The exact date is lost, but one warm summer afternoon in 1980 I headed over to Washington Union Station from my office at the American Railroads building for an overnight ride to Chicago. A meeting of the Research Committee was scheduled for the 9:00 a.m. the next day and my attendance was mandatory. I was a little worried about taking the train knowing that it could well be late, but the Assistant Vice President of the department was a former Pennsy man and he assured me that it would be okay. Even so, the rest of the staff flew.

My train was Amtrak’s version of the famous Broadway Limited. The original Pennsylvania Railroad Broadway Limited ran from New York City to Chicago via Philadelphia. In 1980 however, there were two trains that combined at Philadelphia’s 30^th Street Station. The Washington section passengers rode forwards while the New York riders rode backwards across New Jersey.