Twilight Shoreliner

Twilight Shoreliner

A former Twilight Shoreliner Viewliner sleeper, still in revenue service.
Overview
Service type Inter-city rail
Status Discontinued
Locale Northeast Corridor
Predecessor Night Owl
First service 1997
Last service 2003
Successor Federal
Former operator(s) Amtrak
Route
Start Newport News, Virginia
End Boston, Massachusetts
Service frequency Daily
Train number(s) 66,67
On-board services
Class(es)
  • Coach class
  • Custom class
  • First class
  • Viewliner sleeper car
Catering facilities
  • On-board café
  • Twilight Cafe
Technical
Rolling stock
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The Twilight Shoreliner was a sleeper train operated by Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor. The Federal replaced the Twilight Shoreliner and eventually became an all-coach train.

History

The Twilight Shoreliner replaced the Night Owl as Amtrak's dedicated overnight service on the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak equipped the train with a Viewliner sleeping car, replacing the Heritage Fleet equipment used by the Night Owl. The new train also featured a Custom-class coach and the specially-branded "Twilight Café," which served hot meals and was restricted to sleeper- and custom-class passengers. Finally, Amtrak extended the southern terminus from Washington, D.C. to Newport News, Virginia and moved the departure time from Boston from 10 PM to 8 PM.[1] The Twilight Shoreliner provided a second daily frequency between the Northeast and Newport News, supplementing the Old Dominion.[2]

Equipment

Consist

The Twilight Shoreliner's consist initially was:

However, due to budget cutbacks in 2001,[3] the train ended up losing certain services and was scaled down to look like:

The Twilight Sleeper

The Twilight Sleeper was the same design as other Viewliner sleepers, but contained Twilight Shoreliner soaps, curtains and special windows. The Twilight Shoreliner Sleeper was the only sleeper on the Northeast Corridor. Maintenance issues with the Viewliners led Amtrak to remove the sleepers from the Twilight Shoreliner and add them to other long distance trains.

The Twilight Cafe

The Twilight Cafe was for Custom Class and sleeping car passengers only. Meals were served by an attendant on trays. The Twilight Cafe was more luxurious than the coach cafe.

In Popular Culture

Much of the third act of the Farrelly Brothers comedy Me, Myself & Irene takes place aboard the Twilight Shoreliner as it travels to Rhode Island, and directly outside the train as it is stopped at the station.[4][5][6][7] Many interior shots of the sleeper bedroom,[8][9][10] the sleeping car hallways,[11][12] and the coach section,[13][14][15] can be seen.

Route

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Delaware

Maryland

Virginia

Connecting Motorcoach service to Virginia Beach

References

  1. ↑ "HERALD TRAVELER: Bet on a good time with golf, gambling". Boston Herald  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . July 3, 1997. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Messina, Debbie (July 10, 1997). "LIKE HOME ON THE RAILS AMTRACK EXPANDS SERVICE TO HAMPTON ROADS WITH SECOND TRAIN, LUXURY SLEEPING AND DINING". Virginian-Pilot  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  3. ↑ Amtrak July 9, 2001 Northeast Timetable
  4. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/un00xxrcd/
  5. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/cmqttjz59/
  6. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/4deyf55f1/
  7. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/mim9k7kgr/
  8. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/otpyxdfot/
  9. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/6fffte3e5/
  10. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/v9yxngo8d/
  11. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/bznbqacvh/
  12. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/6cqystact/
  13. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/4sq885rcd/
  14. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/k98dw6ld9/
  15. ↑ http://postimg.org/image/aanf9pbxp/

External links