Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 47, 2007

The Royal Blue (originally, the Royal Limited) was the flagship passenger train of the Royal Blue Line in the United States, operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in partnership with the Reading Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey, between New York City and Washington, D. C., beginning in 1890. Principal intermediate cities served were Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore. Although the B&O collectively referred to its New York service as the "Royal Blue Line", the premier train on the route was initially called the "Royal Limited" when it was inaugurated on May 15, 1898. In the 1890s–early 20th century era, the Royal Limited and B&O's fleet of six daily Royal Blue Line trains between Washington and New York were noted for their luxury, elegant appearance, and speed. The car interiors were paneled in mahogany, had fully enclosed vestibules (instead of open platforms, still widely in use at the time on U.S. railroads), then-modern heating and lighting, and leaded glass windows. The cars were painted a deep "Royal Saxony blue" color with gold leaf trim. Later, as Europe reeled from the carnage of World War I, the B&O discreetly omitted the sobriquet "Royal Blue Line" from its New York passenger service in 1917, only to revive it in 1935 when a re-christened "Royal Blue" train resumed operations between New York and Washington. Spurred by intense competition from the formidable Pennsylvania Railroad, the dominant railroad in the lucrative New York–Washington market since the 1880s, the Royal Blue in its mid-1930s reincarnation was noted for a number of technological innovations, including streamlining and the first mainline passenger diesel locomotive. The B&O finally discontinued all passenger service north of Baltimore on April 26, 1958, and the Royal Blue faded into history.