Time to go to the train station, about a mile from the State Office Building. This time tomorrow I’ll still be aboard, in Mississippi somewhere, but nearing the end of the 27 hour trip. I couldn’t find direct comparisons, but it takes 17 hours in 2010 to travel from DC to Chicago on the Capitol Limited. In 1883, a New York to Chicago trip was advertised as 25 hours and 40 minutes. By 1938 it was down to 16 hours on the 20th Century Limited. It sure seems like rail travel times have stagnated as chronological time has progressed.
Article written by Steve Allan, regional planner with the Maryland Department of Planning