Discontinued Amtrak Trains: Lost Named Services & Routes
Last revised: August 14, 2026
By: Adam Burns
Amtrak’s map is as much about what ended as what still runs. This page preserves the discontinued / defunct named services list long published on American-Rails.com’s Amtrak article—pre-Amtrak names that died at or near May 1, 1971, Amtrak-era trains later cut, and corridor locals absorbed into other brands. Dates and endpoints follow that research block; some trains had earlier private-railroad lives (start years may predate 1971). For the living network and company history, see the Amtrak hub.
Amtrak P30CH "Pooch" #701 has Train 303, the Abrahama Lincoln, at Joliet, Illinois on May 15, 1977. Marty Bernard photo.
Also note long-running gaps that are not full “name retirements” but map facts: for example, Sunset Limited service east of New Orleans did not resume after Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Discontinued and Defunct Named Trains
| Train | Principal route (as listed) | Service span (as listed) |
|---|---|---|
| Abraham Lincoln | Chicago - St. Louis | 1935 - 1978 |
| Ann Rutledge | St. Louis - Kansas City | 1937 - 2009 |
| Arrowhead | Minneapolis - Superior/Duluth | April 15, 1975 - April 30, 1978 |
| Atlantic City Express | New York/Philadelphia/Washington - Atlantic City | May 21, 1989 - April 1, 1995 |
| Beacon Hill | Boston - New Haven | 1978 - 1981 |
| Black Hawk (ex-IC Land O' Corn) | Chicago - Waterloo, Iowa | February 14, 1974 - September 30, 1981 |
| Blue Ridge | Washington - Martinsburg - Parkersburg, W.Va. | May 7, 1973 - September 30, 1981 |
| Broadway Limited | New York - Chicago | November 14, 1912 - September 9, 1995 |
| Calumet | Chicago - Valparaiso, Indiana | October 29, 1979 - May 3, 1991 |
| Campus | Chicago - Champaign, Illinois | November 14, 1971 - March 5, 1972 |
| Cape Codder | New York - Hyannis, Massachusetts | July 3, 1986 - September 29, 1996 |
| Champion | New York - Miami/St. Petersburg | December 1, 1939 - October 1, 1979 |
| Chesapeake | Washington - Philadelphia | May 1, 1978 - October 29, 1983 |
| Clockers | Philadelphia - New York | May 1, 1971 - October 28, 2005 |
| Denver Zephyr | Chicago - Denver | 1936 - October 26, 1973 |
| Desert Wind | Los Angeles - Las Vegas - Ogden/Salt Lake City | October 28, 1979 - 1983 |
| El Capitan | Chicago - Los Angeles | February 22, 1938 - April 29, 1973 |
| Floridian | Chicago - Miami/St. Petersburg | November 14, 1971 - October 9, 1979 |
| Fort Pitt | Pittsburgh - Altoona | April 26, 1981 - January 30, 1983 |
| Gulf Breeze | Birmingham - Mobile, Alabama | October 27, 1989 - April 1, 1995 |
| Gulf Coast Limited | Mobile - New Orleans | April 29, 1984 - March 31, 1997 |
| Hilltopper | Boston - Petersburg, Va. - Catlettsburg, Ky. | June 1, 1977 - October 1, 1979 |
| Inter-American | Chicago - Laredo, Texas | January 27, 1973 - October 1, 1981 |
| International | Chicago - Toronto | October 31, 1982 - April 23, 2004 |
| James Whitcomb Riley | Chicago - Indianapolis - Cincinnati | April 28, 1941 - October 30, 1977 |
| Kansas City Mule / St. Louis Mule | St. Louis - Kansas City | October 26, 1980 - January 27, 2009 |
| Kentucky Cardinal | Chicago - Indianapolis - Louisville | December 17, 1999 - July 5, 2003 |
| Lake Cities | Chicago - Toledo - Detroit | August 3, 1980 - April 26, 2004 |
| Lake Country Limited | Chicago - Janesville, Wisconsin | April 15, 2000 - September 23, 2001 |
| Lake Shore | Chicago - Cleveland - New York | May 10, 1971 - January 6, 1972 |
| Las Vegas Limited | Los Angeles - Las Vegas | May 21, 1976 - August 6, 1976 |
| Lone Star | Chicago - Dallas - Houston | May 19, 1974 - October 8, 1979 |
| Loop | Chicago - Springfield | April 27, 1986 - June 28, 1996 |
| Merchants Limited | Boston - New York | December 14, 1903 - October 28, 1995 |
| Metroliners | New York - Washington | January 16, 1969 - October 27, 2006 |
| Montrealer/Washingtonian | Washington - Montreal | September 30, 1972 - March 31, 1995 |
| Mountaineer | Norfolk - Cincinnati - Chicago | March 24, 1975 - May 31, 1977 |
| National Limited | New York - Washington - St. Louis - Kansas City | May 1, 1971 - October 1, 1979 |
| Niagara Rainbow | New York - Buffalo - Detroit | October 31, 1974 - January 31, 1979 |
| Night Owl | Washington - New York - Boston | June 6, 1972 - July 10, 1997 |
| North Coast Hiawatha | Chicago - Seattle | June 5, 1971 - October 6, 1979 |
| North Star | Duluth - St. Paul | April 30, 1978 - April 7, 1985 |
| Pacific International | Seattle - Vancouver | July 17, 1972 - September 30, 1981 |
| Pioneer | Chicago - Denver - Salt Lake City - Portland - Seattle | June 7, 1977 - May 10, 1997 |
| Potomac Special/Potomac Turbo | Washington - Parkersburg, W.Va. | September 8, 1971 - April 28, 1973 |
| Prairie Marksman | Chicago - East Peoria, Illinois | August 10, 1980 - October 4, 1981 |
| River Cities | Kansas City - St. Louis - New Orleans | April 29, 1984 - November 4, 1993 |
| San Diegan | Los Angeles - San Diego | March 27, 1938 - June 1, 2000 |
| San Francisco Zephyr | Chicago - San Francisco | June 11, 1972 - July 15, 1983 |
| Shawnee | Chicago - Carbondale, Illinois | June 3, 1969 - January 2, 1986 |
| Shenandoah | Washington - Parkersburg - Cincinnati | October 31, 1976 - September 30, 1981 |
| Silver Palm | Miami - Tampa | November 21, 1982 - April 30, 1985 |
| South Wind | Chicago - Miami | December 1940 - November 14, 1971 |
| Spirit Of California | Los Angeles - Sacramento | October 25, 1981 - September 30, 1983 |
| Spirit Of St. Louis | New York - St. Louis | June 15, 1927 - July 1971 |
| State House | Chicago - St. Louis | October 1, 1973 - October 30, 2006 |
| Super Chief | Chicago - Los Angeles | May 12, 1936 - May 19, 1974 |
| Texas Chief | Chicago - Houston - Galveston | April 3, 1948 - May 19, 1974 |
| Three Rivers | New York - Chicago | September 10, 1995 - March 7, 2005 |
| Twilight Limited | Chicago - Detroit | April 25, 1926 - April 25, 2004 |
| Willamette Valley | Portland - Eugene | August 3, 1980 - December 31, 1981 |
Many of these names have full or partial profiles elsewhere on American-Rails.com (private-railroad and Amtrak chapters). Pre-Amtrak streamliner culture is mapped on the streamliners hub.
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Discontinued-trains leaf split from the Amtrak hub August 2026.
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