Berkshire Hills Express

The Berkshire Hills Express was a full-service passenger train of the New York Central Railroad that went from New York City to North Adams, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. It served as a channel for tourist travel from downstate New York, through the Taconic Mountains, to resorts and other attractions in the Berkshires and for students traveling to Williams College, 11 miles west of North Adams. The train operated from 1919 to 1934. However, it continued in unnamed form for nearly two decades longer.[1]

Berkshire Hills Express
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
Statusdiscontinued
LocaleNortheastern United States
First service1919
Last service1934
Former operator(s)New York Central Railroad & Boston & Albany Railroad
Route
StartNew York, New York
EndNorth Adams, Massachusetts
Distance travelled175.5 miles (282.4 km)
Service frequencyDaily (shortened on Sundays to Pittsfield)
Train number(s)911 (southbound)
916 (northbound)
On-board services
Seating arrangementsCoach
Catering facilitiesBuffet car
Observation facilitiesParlor car

Route

The train, carrying the number, #916, departing mid-afternoon, went in express fashion on the New York Central's Harlem Line, bypassing most stations between 125th Street Station and Chatham, New York. From Chatham, the train headed east on the territory of the Boston and Albany Railroad that the NYC had leased, to Pittsfield, and then headed north on the B&A's North Adams branch. The train took the name, New York Express and #911 on the southbound route to New York City. In addition to carrying coach cars it included a buffet car and parlor car as well.[2]

Following the NYC's dropping of the Berkshire Hills Express and New York Express in 1934, the train continued as #1516 north and #5417 south. By this time a morning train took the route as well in both directions.[3]

Demise

In 1950, the through service to North Adams was trimmed to a shuttle from Chatham to North Adams, requiring a transfer at Chatham.[4] Passenger service between Chatham and North Adams ended in 1953.[5]

References
  1. "New York Central Railroad, Tables 6, 98". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 64 (9). February 1932.
  2. "New York Central Railroad, Tables 6, 98". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 64 (9). February 1932.
  3. "New York Central Railroad, Tables 11, 90". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 71 (3). August 1938.
  4. New York Central June 1950 timetable, Table 42
  5. Karr, Ronald Dale. 'Lost Railroads of New England,' Pepperell, MA: Branch Line Press, Third edition, 2010, p. 207
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