The B&O had previously operated through cars between New York and western points as the
National Limited since December 1916. The all-
Pullman version of the National Limited was introduced by the B&O on April 26, 1925, as trains 1 (westbound) and 2 (eastbound). B&O's New York terminus was actually in
Jersey City, New Jersey, at the
Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal. Passengers were then transferred to buses that met the train at the platform. These buses were then ferried across the
Hudson River to
Manhattan Island, where they proceeded to various "stations" including the
Vanderbilt Hotel,
Wanamaker's,
Columbus Circle, and
Rockefeller Center, as well as into
Brooklyn. Connections with southwestern railroads, including the
Missouri Pacific,
Missouri-Kansas-Texas,
Cotton Belt, and the
Frisco, were made at
St. Louis Union Station. In 1939–1940, the
National Limited was streamlined and dieselized. In 1967, the
United States Post Office dealt a heavy blow to the B&O and other US railroads by cancelling most of their lucrative mail contracts. Most of the train's route through West Virginia, southern Ohio, and south-central
Indiana and
Illinois was, and continues to be, sparsely populated. Few cities or towns existed along the line that could contribute additional revenue or passengers to the train; indeed, it had never profited from high ridership even in its golden age. Between Cincinnati and St. Louis, the B&O St. Louis line was single-tracked, and it avoided most of the larger Midwestern cities along the way. While branch lines ran to
Columbus,
Dayton,
Louisville,
Indianapolis,
Springfield, and other cities and towns, the
National Limited bypassed them all. This ultimately would seal the train's fate. The B&O's
National Limited had its final run on April 30, 1971, when
Amtrak took over most passenger routes in the United States but did not continue any B&O trains at the outset. In 1981, however, it revived the
Capitol Limited for the portion of its route east of Pittsburgh.
Amtrak in 1979. The
National Limited name was subsequently revived by Amtrak for
a train from New York to
Kansas City, Missouri, via
Harrisburg,
Pittsburgh, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. This Amtrak train did not use the B&O route, instead being the successor of the old Pennsylvania Railroad mainstay,
Spirit of St. Louis: the principal rival of the old
National Limited. After being plagued by numerous delays caused by deteriorating
Penn Central track in the Midwest, it was canceled on October 1, 1979. Amtrak's
Shenandoah served the
National Limited B&O route from Washington to Cincinnati via
Cumberland, Maryland, and
Parkersburg, West Virginia, from October 31, 1976, to September 30, 1981. ==Stations==