Royal Blue (train)

The Royal Blue (originally, the Royal Limited) was the flagship passenger train of the Royal Blue Line in the United States, operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in partnership with the Reading Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey, between New York City and Washington, D. C., beginning in 1890. Principal intermediate cities served were Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore. Although the B&O collectively referred to its New York service as the "Royal Blue Line", the premier train on the route was initially called the "Royal Limited" when it was inaugurated on May 15, 1898. Later, as Europe reeled from the carnage of World War I, the B&O discreetly omitted the sobriquet "Royal Blue Line" from its New York passenger service in 1917, only to revive it in 1935 when a re-christened "Royal Blue" train resumed operations between New York and Washington. The B&O finally discontinued all passenger service north of Baltimore on April 26, 1958, and the Royal Blue faded into history.

In the 1890s–early 20th century era, the Royal Limited and B&O's fleet of six daily Royal Blue Line trains between Washington and New York were noted for their luxury, elegant appearance, and speed. The car interiors were paneled in mahogany, had fully enclosed vestibules (instead of open platforms, still widely in use at the time on U.S. railroads), then-modern heating and lighting, and leaded glass windows. The cars were painted a deep "Royal Saxony blue" color with Gold leaf trim.

Spurred by intense competition from the formidable Pennsylvania Railroad, the dominant railroad in the lucrative New York–Washington market since the 1880s, the Royal Blue in its mid-1930s reincarnation was noted for a number of technological innovations, including streamlining and the first mainline passenger diesel locomotive.^[1]

Prior to 1884, both the B&O and Pennsylvania Railroad used the independent Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) between Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for their New York–Washington freight and passenger trains. In 1881, the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased a controlling interest in the PW&B, subsequently denying the B&O further use of the PW&B to reach Philadelphia in 1884. The B&O then built a new line from Baltimore to connect to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in Philadelphia, completed in 1886. However, the new line presented problems in Baltimore, since a ferry boat was necessary between Locust Point and Canton to connect with B&O's Washington Branch.^[2] The solution was the Baltimore Belt Line, which included a tunnel under Howard Street in downtown Baltimore. Work began on the tunnel in 1891 and was completed on May 1, 1895, when the first train traversed the 1.1 mi (1.8 km) long tunnel. To avoid smoke problems from steam engines working upgrade in the long tunnel under the middle of Baltimore, the B&O pioneered the first mainline electrification of a steam railroad in the U.S., installing an overhead third rail system in the tunnel and its approaches.^[2][3]

The project also included the construction of B&O's second passenger terminal in Baltimore, Mount Royal Station, at the north end of the Howard Street tunnel in the fashionable Bolton Hill neighborhood. Designed by Baltimore architect E. Francis Baldwin in a blend of modified Romanesque and Renaissance styling, the station with its landmark clocktower opened the following year on September 1, 1896. Thereafter, B&O's passenger trains used the Reading's tracks from Philadelphia to Bound Brook, New Jersey, where the Jersey Central's rails were used to reach Jersey City Terminal, a twelve-minute ferry boat ride across the Hudson River to Manhattan.^[2]

Even before the Baltimore Belt Line project was finished, the B&O launched its Royal Blue Line service on July 31, 1890. Powered by high-drivered 4-6-0 locomotives having 78 in (198 cm) diameter wheels, the Royal Blue Line trains occasionally reached speeds of 90 mph (145 km/h). After the Baltimore Belt Line project was completed, travel time between New York and Washington was reduced to five hours, compared to nine hours in the late 1860s.^[4][5]

The trains were noted for their elegance and luxury. The parlor cars' ceilings and upholstery were covered in royal blue and the dining cars "Queen" and "Waldorf" featured elaborate cuisine prepared by French-trained chefs. A Railway Age magazine article of the time reporting on the Royal Blue Line called it "the climax in railway car building".^[6]

As a result of the U.S. entry into World War I and resulting congestion on the nation's railroads, the wartime U.S. Railroad Administration (USRA) ordered the Pennsylvania Railroad to permit B&O passenger trains to use its Hudson River tunnels and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, eliminating B&O's need for the ferry connection from Jersey City. Following the end of World War I, the Pennsylvania Railroad continued to allow B&O passenger trains to use Pennsylvania Station for another eight years. On September 1, 1926, the Pennsylvania Railroad terminated its contract with the B&O, and the latter's trains reverted to the use of the Jersey Central's Jersey City Terminal.^[1] Passengers were then transferred to buses that met the train right on the platform. These buses were ferried across the Hudson River into Manhattan, where they proceeded to various "stations" around the city, including the Vanderbilt Hotel, Wanamaker's, Columbus Circle, and Rockefeller Center.^[1]

