Connecticut Yankee (train)

Connecticut Yankee

Connecticut Yankee at Rye station, July 1985

Overview
Service type| Inter-city rail
Status| Discontinued
Locale| Northeastern United States / Quebec
First service| 1936
Last service| 1951, 1977; 1995
Former operator(s)| New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, Boston & Maine, Canadian Pacific Railway, Quebec Central Railway
Penn Central (1969–1971)
Amtrak (1971–1977, 1983–1995)
Route
Termini| New York City
Quebec City
Distance travelled| 549 miles (884 km) (1936)
Service frequency| Daily
Train number(s)| Southbound: 74
Northbound: 79 (1936–c. 1956)
On-board services
Seating arrangements| Coach
Sleeping arrangements| Sections and drawing rooms
Catering facilities| Dining car
Observation facilities| Parlor car
Entertainment facilities| Lounge car
Technical
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
| Route map

Legend

|  |  |

|  | Quebec City

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|
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|

|  |

|  | Sherbrooke
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|  |

| Canada

U.S.A.
border

| QC

|  |

|  | Newport
|  |

|  | Lyndonville
|  |

|  | St. Johnsbury
|  |

|  | Wells River
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|  | Bradford
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|  |  | White River

Junction
|  |

|  | Windsor
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| VT

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|  | Claremont
|  |

|  | Charlestown
|  |

|  |  |

| NH

|  |

|  | Bellows Falls
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| VT

|  |

|  | East Northfield
|  |

|  | Greenfield
|  |

|  | Northampton
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|  | Holyoke
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|  | Springfield
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|  |  |

| MA

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|  | Hartford
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|  | New Haven
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|  |  |

| CT

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|  | 125th Street
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|  | New York City
|  |  |  |  |  |

Key

|  |  |

|  | Boston & Maine RR

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|

|  |

|  | Canadian Pacific Ry
|  |

|  | Central Vermont Ry
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|  | New Haven RR
|  |

|  | Quebec Central Ry
|  |  |  |  |  |

This diagram:

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For other uses, see Connecticut Yankee (disambiguation).

The Connecticut Yankee was a long-distance train in western New England, that in its first two decades was an international night train, established in 1936, that extended from New York City into southeastern Quebec, to Sherbrooke and Quebec City, a 549-mile (884 km) trip. The pooled train covered railroad territories of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, Boston and Maine, Canadian Pacific Railway and the Quebec Central Railway.[1] It was the last U.S.-Canadian train serving the Sherbrooke to eastern Vermont route.

The train had some sharing of sleeping cars with the Boston & Maine's overnight Red Wing (the night train counterpart to the Alouette) which went from Boston to Montreal. In Newport, Vermont, the train would pick up sleepers from the B&M train and continue to Sherbrooke and Quebec.

## Railroad territories and major stops

[edit]

* New Haven: New York City – Springfield, Massachusetts [2][3][4][5]
* Grand Central Terminal, Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, Massachusetts

* Boston & Maine: Springfield – Windsor and White River Junction – Wells River, Vermont
* Springfield, Northampton, Greenfield, Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Claremont Junction, White River Junction, Wells River

* Central Vermont: Windsor – White River Junction (then resuming travelling north on B&M trains)

* Canadian Pacific: Wells River – Sherbrooke
* Wells River, St. Johnsbury, Newport, Sherbrooke

* Quebec Central: Sherbrooke – Quebec City
* Sherbrooke, Tring Jonction in Robert-Ciche, Vallée Jonction in La Nouvelle-Beauce, Quebec City (Gare du Palais)

## Decline

[edit]

Between the summer of 1951 and autumn of 1952, the route ended in Wells River, Vermont, marking the end of international train service directly south of Quebec City toward New England. (Passengers from New England wishing to reach Sherbrooke or Quebec City needed to take a bus between Wells River and Sherbrooke, whereupon they could take a train to Quebec City.)[6][7][8] However, the train took a diversion at Wells River along Canadian Pacific tracks to Newport, Vermont, then a northwest-ward path toward Montreal. It was a night train on the northbound-Montreal trip; yet it was a day train on the southbound trip.[9] As such, the train had no sleeping car for either direction of the trip.

Between the summer of 1958 and spring of 1959, the route had its northern limit cut from Wells River to Springfield, Massachusetts, the end of the New Haven territory for its route. Boston & Maine having begun scaling back its longer distance routes, the B&M offered a train, timed to connect, from Springfield to White River Junction.[10][11][12][13] In 1961 the train continued for its NY-Springfield route, but it bore the name Bankers for the southbound trip.[14][15] (The Pennsylvania Railroad and New Haven Railroad's Montrealer, traveling between Washington, D.C., and Montreal, another train serving the upper Connecticut River Valley, would continue service north of Springfield until September 1966.)[16]

