Lake Cities (train)

The Lake Cities was a passenger train operated by the Erie Railroad and successor Erie Lackawanna Railway between Chicago and Jersey City, New Jersey and then Hoboken, New Jersey.

History
The Lake Cities began in 1939 as the Midlander, a Jersey City to Chicago service with sections to Cleveland, and Buffalo, New York. From its eastern terminus, the Erie's Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, the route ran through Port Jervis to Binghamton, New York over the traditional Erie main line through Sullivan and Orange County in New York's Southern Tier and on to Chicago. Unlike other New York City to Chicago trains, it bypassed Buffalo to the south, running through Jamestown, Youngstown, Akron, and Marion in Ohio.

A few years before the Erie's 1960 merger with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, the Lake Cities began running into the Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken. Upon the merger, it was routed over the Lackwanna's Poconos main line route in northern New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania. Between 1961 and 1962, the train was known as the "Chicago Lake Cities/Buffalo Lake Cities", but reverted to Lake Cities. Sleeper service ended on October 28, 1962. From April 26 until October 25, 1964, the Lake Cities was renamed The World's Fair in connection with the 1964 World's Fair in New York. After the conclusion of the fair in 1965, the Lake Cities name was restored to the train. On November 28, 1966, the Lake Cities regained diner and sleeper service to compensate for the withdrawal of the Phoebe Snow (which had its final run the previous day), but by 1967 the sleeping service went no further west than Marion, Ohio, while the dining car stopped at Huntington, Indiana.

On August 30, 1969, the Erie–Lackawanna asked for permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to discontinue the service effective August 30, 1969. The ICC ordered a 120-day stay to allow for hearings on the proposal in cities along the route of the service. The railroad then planned to end service after December 30, 1969, but continued it until January 4, 1970, due to additional ridership at the end of the holidays. After January 4, the Erie–Lackawanna withdrew the train, which was its last intercity service. Eliminating the service was expected to save the railroad $1.2 million a year.

Equipment
After World War II the Erie acquired seven lightweight sleepers from Pullman-Standard, each with ten roomettes and six double bedrooms. The Lake Cities carried one in each direction between New York and Chicago.

Station stops
This late 1960s timetable with the New Jersey and Pennsylvania stops reflects a consolidation of service with the Phoebe Snow train, which was discontinued in 1966.

Before the 1960 Erie-Lackawanna merger, the Lake Cities' route ran through New York's Sullivan and Orange Counties.