia
Distance travelled	134 miles (216 km)
Average journey time	2 hour 18 minutes
Service frequency	Monday through Friday
Train number(s)	420, 421
On-board services
Class(es)	Unreserved coach
Technical
Rolling stock	Arrow
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	11.5 kV 25 Hz AC Overhead catenary
Track owner(s)	Amtrak
Route map Legend Philadelphia Chester Wilmington Newark Elkton Perryville Aberdeen Edgewood Baltimore Edmondson Avenue Baltimore Airport Odenton Bowie Capital Beltway Washington, D.C.

The Chesapeake was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak along the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one of the few commuter trains operated by Amtrak and operated from 1978 to 1983.

History

Service began on April 30, 1978, with funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of Maryland. Among stations reopening was Chester Transportation Center, which the Pennsylvania Railroad had closed in the 1960s.^[1] and the Baltimore-Washington International Airport railroad station was added to the service in 1980.^[2]

On October 29, 1983, Maryland and Pennsylvania, along with a number of other Northeastern states, took control of their commuter railroads. SEPTA expanded to commuter railroads previously used by the Pennsylvania Railroad and Reading Railroad, and the "MARC" (Maryland Area Regional Commuter) service name was established.^[3] The SEPTA R2 (now the Wilmington/Newark Line) and MARC Penn Line became the replacements for the Chesapeake, although no service existed between Perryville and Newark.

Equipment

The Chesapeake operated with leased Arrow electric multiple units.^[4]

Station stops

The following station stops were made by Chesapeake trains; not all trains made all stops.

State	City	Station	Notes and Connections
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	30th Street Station	SEPTA subway service; SEPTA Regional Rail
	Chester	Chester Transportation Center	SEPTA Wilmington/Newark Line
Delaware	Wilmington	French Street Station	SEPTA Wilmington/Newark Line
	Newark	Newark Rail Station	SEPTA Wilmington/Newark Line
Maryland	Elkton	Elkton
	Perryville	Perryville	Now stop on Penn Line
	Aberdeen	Aberdeen	Now stop on Penn Line
	Edgewood	Edgewood	Now stop on Penn Line
	Baltimore	Pennsylvania Station	Now stop on Penn Line and Baltimore Light Rail
		Edmondson Avenue Station	No longer a stop. Station building now used for a private business.
	Linthicum	Baltimore Airport	Now stop on Penn Line
	Odenton	Odenton	Now stop on Penn Line
	Bowie	Bowie
	Lanham	Capital Beltway	No longer a stop.
Washington, D.C		Union Station	Metro Red Line; MARC; various Amtrak trains

See also

• List of Amtrak routes#Northeast Corridor for other Amtrak trains named Chesapeake.

References

1. Chesapeake Timetable; April 30, 1978 (Museum of Railway Timetables.org)
2. Chesapeake Timetable; October 26, 1980 (Museum of Railway Timetables.org)
3. MARC History on MTA website
4. "Trivia Quiz". On Track 1 (1): 15; 25. June 1981.

External links

• October 1, 1979 Amtrak Chesapeake Timetable (Railroad Picture Archives)
• Inaugural Run of Amtrak's Chesapeake (Window on Cecil County's Past)