Mountaineer (train)

The first trains ran on March 24, 1975, marking the return of rail passenger service to the Norfolk & Western.[2]^: 71 [5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^{[2]: 72 [8]}

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

The Mountaineer's typical consist (at first) was five cars: a baggage-dormitory, two coaches, a grill diner and a 10-roomette 6-bedroom (10-6) sleeping car. When available, one of the coaches was a dome car. Starting in January 1977 Amtrak ran a consist of three new Amfleet cars, typically two coaches and a cafe.^[2]: 74

References