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The ''Mountaineer'' was a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Norfolk, Virginia, and Chicago, Illinois, via Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the first train to use the Norfolk and Western Railway's tracks since the creation of Amtrak in 1971 and followed the route of the ''Pocahontas'', the N&W's last passenger train. Service began in 1975 and ended in 1977. A new train, the ''Hilltopper'', operated over much of the ''Mountaineers route but was itself discontinued in 1979.〔 == History == The Norfolk and Western Railway was one of the twenty railroads which joined Amtrak in 1971 but in the first four years hosted no passenger service over its route, the centerpiece of which was its main line between Norfolk and Cincinnati which passed through the state of West Virginia. The main driving force behind the establishment of the ''Mountaineer'' was then-United States Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), who wanted additional rail service for his constituents and pressured the Department of Transportation to add the route.〔 The ''Mountaineer'' operated in conjunction with the Chicago–Washington/Newport News ''James Whitcomb Riley'' between Chicago and Cincinnati. Beyond Cincinnati, at a Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) yard in Ashland, Kentucky, the two trains were decoupled and then proceeded separately to Catlettsburg, Kentucky and points east, with the ''Mountaineer'' roughly twenty-five minutes behind the ''Riley''. Westbound the procedure was reversed.〔 The first trains ran on March 24, 1975, marking the return of rail passenger service to the Norfolk & Western.〔 Amtrak guaranteed two years of operation, while warning that the train would "habitually lose money." Amtrak president Paul Reistrup projected costs of $4.5 million/year while taking in $900,000 in the first year. To make the run viable the ''Mountaineer'' would need to carry 150–300 people daily between Norfolk and Cincinnati. In 1976 Amtrak announced several possible changes to the ''Mountaineer'', including a later schedule through West Virginia and combined operation west of Cincinnati with both the ''Riley'' and an unnamed (and never implemented) Washington–Denver train. Under this plan the ''Mountaineer'' would receive new Amfleet equipment but lose its sleeping car. The schedule changes never took place, but Amtrak was forced to re-equip the ''Mountaineer'' after a harsh winter damaged many of its old steam-heated coaches and locomotives. The ''Mountaineer'' was one of eight routes suspended in January 1977, and it returned with an all-Amfleet consist, minus the sleeping car.〔 Ridership on the ''Mountaineer'' over its two-year probationary period was disappointing: 58,991 in 1975 and 53,400 in 1976. Averaged over a 365-day year, this was 161 passengers per day in 1975 and 146 in 1976. By 1977 daily ridership had dwindled to 35. Monetary losses were far higher than expected: $5.7 million in FY1975 and $14.9 million in FY1976. After a brief respite, Amtrak discontinued the ''Mountaineer'' on May 31, 1977. A new train, the ''Hilltopper'', operated over much of the same route until 1979.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mountaineer (train)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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