edition of the train will celebrate 70 years of service July 12-14 when they operate New York-Pittsburgh and return on Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian, train 43 westbound and 42 eastbound.
The cars are Catalpa Falls, a six double bedroom-buffet lounge; Colonial Crafts, a one drawing room/three double bedroom-buffet lounge; and Frank Thomson, a bedroom-observation-lounge. They will travel the train’s original route.
Lounge seats and one bedroom in the Frank Thomson are still available.
With its renowned on-board meal service, luxurious Pullman-staffed sleeping accommodations, and rapid transit time between New York and Chicago, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s famous Broadway Limited represented the pinnacle of cross-country rail travel. Between 1912 and 1995, the Broadway Limited carried millions of passengers across America’s steel-railed highways. The train reached its peak of opulence with the 1949 delivery of all-new streamlined passenger cars, sporting the latest in mid-century design and postwar style.
Passengers aboard the Broadway Limited will ride in first-class style through several historic railroad engineering marvels, including Philadelphia’s iconic 30th Street Station and the world-famous Horseshoe Curve in Altoona. The trip sports a full menu of authentic 1949 cuisine, lifted from the original Broadway Limited and prepared to the original Pennsylvania Railroad recipes. Some passengers will have the opportunity to sleep aboard these historic railcars while weekending in Pittsburgh, while the other passengers will spend two nights at the historic Hotel William Penn in downtown.
For more information, visit www.BroadwayLimited1949.com.
I have a wonderful memory of riding the Broadway Ltd. from New York to Chicago sometime in the 1960s in the piano car. That was in the days when smoking was allowed and I permitted myself to endure the polluted air. It was worth it, or so it seemed at the time, to enjoy the music.
Please don’t call it 30th Street Station, which sounds like a station on a commuter line, the proper name is Pennsylvania Station – 30th Street. jgc
Nice – too bad those 2 Pennsy painted E8’s couldn’t pull these 3 cars! And, wow – I can comment & see the photos – Trains magazine saying one has to be a subscriber to read the news is totally wrong. There are other sights where one can read railroad news & Not be a subscriber.
I thought AMTRAK stopped handline private cars?
The regular Broadway lounge-observations were Mountain View and Tower View. They contained the rare master rooms, with shower. Both still exist. PRR built several other similar cars, but without the master rooms, which ran on Spirit of St. Louis, Cincinnati Limited, Liberty Limited, etc. I’m sure Frank Thomson substituted on the Broadway for the regular two on occasion when they were shopped.
During the Winter when ridership was at a minimum on the Broadway Limited, the sleeper-lounge observation cars would be assigned to Atlantic Coast Line’s seasonal all-Pullman Florida Special between New York and Miami. Actor and comedian Jackie Gleason was a regular passenger on this train.
I rode Catalpa Falls on the combined Cincinnati Limited- Spirit of St. Louis near the end of her Penn Central career.
It was a great spot to have a libation. I wish them a Bon Voyage!
Unless AMTRAK reroutes the Pennsylvanian those days, the trips won’t be over all of the original route. PRR’s Blue Ribbon Fleet bypassed 30th Street Station via ZOO interlocking.