Xplorer (New York Central Railroad train)
{{Short description|American named passenger train (1956–1957)}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width =
| name = Xplorer
| logo =
| logo_width =
| image = "Xplorer" NYC lightweight train June 1956.jpg
| image_width = 300px
| caption = The New York Central Railroad's Xplorer on June 4, 1956
| type = Inter-city rail
| status = Discontinued
| locale = Midwestern United States
| predecessor =
| first = 1956
| last = 1957
| successor =
| operator =
| formeroperator = New York Central Railroad
| ridership =
| ridership2 =
| website =
| start = Cincinnati, Ohio
| stops =
| end = Cleveland, Ohio
| distance = {{convert|290.0|mi|km}}
| journeytime =
| frequency = Daily
| trainnumber = 421: southwest-bound; 422: northeast-bound
| line_used =
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| access =
| seating = Reclining seat coaches
| sleeping =
| autorack =
| catering = Food service
| observation = Lounge coach
| entertainment =
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| otherfacilities =
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| gauge = {{RailGauge|sg}}
| el =
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}}
The Xplorer, or Ohio Xplorer, was a named train of the New York Central Railroad (NYC) that traveled between Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio. Although the railroad first announced the train in its April 29, 1956, timetable, that timetable did not contain its schedule.{{cite web|url=http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-0456.pdf|title=Cover; Table No. 23: Cincinnati to Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland / Cleveland to Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati (see Ohio Xplorer)|work=Timetable: New York Central Railroad|date=April 29, 1956|pages=cover, 33|publisher=New York Central Railroad|access-date=April 20, 2021|via=canadasouthern.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219130259/http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-0456.pdf|archive-date=February 19, 2019|url-status=live}} The train entered revenue service on June 3, 1956.{{cite web|author=Train Lover|date=March 4, 2013|url=http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=2287|title=Dan'l Webster and the Xplorer|work=Streamliner Memories|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106150720/http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=2287|archive-date=January 6, 2020|url-status=live}}
Equipment
The Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company constructed the train's streamlined coaches to its lightweight Train-X design. A Baldwin RP-210 diesel-hydraulic locomotive pulled the train's consist.
The train contained the locomotive and nine short all-aluminum coaches that were articulated together. The center car had two axles (one at each end), with the remaining cars having a single axle each, being supported by adjacent cars at the end opposite the axle. The ride was rough, as with most of the other lightweight trains of the period, and the train was not a success.{{cite book|last=Doughty|first=Geoffrey H.|title=New York Central and the Trains of the Future|isbn=1-883089-28-X|oclc=37728618|lccn=97060352|publisher=Motorbooks International|date=July 1997}}
==Operations==
The NYC's July 15, 1956, timetable was the first to contain the train's schedule.{{cite web|url=http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-0756.pdf|title=Cover; Table No. 23: Cincinnati to Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland / Cleveland to Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati (see Ohio Xplorer)|work=Timetable: New York Central Railroad|date=July 15, 1956|pages=cover, 33|publisher=New York Central Railroad|access-date=April 20, 2021|via=canadasouthern.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227005634/http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-0756.pdf|archive-date=February 27, 2021|url-status=live}} The train, numbered 421 southwest-bound and 422 northeast-bound on the timetable, was an attempt by the New York Central to modernize intrastate rail travel in Ohio and lure people out of their cars.
The train made its last run on August 17, 1957, after less than 15 months of operations. As a result, the train's name (Ohio-Xplorer or Xplorer) did not appear on the railroad's October 27, 1957, timetable.{{cite web|url=http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-1057.pdf|title=Timetable: New York Central Railroad|date=October 27, 1957|publisher=New York Central Railroad|access-date=April 20, 2021|via=canadasouthern.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623061747/http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-1057.pdf|archive-date=June 23, 2020|url-status=live}}
The equipment was retired in 1960, and was sold to Jones Tours for excursion service. After a long period of storage in South Carolina, the train and locomotive were scrapped around 1970.{{cite web|url=http://yardlimit.railfan.net/baldwindiesels/rp210/|title=The Baldwin Diesel Zone - RP-210 |access-date=April 25, 2021|publisher=railfan.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916131816/http://yardlimit.railfan.net/baldwindiesels/rp210/|archive-date=September 16, 2019|url-status=live}}
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book|last=Kirkland|first=John F.|title=The Diesel Builders Volume 3: Baldwin Locomotive Works|date=November 1994|publisher=Interurban Press|isbn=0-916374-93-9}}
- {{cite book|first1=Gary W.|last1=Dolzall |first2=Stephen F.|last2=Dolzall |title=Diesels From Eddystone: The story of Baldwin Diesel Locomotives|year=1984|publisher=Kalmbach Publishing|isbn=0-89024-052-3}}
External links
- [http://ohiorr.railfan.net/images/x01.jpg Xplorer engine 1956]
- [http://ohiorr.railfan.net/images/x11.jpg Xplorer Stewardess 1956]
- [http://ohiorr.railfan.net/images/x21.jpg Xplorer Columbus 1956]
- [http://ohiorr.railfan.net/images/x04.jpg Xplorer rear of train]
- [http://ohiorr.railfan.net/images/x03.jpg Xplorer car connection]
- [http://ohiorr.railfan.net/images/x02.jpg Xplorer Locomotive data display 1956]
{{NYC named trains}}
{{Lightweight Trains}}
{{Pullman rolling stock}}
Category:Passenger trains of the New York Central Railroad
Category:Transportation in Cleveland
Category:Transportation in Ohio
Category:Vehicles introduced in 1956
Category:Articulated passenger trains