The Last Ride Of The Cincinnatian
B&O Passenger Train Made Last Run Fifty Years Ago
Joe Bredestege was up a little earlier than usual. The early spring sun was coming up over the horizon as he fastened his 50 Years - Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers lapel pin to his jacket. As his wife straightened his collar, the two left their home for the quick drive to Union Terminal.
Today was the day for one last ride on the Baltimore and Ohio’s old No. 53. The Cincinnatian.
The date was April 30,1971, and at the stroke of midnight, trains like The Cincinnatian would pull into their respected stations one final time. A new company called Amtrak would be taking over, and like many of the old trains and routes, The Cincinnatian would become a causality.
After WWII, as the automobile began to rise in popularity and passengers trains were losing money, The B&O thought a high speed luxury coach between Baltimore and Cincinnati would help the bottom line. There were two trains, one running from Cincinnati to Baltimore and the other running from Baltimore to Cincinnati. On January 7, 1947, the two trains were christened.
All of The Cincinnatian cars were named for Cincinnati landmarks or localities. The #1307 Eden Park and #1308 Hyde Park were the baggage/crew cars, # 3565 Indian Hill, # 3566 Winton Place, # 3567 College Hill and # 3568 Walnut Hills were the 60 seat coaches. The #3572 Oakley and #3573 Norwood were 56 seat coaches with a nurse room. The last cars were Cafe-Observation cars. They were named #3304 Peebles Corner and 3305 #Fountain Square.
After the coal strike of 1950, The B&O discontinued the Baltimore and Cincinnati route, switching to a daylight run from Cincinnati to Detroit on June 25, 1950. By 1964, The Cincinnatian only pulled a single coach and a cafe car.
As Joe and his wife along with a handful of other passengers take their seat in one of the two passenger cars, a flood of memories return. Most of Joe’s locomotive career was spent shoveling 20 tons of coal during the 12 hour journey from Cincinnati to Detroit. He remembers all the stops and all the people. He remembers the tales like old engineer “Doggie” who once hit a prized bull that crossed the tracks somewhere near Botkins, Ohio back in ‘28. He remembers the regulars like Bill in Troy, Frank in Wapakoneta, and John and Harold in Lima.
As the train stops in Dayton, Joe pulls out the pocket watch that he received from the Army during WWI, when he was shoveling coal on trains in France.
“Right on time,” he says as he nudges his wife.
24 school children from Northmoor Elementary School, accompanied by their teacher, take their seats. Joe smiles and waves to them.
A young lady, understanding the historical significance of this ride, asks the conductor to autograph her ticket. Joe jokes with the conductor that since he will be out of work soon, he should have charged her.
All along the route, people with movie cameras film the train and wave as it whizzes by. At all 14 stops, photos were taken and stories were told. In Wapakoneta, more than 100 people gathered at the station, even stringing out a black ribbon across the tracks for the train to go through as it pulled away.
That’s when it hit Joe.
He put his face up against the glass, waving and wiping a tear, clasping his wife’s hand as the old No. 53 chugged on.
It is so cool reading these articles.
Living in Baltimore my family worked for the B&O railroad in many capacities.
I actually have the letters spelling “ pebbles corner” along with other memorabilia from the railroad ..