OPPOSITE: Conrail 5909 (ex-NYC 5771) and 7508 (ex-NYC 5936) leads the inbound morning Valpo Local into Chicago Union Station on June 8, 1978. Norfolk & Western’s commuter train from Orland Park can be seen trailing behind from this vantage point on Roosevelt Road. JOHN BENSON PHOTO ABOVE: By 1979, the only tenants at the venerable Buffalo Central Terminal were Amtrak and the daily Conrail-TH&B run to Toronto. Upon closure of BCT, these trains then ter- minated at Exchange Street Station in downtown Buffalo. KEN KRAEMER PHOTO
The Amtrak Improvement Act of 1979 was intended to modify the origi- nal 1970 legislation and allow Amtrak to operate commuter trains “under an agreement with a State or local agency.” It also included a provision to transfer operation of commuter trains from Conrail to Amtrak, and continue their funding and operation until at least April 1, 1981.
With the new legislation in place, the Valpo Locals were transferred to Am-
trak On October 29, 1979. The newly renamed Indiana Connection and Calumet were equipped with former C&NW bi-levels painted in Amtrak col- ors. An Amtrak budget cut killed the Indiana Connection in 1986, and the Calumet was cancelled in 1991 since no reliable source of subsidy could be found to continue its operation, though several proposals are currently under consideration for reactivation.
Buffalo-Toronto (1976-1981)
ONTARIO TORONTO
Hamilton BUFFALO NEW YORK LAKE ONTARIO NEW YORK CITY
Opened in 1892, the Toronto, Hamil- ton & Buffalo operated on the Niagara Peninsula between its namesake inter- national cities. It was jointly purchased by the New York Central and the Cana- dian Pacific railroads, yet it retained its unique identity for many years af- terwards. The TH&B used trackage rights over its parent roads to access terminals at Toronto and Buffalo. A number of passenger trains were oper- ated between the two cities, providing a sort of internation- al shuttle service.
By the 1970s, the schedule had dwin- dled down to a pair of Budd RDC’s making one round trip daily between Buffalo Central Terminal and Toronto Union Station. The New York Central’s share of the TH&B passed on to Penn Central in 1968 and to Conrail in 1976. In 1977, Canadian Pacific bought out the old NYC shares and gained majori- ty ownership. Outwardly, there was lit- tle to show Conrail’s involvement in the operation. The trains consisted of Canadian Pacific equipment, usually a pair of RDC’s, operated by a CP crew. It was listed in timetables as a joint Con- rail-TH&B-CP train independent of Amtrak (which took control of the na- tion’s remaining intercity passenger trains in 1971).
When Buffalo Central Terminal was closed in 1979, the train then terminat- ed at Exchange Street Station down- town. The trains lacked any kind of support or subsidy from either side of the border, and the railroads were ea- ger to end the less-patronized opera- tion. In 1978, VIA Rail Canada took over most of CP’s and Canadian Na- tional’s passenger services, but the TH&B operation was not included. The Canadian Transport Commission au- thorized the trains to be discontinued on September 29, 1980, and they didn’t make it into the new VIA published timetable. But the CTC issued a re- prieve on September 25, 1980, and the trains lasted until VIA and Amtrak could work out
details for a new
through service via Niagara Falls. The last run took place on April 25, 1981, using VIA Budd RDC’s. Amtrak contin- ues to provide through service over the route with the operation of the New York-Toronto Maple Leaf, as well as several Empire Service trains.
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