Serving Chicago, South Bend, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and intermediate points
Amtrak train numbers: 46 and 47, then 43 and 44
Predecessor railroad train numbers: None
To make up for the cancellation of the National Limited in 1979, the state of Pennsylvania partially funded operation of a new train, the Pennsylvanian, supplementing the schedule of the Broadway Limited between New York and Pittsburgh, which began running on April 27, 1980.
The train remained an unremarkable daytime corridor train, with only coaches and a cafe car, until November 7, 1998, when it was extended west past Pittsburgh through Cleveland and Toledo to Chicago over the same route used by the Capitol Limited, and the eastern terminus was simultaneously cut back to Philadelphia.
However, it continued to run with the same equipment; the main reason for the extension was to better serve Amtrak's freight customers, with daytime service through Indiana and Ohio. Since there's no overnight portion of the trip (although it's a long day), sleeping cars are supposedly unnecessary, but there is no full dining car and no checked baggage.
Condensed historical timetables:
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(1983) (1990) (2002) (2002) (1990) (1983)
----- ----- 6:00A Dp Chicago Ar 12:26A ----- -----
----- ----- 8:30A South Bend 10:47P ----- -----
----- ----- 1:15P Cleveland 6:07P ----- -----
9:45A 9:45A 4:28P Pittsburgh 2:36P 4:59P 4:18P
5:00P 5:20P 12:52A Philadelphia 6:35A 9:45A 9:25A
6:37P 7:05P ----- Ar New York Dp ----- 7:45A 7:30A
The Amtrak Train Names Project