The future emerging from the past, two-year-old Budd Metroliner 881 pops out of the 97-year old Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, constructed in 1873 to provide Pennsylvania Railroad trains direct access to Washington, D.C. Twice enlarged over the years and soon to be expanded again, in May, 1970, the 7500-foot tunnel remains a bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor. But business clients and politicians in the 34-seat lead parlor car will soon be unwinding with cocktails at 110 miles an hour and passengers in the 76-seat coaches will beat Eastern Airlines competing shuttle door-to door. Despite early glitches, demand is high and the six daily round-trips will soon grow to seven and eventually a dozen.
The three biggest passenger carriers - Pennsylvania, New York Central, and New Haven - merged to create the ill-fated Penn Central, whose passenger losses and poor service led to the formation of Amtrak and state-owned commuter lines.
Lots of acton one of the busiest - and fastest - sections of the Northeast Corridor plus the Capitol Limited going through Harpers Ferry, Sand Patch Tunnel and more.