As the 1930s dawned, the B&O's New York passenger service faced two significant competitive disadvantages, compared to the Pennsylvania Railroad's: the B&O lacked direct access to Manhattan, resulting in slower overall travel time, and the Pennsy's move in the early 1930s to replace steam power with modern, smoke-free electrification along its entire New York-Washington mainline was meeting with enthusiastic public approval.^[7] The B&O responded by introducing diesel locomotives, air conditioning, and streamlining on its New York trains. In 1935, the B&O inaugurated the first lightweight, streamlined train in the eastern U.S., when it began operating a re-christened Royal Blue train between Washington and New York. The B&O partially dieselized the train, buying the first road diesel from General Motor's Electro Motive Division.^[2]

Recalling the past glamor of the 1890s-era Royal Blue Line, the B&O introduced its "Martha Washington"-series dining cars on the train, which were particularly noted for their fresh Chesapeake Bay cuisine, served on Dresden china in ornate cars with glass chandaliers and colonial-style furnishings.^[8]

The B&O was not entirely satisfied with the ride quality of the lightweight Royal Blue train, however, and replaced it on April 25, 1937, with streamlined, refurbished heavyweight equipment, painted light gray and royal blue with gold striping, designed by Otto Kuhler.^[7] The train was pulled by new EA diesel locomotives praised for their streamlined beauty.^[8] Kuhler also streamlined one of B&O's 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotives for use on the Royal Blue.^[1] Its familiar bullet-shaped shroud became an iconic image for the Royal Blue and was modeled for years by American Flyer.

Along with most other rail passenger services in the U.S. during World War II, the Royal Blue Line enjoyed a surge in passenger traffic between 1942–1945 as volume doubled to 1.2 million passengers annually on B&O's eight daily New York–Washington trains.^[1] Following the end of the war, passenger volumes began to decline.

Although all of B&O's Washington–Jersey City passenger trains had been fully dieselized by September 28, 1947, no new equipment was introduced on the Royal Blue in the postwar period. The 8-car, refurbished 1937 Royal Blue trainset continued in operation to the end. The overwhelming market dominance of the Pennsylvania Railroad was evident when it introduced the 18-car stainless steel Morning Congressional and Afternoon Congressional streamliners in 1952.^[8] By the late 1950s, the Royal Blue, in common with most passenger trains in the U.S. of the time, suffered steep declines in patronage as the traveling public abandoned trains in favor of airplanes and the automobile on improved Interstate Highways.^[7] As deficits mounted, the B&O finally ceded the New York–Washington market to the Pennsylvania Railroad altogether, discontinuing all passenger service north of Baltimore on April 26, 1958, marking the final demise of the venerable Royal Blue.^[9]

Mount Royal Station in Baltimore continued as the eastern terminus of B&O's passenger service until April, 1961, when it closed permanently. The building and trainshed were subsequently acquired by the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1964 and are preserved as examples of late 19th century industrial architecture.^[1]

In the 1890s—early 20th century era, the Royal Limited operated in both directions simultaneously, with 3 p.m. departures in New York and Washington, arriving at its destination five hours later, at 8 p.m. By the 1930s, travel time between Jersey City and Washington was reduced to four hours.^[1] From 1935 to the end of service in 1958, the Royal Blue made a daily round trip, departing New York in the morning and returning from Washington in the evening. According to the Official Guide of February, 1956, the Royal Blue operated on the following schedule as train # 27 (unconditional stops highlighted in blue, bus connections in yellow):^[10]

Eastbound, the train departed Washington at 3:45 p.m. as train # 28, arriving at Jersey City 7:40 p.m.

During the 1937–1958 era, the Royal Blue was equipped with air-conditioned coaches, parlor cars with private drawing rooms, a lounge car for coach passengers, a full dining car serving complete meals, and a flat-end observation car with a "cafe-lounge" bringing up the rear of the train. Beginning in 1947, onboard telephone service was provided on the Royal Blue by the B&O, one of the first three railroads in the U.S. to offer telephone service on its trains, using a forerunner of cell phone technology (the others introducing this innovation at the same time were the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad).^[10][8][1]