C&O Ends Steam Passenger Service

June 30, 1951, saw the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway withdraw its last steam locomotives from regular passenger service on the route between Cincinnati and Washington, D.C. The famous 4-6-4 Hudson-type locomotives, including the streamlined L-2 class, had powered the George Washington and Sportsman trains. Diesels from EMD and Baldwin took over, reflecting the post-war modernization sweeping American railroads. The transition ended an era of coal-fired glamour that had defined C&O's image. Preservationists later saved several Hudsons, now displayed at museums. Railfans remember the distinctive whistle and the sight of these engines climbing the Alleghenies.