Metropolitan Special
Encyclopedia
The Metropolitan Special was the workhorse passenger train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

 (B&O) during the 1920s–1960s between New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, with major station stops in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

. The New York station was actually in Jersey City, New Jersey, with bus service to and from Manhattan. The Metropolitan Special carried vast amounts of mail and express packages in many (often 10+) baggage cars and express cars, and the train served various smaller towns and villages that were bypassed by the more prestigious trains along the route, the National Limited
National Limited
The National Limited was the premier train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on its route between New York City and St. Louis, Missouri, with major station stops in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio. The all-Pullman version of the National Limited was introduced by the B&O on April 26,...

and the Diplomat. Added revenue for the train came from Railway Post Office
Railway post office
In the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained Railway Mail Service postal clerks, and was off-limits to...

 cars, which sorted and canceled mail en route, between terminals.

Even with declining passenger revenue through the 1950s and 1960s, the B&O Passenger Department relied heavily on trains such as the Metropolitan Special because of the revenue generated by moving mail and express packages. However, in 1967, the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

 dealt a heavy blow to the B&O, canceling most of its lucrative post office contracts. With such a heavy blow to revenue, the fate of the Metropolitan Special was sealed. This train was gone before the first day of Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

, May 1, 1971.
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