Overnight Amtrak trains in 1991, its 20th year, show similarities with today’s offerings. Many trains known today were operating in 1991, some even with the same equipment. Some trains we have lost, including the Pioneer, Broadway Limited, Desert Wind, Montrealer, and Night Owl.
Amtrak’s first order of bilevel Superliner equipment came in the late 1970s and was sufficient to re-equip the Western overnight Amtrak trains. That included the Sunset Limited, Southwest Limited (later Southwest Chief), San Francisco Zephyr (later California Zephyr), Empire Builder, and Coast Starlight. This left the Eastern fleet using the rebuilt single-level cars into the 1990s. A subsequent order of additional Superliner cars in the mid-1990s would re-equip a number of additional trains, including the Capitol Limited, Cardinal, Auto Train, and City of New Orleans, among others.
1 and 2 – Sunset Limited: New Orleans to Los Angeles via Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Phoenix (Superliner equipment)
3 and 4 – Southwest Chief: Chicago to Los Angeles via Kansas City and Albuquerque (Superliner equipment)
5 and 6 – California Zephyr: Chicago to Oakland via Omaha, Denver, and Salt Lake City (Superliner equipment)
7 and 8 – Empire Builder: Chicago to Portland/Seattle via Minneapolis and Spokane (Superliner equipment)
11 and 14 – Coast Starlight: Los Angeles to Seattle via Oakland, Sacramento, and Portland (Superliner equipment)
19 and 20 – Crescent: New York to New Orleans via Charlotte, Atlanta, and and Birmingham (single-level equipment)
21 and 22 – Texas Eagle: San Antonio/Houston to Chicago via Dallas, Little Rock, and St. Louis (Superliner equipment)
25 and 26 – Pioneer: Chicago to Seattle via Omaha, Denver, Cheyenne, Boise, and Portland (Superliner equipment)
39 and 30 – Capitol Limited: Washington to Chicago via Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Toledo (single-level equipment)
40 and 41 – Broadway Limited: New York to Chicago via Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Akron (single-level equipment)
35 and 36 – Desert Wind: Chicago to Los Angeles via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas (Superliner equipment)
48 and 49 – Lake Shore Limited: Boston/New York to Chicago via Buffalo, Cleveland, and Toledo (single-level equipment)
50 and 51 – Cardinal: New York to Chicago via Charleston, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis (single-level equipment)
52 and 53 – Auto Train: Sanford, Fla., to Lorton, Va. (single-level equipment)
58 and 59 – City of New Orleans: New Orleans to Chicago via Memphis (single-level equipment)
60 and 61 – Montrealer: Washington to Montreal via New York and White River Junction (single-level equipment)
66 and 67 – Night Owl: Washington to Boston via Philadelphia and New York (single-level equipment)
81-82 and 91-92 – Silver Star: New York to Tampa/Miami via Richmond, Raleigh, and Jacksonville (single-level equipment)
87-88 and 97-98 – Silver Meteor: New York to Tampa/Miami via Richmond, Charleston, and Jacksonville (single-level equipment)
The article said: “A subsequent order of additional Superliner cars in the mid-1990s would re-equip a number of additional trains, including the Capitol Limited, Cardinal, Auto Train, and City of New Orleans, among others.”
I don’t think the Cardinal has ever operated with Superliner Equipment due to tunnel height restrictions (mostly between DC and New York). Please correct me if I am mistaken.
The Cardinal operated with Superliner equipment between Washington and Chicago. I’m not sure about the current equipment.