• 1895 – The inaugural run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.

Royal Blue

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1950s and the end


Final run of the Royal Blue on April 26, 1958

Although all of B&O's Washington–Jersey City passenger trains had been fully dieselized by September 28, 1947, no new passenger cars were built for the Royal Blue in the postwar period. The refurbished 8-car 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. By the late 1950s, most U.S. passenger trains suffered a steep decline in patronage as the traveling public abandoned trains in favor of airplanes and automobiles, utilizing improved Interstate Highways. The Royal Blue was no exception, as operating deficits approached $5 million annually and passenger volume declined by almost half between 1946 and 1957. Amidst the downward trend, the Royal Blue Line briefly recaptured the regal splendor of its early years on October 21, 1957, when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip travelled on the B&O from Washington to New York.

As financial losses mounted, the B&O finally ceded the New York–Washington market to the Pennsylvania Railroad altogether, discontinuing all passenger service north of Baltimore on Saturday, April 26, 1958, and bringing the venerable Royal Blue to an end. As the engineer was about to ease the locomotive's throttle open for the Royal Blue's final departure from Washington Union Station at 3:45 p.m., the event was covered in a trainside remote broadcast by Edward R. Murrow on a CBS network See It Now television special. The train's 7:49 p.m. arrival at Jersey City Terminal was met by news reporters from The New York Times, the New York Post, Life magazine and The Saturday Evening Post, on hand to cover the legendary Royal Blue's demise. In an editorial the next day, the Baltimore Sun lamented the end of the Royal Blue, saying it "may have been one of the most famous named trains in history".

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