The ''Cleveland Night Express'' was an American named train of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

(B&O) on its route between

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and Cleveland, Ohio with major station stops in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

. The B&O inaugurated the ''Cleveland Night Express'' in 1915. Its discontinuation in 1962 marked the end of B&O passenger service to Cleveland.

History

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was chartered in 1827 and grew to be one of the largest passenger railways in the United States, often by acquiring other, smaller railroads. In Cleveland the B&O purchased two local companies, the Cleveland Lorain & Wheeling Railroad and the Cleveland, Terminal & Valley Railway in 1915. From 1915 until 1962 the B&O provided overnight

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. The first such cars s ...

service between Baltimore and Cleveland on the ''Cleveland Night Express''. After June 1934, the ''Cleveland Night Express'' used Cleveland's Union Terminal as its passenger station. At times in this period, the train was called the ''Baltimore-Washington-Cleveland Express'' westbound and ''Cleveland-Washington-Baltimore Express.'' On February 7, 1956 the train had four passenger cars overturn in a sudden rockslide near

McKeesport, Pennsylvania McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. I ...

, no deaths occurred with only one injured.

Decline and end of the train

In 1962, as railroad passenger traffic was declining nationwide, the B&O discontinued the ''Cleveland Night Express'' on December 7, 1962, which ended all B&O passenger service to Ohio's largest city, Cleveland.

Stations

Schedule and equipment

In 1961, the westbound ''Cleveland Night Express'' departed

Union Station (Washington, D.C.) Washington Union Station is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North Ameri ...

at 9:20 p.m. daily as train # 17, arriving in Cleveland the following morning at 8:45 a.m., equipped with a Pullman

, coaches, and a

lounge car A lounge car (sometimes referred to as a buffet lounge, buffet car, club car or grill car) is a type of passenger car on a train, in which riders can purchase food and drinks. The car may feature large windows and comfortable seating to create a r ...

having a snack bar serving what B&O described in its timetable as a "light breakfast" prior to arrival.''Baltimore & Ohio Railroad — Passenger Train Schedules'', October 29, 1961. The westbound ''Cleveland Night Express'' train # 17 made the following principal station stops, with a connecting

Budd Rail Diesel Car The Budd Rail Diesel Car, RDC, Budd car or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars were primarily adop ...

departing at 8:10 p.m. from

References

Passenger trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger rail transportation in Maryland Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Passenger rail transportation in West Virginia Railway services introduced in 1915 Railway services discontinued in 1962 {{US-train-stub