CLIFTON FORGE, Va. (VR) – The Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society has released the first-ever, full-length book on a nearly forgotten passenger train that was developed, built and announced by the C&O Railway in the 1940s but abruptly canceled before entering revenue service. A story previously told only in pieces through scattered magazine articles from 1969 to 2019, the saga of The Chessie, a passenger train named after the railroad’s famous mascot, “Chessie the Railroad Kitten,” has now been compiled through decades of research with information in the nonprofit organization’s extensive archives.
The book, titled “Chesapeake & Ohio’s The Chessie, the Train that Was, but Never Was,” tells the complete story of the fabulous passenger train that the C&O Railway’s Chairman Robert R. Young and his research chief, Kenneth Browne, designed and had built for ultra-luxury coach service from Washington to Cincinnati.
Predicting a post-World War II passenger boom, the design of The Chessie incorporated most of Young’s forward-thinking ideas about how railroads could recapture their market share of the traveling public by providing more luxurious service and amenities than could be offered in other modes of transportation, giving rail travel a competitive edge over fast-developing American superhighways and airlines.
The train had two bi-level spaces for dome-view seating, family cars, children’s theaters and playrooms, ample lounge space that included a tropical fish aquarium, twin-unit dining cars that converted to theaters showing first-run films and newly designed observation cars on the rear. The dome cars, the first set to operate over the Chesapeake & Ohio, were set to give the train’s riders the best possible appreciation of the scenery in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, through which The Chessie was scheduled to travel mostly during daylight hours.
Especially for the 1940s, the innovative technology installed for use by passengers on board The Chessie was set to revolutionize American traveling comfort and style. For example, the train’s seats featured plug-ins for piped-in music and, for the first time in history, passengers could place telephone calls from on board the train. All the train’s cars were built out of stainless steel with the most up-to-date mechanical arrangements. However, for mysterious reasons, the train’s entrance into service was canceled just before it was to be inaugurated, and its almost-famous cars were sold to several different railroads throughout the country.
In developing the concept for The Chessie, Robert R. Young used the C&O Railway’s rich treasury (primarily from coal hauling) to finance the train’s development and construction. When the cars were delivered from the manufacturer to the C&O Railway in mid-1948, coal strikes were impacting the railroad’s revenue stream. In addition, passenger traffic also was in steep decline as postwar Americans turned to automobiles for travel. For these known reasons, likely combined with unknown reasons, the train’s debut was canceled, and the carefully designed luxury cars were instead used on other C&O trains until all but four were sold in 1951.
Compiling both familiar and never-seen information from the C&O Historical Society over its 100 pages, “Chesapeake & Ohio’s The Chessie, the Train that Was, but Never Was” is softbound on heavy 100-pound glossy paper and includes over 150 illustrations, including an equipment roster and diagrams for The Chessie’s groundbreaking passenger cars.
The publication Chesapeake & Ohio’s The Chessie, the Train that Was, but Never Was may be ordered online from ChessieShop.com or from the C&O Historical Society’s Business Office & Archive, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and may be contacted by telephone at 540-862-2210 or by email at cohs@cohs.org. The book is also available in the C&O Railway Heritage Center’s gift shop, open from Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at 705 Main Street, Clifton Forge.
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