The ''Atlantic Express'' and ''Pacific Express'' were a pair of

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

s which together provided round-trip service between the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

area and

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. They were the Erie's oldest named passenger trains, having been named in 1885 and discontinued in 1965 under the

Erie Lackawanna Railway The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...

, successor to the Erie. Specifically, the train originated at the Erie Railroad's Pavonia Terminal in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

until 1956. For the last nine years the train began at the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western's

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

. For the last five years the train was an Erie Lackawanna Railroad train, as the Erie and the Lackawanna railroads merged in 1960. It was the last long distance passenger train to run along the Erie Main Line.'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1961, Erie-Lackawanna section, Table 5, 6

References

{{EL named trains Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Indiana Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Passenger trains of the Erie Railroad Passenger trains of the Erie Lackawanna Railway Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1885 Railway services discontinued in 1965