In the 1920s, railroads were a central part of American life. Railroad lines crisscrossed the country. They carried people, manufactured goods, food, the daily mail, and express packages. Railroads made long-distance travel possible, but the opportunities for travel were not equally shared. In the South, African Americans were segregated into “Jim Crow” cars.
Normally, waiters would be working up and down the aisle, serving meal courses and drinks and attending patrons. Passengers starting on the Southern Railway and going to Philadelphia or New York could change in Washington, D.C., to Baltimore & Ohio trains going from Washington northward. Or a passenger on a Southern Rwy. train from the South could change in Washington to a B&O train going on a B&O route to the Midwest.
A note on the name, "Capitol Limited": the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) Railroad was headquartered in Baltimore but was so proud of its mainline connections to Washington, D.C., from both west and north that the company's logo (then called a railroad's "herald") prominently featured the U.S. Capitol dome. Hence the name of this Washington-Baltimore-New York train.
* Passenger rail travel reached its all-time high in the '20s, with 1.2 billion passengers boarding 9,000 inter-city trains and racking up 47 billion passenger miles every day.
Normally, waiters would be working up and down the aisle, serving meal courses and drinks and attending patrons. Passengers starting on the Southern Railway and going to Philadelphia or New York could change in Washington, D.C., to Baltimore & Ohio trains going from Washington northward. Or a passenger on a Southern Rwy. train from the South could change in Washington to a B&O train going on a B&O route to the Midwest.
A note on the name, "Capitol Limited": the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) Railroad was headquartered in Baltimore but was so proud of its mainline connections to Washington, D.C., from both west and north that the company's logo (then called a railroad's "herald") prominently featured the U.S. Capitol dome. Hence the name of this Washington-Baltimore-New York train.
* Passenger rail travel reached its all-time high in the '20s, with 1.2 billion passengers boarding 9,000 inter-city trains and racking up 47 billion passenger miles every day.
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