The Cincinnatian, The B&O's Exotic Regional Streamliner

One of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s most exotic passenger trains was the Cincinnatian which, interestingly, while being shrouded in stunning streamlining and matching 4-6-2 Pacific Type steam locomotive originally served a market rather devoid of passengers (between Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati, Ohio). Because of this the passenger train’s routing was soon changed just a few years after its inauguration to serve larger urban areas. The Cincinnatian, while never a profitable passenger train, carried on for nearly 25 years and remained on the B&O timetable until the end when Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail operations in 1971.

Despite its marginal financial situation the Baltimore and Ohio holds many “firsts.” It was quick to adopt the more efficient mode of diesel power in 1930s, and was the first to include air-conditioning in its passenger fleet. Other accomplishments include one of the fist railroads to use electric locomotives (through its Howard Street tunnel in Baltimore, the locomotives were developed by General Electric), streamlining its passenger trains to make them more appealing and including dome passenger cars in the eastern U.S.

The route the Cincinnatian was selected to cover already featured one premier B&O passenger train, the National Limited, operating originally between New York (at the Central Railroad of New Jersey's, Jersey City Terminal) and St. Louis. In a sense, the Cincy was a truncated version of the National serving the cities of Baltimore and Cincinnati (hence the train’s name).

However, like the problem faced by the National Limited the Cincinnatian served a region that was lightly populated which did not allow for much online revenue in terms of passengers. Station’s along the Cincy’s route included cities like Martinsburg, Clarksburg, and Parkersburg, West Virginia; and cities in Ohio (east of Cincinnati) that included Athens and Chillicothe. Aside from Cumberland, Maryland the largest of these cities was Parkersburg with a population under 50,000 residents.

The train itself was clad in a two-tone version of the B&O’s regal dark blue passenger livery and featured silver trim. Even the Cincy’s lead steam locomotive, a Pacific, was bedecked in a matching livery and streamlining (somewhat forgotten today under the plethora of other streamliners roaming the rails during that time the B&O’s Cincinnatian Pacifics are one of the all-time classics), and certainly could not be missed out on the main line (it definitely would catch your eye!). To complete the train's look it was given silver pinstriping with a matching The Cincinnatian flanking the rear observation car.

On the Cincinnati – Detroit corridor the Cincinnatian remained in service until the very end with the B&O’s last day operating the train on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak took over intercity operations. Right up until the startup of Amtrak, trains #53 and #54 continued to offer beverage and food service between Cincinnati and Lima, Ohio along with reclining-seat coach service (of course, by this point the train had mostly lost its streamlined status, using solid blue EMD E series diesels for power).

While the train, along with most other B&O passenger trains have been discontinued under Amtrak one is still in operation today, the Capitol Limited, B&O’s flagship. After Amtrak took over passenger operations it initially canceled all B&O trains, including the Capitol Limited. However, ten years after making its final run under its original creator, Amtrak brought back the Cap in 1981, operating it over its original route between Washington, D.C. and Chicago where it continues to remain in service today.

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