The train regained the name for both directions and persisted into the Penn Central and Amtrak periods. It was Springfield to Philadelphia train southbound and Washington to Springfield train northbound until ending in 1977.[17][18] Amtrak resumed the train from 1983 to 1995.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Official Guide of the Railways August 1949, Quebec Central section
2. ^ Official Guide of the Railways August 1949, Quebec Central section
3. ^ Canadian Pacific June 1943 timetable
4. ^ Boston & Maine September 26, 1937, timetable, Table 51
5. ^ Boston & Maine April 28, 1946, timetable, Table 70 http://streamlinermemories.info/Eastern/B&M46TT.pdf
6. ^ New Haven timetable, April 29, 1951, Table 33
7. ^ New Haven timetable, September 28, 1952, Table 34
8. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, December 1954, Quebec Central section
9. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, December 1954, Boston & Maine section, Table 11
10. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, August 1958, New Haven section, Table 10
11. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, August 1958, Boston & Maine section, Table 9
12. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, April 1959, New Haven section, Table 5
13. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, April 1959, Boston & Maine section, Table 1
14. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, June 1961, Boston & Maine section
15. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, June 1961, New York, New Haven & Hartford section, Table 5 and pp. 108–109
16. ^ Waite, Thornton (Winter 2017). "The Montrealer/ The Washingtonian". The Keystone. 50 (4): 31–77. ISSN 0744-4036
17. ^ Amtrak timetable, April 1976 p. 18 http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19760425&item=0019
18. ^ Amtrak timetable, April 1976 p. 25 http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19760425&item=0026

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Named trains of the Canadian Pacific Railway

* Alouette
* Atlantic Limited
* Canadian
* Chicago Express
* Connecticut Yankee
* Dominion
* Expo Limited
* Imperial Limited
* Kettle Valley Express
* Michigan
* Mountaineer
* Ontarian
* Overseas
* Red Wing
* Royal York
* Winnipeger

* v
* t
* e

Named trains of the Boston and Maine Railroad

* Alouette
* Ambassador
* Bar Harbor Express
* Cheshire
* Connecticut Yankee
* Day White Mountains
* Down Easter
* East Wind
* Green Mountain Flyer
* Gull
* Kennebec Limited
* Minute Man
* Montrealer
* Mount Royal
* Mountaineer
* New Englander
* Night White Mountains
* North Wind
* Penobscot
* Pine Tree Limited
* Red Wing
* State of Maine Express

* v
* t
* e

Named trains of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad

* Ambassador
* Bankers
* Bar Harbor Express
* Berkshire
* Cape Codder
* Clamdigger
* Colonial
* Comet
* Connecticut Yankee
* Cranberry
* Dan'l Webster
* Day Cape Codder
* Down Easter
* East Wind
* Fall River Line Special
* Federal Express
* Harpooner
* Housatonic
* Islander
* John Quincy Adams
* Litchfield
* Merchants Limited
* Montrealer
* Naugatuck
* Neptune
* North Wind
* Nutmeg
* Pilgrim
* Puritan
* Quaker
* Roger Williams
* Sand Dune
* State of Maine Express
* Washingtonian
* White Mountains
* William Penn
* Yankee Clipper

* v
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Former Amtrak routes

Long
distance|

| West|

* Chief
* City of San Francisco
* Denver Zephyr
* Desert Wind
* El Capitan
* Inter-American
* Lone Star
* North Coast Hiawatha
* Pioneer
* San Francisco Zephyr
* Super Chief
* Texas Chief

|

East|

* Broadway Limited
* Capitol Limited
* Champion
* Floridian
* Hilltopper
* James Whitcomb Riley
* Mountaineer
* National Limited
* Lake Shore
* Panama Limited
* River Cities
* Silver Palm (1996–2002)
* Silver Star
* South Wind
* Spirit of St. Louis
* Three Rivers
* Vacationer (seasonal)

Corridor|

| West|

* Coast Daylight
* Expo '74
* Las Vegas Limited
* Orange County Commuter
* Pacific International
* San Diegan
* Spirit of California
* Willamette Valley

|

Midwest|

* Abraham Lincoln
* Ann Rutledge
* Arrowhead
* Black Hawk
* Blue Ridge
* Calumet
* Campus
* Hoosier State
* Indiana Connection
* International
* Kansas City Mule
* Kentucky Cardinal
* Lake Cities
* Lake Country Limited
* Limited
* Loop
* Michigan Executive
* North Star
* Prairie Marksman
* Shawnee
* St. Louis Mule
* State House
* Turboliner
* Twilight Limited
* Twin Cities Hiawatha

East|

* George Washington
* Gulf Breeze
* Gulf Coast Limited
* Montrealer
* Shenandoah
* Silver Palm (1982–1985)
* West Virginian

| Northeast Corridor|

* Atlantic City Express
* Bankers
* Beacon Hill
* Cape Codder (seasonal)
* Chesapeake
* Clamdigger
* Clocker
* Colonial
* Connecticut Yankee
* Fast Mail
* Merchants Limited
* Metroliner
* Night Owl
* Twilight Shoreliner

|

Empire Corridor|

* Empire State Express
* Niagara Rainbow

Keystone Corridor|

* Atlantic City Express
* Fort Pitt

*[c.]: circa
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