The Ambassador was a named train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

 (B&O) on its route between Baltimore, Maryland and Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 with major station stops in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 and Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

. Inaugurated in 1930, the Ambassador was discontinued in 1964.

History

The B&O began passenger service from Detroit to Washington, D.C. in 1920. Until 1925, the B&O offered a through Washington - Detroit Pullman sleeping car

Sleeping car

The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...

 running on a Washington-Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 train to Deshler, Ohio

Deshler, Ohio

Deshler is a village in Henry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,831 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Deshler is located at ....

 then added to a Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

 - Detroit train.

In June 1925, the B&O started a through overnight Washington - Detroit train named the Washington-Detroit Limited (although it actually originated in Baltimore). This train operated coaches, a dining car

Dining car

A dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....

, a lounge car

Lounge car

A lounge car is a type of passenger car on a train, where riders can purchase food and drinks. The car may feature large windows and comfortable seating to create a relaxing diversion from standard coach or dining options...

, and sleepers. In 1930, this train was renamed The Ambassador. The train typically used the cutoff through North Baltimore, Ohio

North Baltimore, Ohio

North Baltimore is a village in Wood County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,361 at the 2000 census.North Baltimore is south of Toledo.-Geography:North Baltimore is located at ....

 skipping Deshler. Up through 1946, it operated into Fort Street Station in Detroit, then B&O moved operations to the landmark Michigan Central Station

Michigan Central Station

Michigan Central Station , built in mid-1912 through 1913 for the Michigan Central Railroad, was Detroit, Michigan's passenger rail depot from its opening in 1913 after the previous Michigan Central Station burned, until the cessation of Amtrak service on January 6, 1988...

.

Accident

On September 24, 1942 The Ambassador ran into the back of the Cleveland Express near Dickerson, Maryland

Dickerson, Maryland

Dickerson is an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located on Maryland Route 28, between Sugarloaf Mountain and the Potomac River. It is a community situated near the town of Poolesville, Maryland. Dickerson is .-History of Dickerson:...

 northwest of Washington, DC. Twelve passengers and two crew members were killed in the worst accident that the B&O suffered since 1907.

Decline and end of the train

In 1961, as railroad passenger traffic was declining, The Ambassador became just a section of the combined Capitol Limited - Columbian. It had one coach, a sleeping car, and a combination sleeper-lounge. The train operated separately from Willard, Ohio

Willard, Ohio

Willard is a city in Huron County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,806. Willard is served by the Willard Memorial Library.-Geography:Willard is located at ....

 to Detroit with a dining car added.

In 1964, The Ambassador name disappeared entirely, and the train was renamed the Capitol-Detroit. Now that the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad had acquired control of the B&O, the train was rerouted over the C&O from Toledo to Fort Street Station.

External links

• http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/NamedTrains/Ambassador(B&O).htm