The ''Lake Shore Limited'' was a

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, ...

service operated by the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

between

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 ...

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 ...

, from 1897 to 1956. Separate sections linked to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. The ''Lake Shore Limited'' was the New York Central's first luxury passenger train, and paved the way for its more famous cousin the ''

20th Century Limited The ''20th Century Limited'' was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from 1902 to 1967. The train traveled between Grand Central Terminal in New York City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along th ...

''. The 1897 name is now used by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an Amtrak Long Distance, overnight passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the Northeastern United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. The central segment of the route runs along the s ...

'', which follows much the same route.

History

The ''Lake Shore Limiteds immediate predecessor was the ''Exposition Flyer'' (not to be confused with a train of the same name operated between Chicago & Oakland, California, between 1939 and 1949), which the New York Central operated between New York and Chicago during the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

, held in Chicago. The ''Lake Shore Limited'' began on May 30, 1897, with an advertised 24-hour schedule from New York to Chicago. A

section which connected at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

had a 26-hour schedule. The ''Lake Shore Limiteds chief competitor was the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

's '' Pennsylvania Limited'', which began in 1887. The ''Lake Shore Limited'' carried the train numbers 19 (westbound) and 22 (eastbound). The New York Central truncated the westbound ''Lake Shore Limited'' to Buffalo on July 15, 1956, and substituted the '' Great Lakes Aerotrain'' over the Chicago-Cleveland portion of the route. The eastbound ''Lake Shore Limited'' ended on October 28, 1956, as part of a system-wide reorganization.

Route and equipment used

The original ''Lake Shore Limited'' was the last New York Central train featuring Wagner Palace Car Company equipment before the latter's merger with the Pullman Car Company in 1899. The original consist was as follows: buffet/library/smoking car, parlor car, dining car, three sleepers and an observation lounge. Electric power came from a

dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...

in the

baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (American English), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (British English and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (Indian English) is a railroad car that is designed to c ...

. The westbound ''Lake Shore Limited'' originated at Grand Central Station in New York and traveled along the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

to Albany, where it joined with a section from Boston. From there it traveled west to

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, then southwest to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. From Buffalo it ran over the tracks of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway (LS&MS) through

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, to Chicago's

LaSalle Street Station LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago ...

. Another section separated at Cleveland and ran over the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

1940 crash

1940 Lakeshore Limited Train Crash Memorial

On April 19, 1940 the westbound Lake Shore Limited derailed due to excessive speed on a curve killing 31 and injuring nearly 140. The train had left Albany 21 minutes behind schedule and the engineer was trying to make up time.

Legacy

Before the coming of the ''20th Century Limited'', the ''Lake Shore Limited'' was the New York Central's premier long-distance train.

now operates the ''

'' between Chicago and New York, with a Boston section, over the same route. Amtrak's ''Lake Shore Limited'' operates a 20½-hour schedule to New York and a 23-hour schedule to Boston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Shore Limited (Nyc Train) Railway services introduced in 1897 Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the New York Central Railroad Night trains of the United States Railway services discontinued in 1956 Passenger rail transportation in Massachusetts Rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Passenger rail transportation in Indiana Passenger rail transportation in Illinois