East Wind (train)

---

title: "East Wind (train)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["boston-and-maine-railroad", "passenger-trains-of-the-boston-and-maine-railroad", "passenger-trains-of-the-new-york,-new-haven-and-hartford-railroad", "passenger-trains-of-the-pennsylvania-railroad", "named-passenger-trains-of-the-united-states", "night-trains-of-the-united-states", "passenger-rail-transportation-in-massachusetts", "passenger-rail-transportation-in-new-hampshire", "passenger-rail-transportation-in-maine", "passenger-rail-transportation-in-new-york-(state)", "passenger-rail-transportation-in-connecticut", "passenger-rail-transportation-in-maryland", "passenger-rail-transportation-in-pennsylvania", "railway-services-introduced-in-1940", "railway-services-discontinued-in-1955"] description: "Former passenger train in the United States" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Wind_(train)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former passenger train in the United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox rail service"]

Field	Value
name	East Wind
image	East Wind passenger train postcard.JPG
caption	Promotional postcard for the train
type	Inter-city rail
status	Discontinued
first	1940
last	1955
formeroperator	Pennsylvania Railroad
New Haven Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
start	Washington, D.C.
end	Portland, Maine
distance	700 mi
journeytime	11.5 hours
frequency	Daily summer only
trainnumber	120 (northbound), 121 (southbound)
seating	air conditioned coaches
catering	Dining car and parlor car
map
map_state	collapsed
::

| box_width = | name = East Wind | logo = | logo_width = | image = East Wind passenger train postcard.JPG | image_width = | caption = Promotional postcard for the train | type = Inter-city rail | status = Discontinued | locale = | predecessor = | first = 1940 | last = 1955 | successor = | operator = | formeroperator = Pennsylvania Railroad New Haven Railroad Boston and Maine Railroad | ridership = | start = Washington, D.C. | stops = | end = Portland, Maine | distance = 700 mi | journeytime = 11.5 hours | frequency = Daily summer only | trainnumber = 120 (northbound), 121 (southbound) | line_used = | class = | access = | seating = air conditioned coaches | sleeping = | autorack = | catering = Dining car and parlor car | observation = | entertainment = | baggage = | otherfacilities = | stock = | gauge = | el = | speed = | owners = | routenumber = | map = | map_state = collapsed

The East Wind was a summer passenger train between Washington, D.C., and resorts along the southern Maine coast. Travel time was about 11.5 hours over the 700 mi route to Portland, Maine in 1941. Travel time was later reduced to 8 hours by 1955 although it terminated in New York City. The route was over the Pennsylvania Railroad from Washington through Philadelphia to New York City, then the New Haven Railroad to Groton, Connecticut, where it left the Northeast Corridor to reach the Boston and Maine Railroad at Worcester, Massachusetts, whereby it continued northeastward, bypassing Boston. The train continued over the Boston & Maine to Portland, where a coach and diner continued to Bangor, Maine, on the connecting Pine Tree Limited. In contrast to the other Mid-Atlantic to Maine trains, it was the only day and evening train.

History

Service started in June 1940 with two sets of pooled passenger cars painted yellow with a silver window band and pinstripes. Each train had an arch-roof baggage car, a dining car, and as many as eight lightweight coaches. The New Haven and Boston & Maine provided American Flyer coaches built in the 1930s by the Pullman Company's former Osgood Bradley Car Company plant in Worcester. The New Haven provided a similar grill car, while the Pennsylvania Railroad provided P-70 coaches and a lounge car. The train did not run during the summers of 1943, 1944 and 1945.

Service resumed in the summer of 1946 without the distinctive paint scheme of the earlier years. Instead of turning north at Groton on the Norwich Branch, the train now passed through Providence, Rhode Island, and used the Providence and Worcester Railroad to reach Worcester. From 1953 to 1955, the train ran via Hartford, Willimantic, and Putnam. Dining cars were sometimes leased from the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, or Boston and Maine or New Haven heavyweight diners were used. The New Haven diners were sometimes painted silver. The train ran for the last time in the summer of 1955, ending earlier than planned after Hurricane Diane caused significant flooding throughout New England on August 18.

Guilford Rail System used the name East Wind in 1995 for a through piggyback service of semi-trailers on flatcars between Springfield, Massachusetts, and Bangor, Maine.

References

References

1. Jones, Robert Willoughby, ''Boston and Maine'' (1991). Trans-Anglo Books {{ISBN. 0-87046-101-X p.96
2. "Summer-Only Luxury Trains to Maine". James VanBokkelen.
3. New Haven Timetable, June 2, 1946, Table 44
4. (July 10, 1953). "Echo Grange Will Hold 24th Fair September 12". Hartford Courant.
5. (April 24, 1955). "THE SCENIC SHORELINE ROUTE SERVING NEW YORK AND NEW ENGLAND". New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
6. "The "East Wind": A Seasonal Maine Train (1940-1955)". American Rails.
7. (1999). "Maine Central in Color Volume 2". Morning Sun Books.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::