Lionel 2431630 O BTO B&O LEGACY 4-6-0 #1315

In 1890, The Baltimore & Ohio, Central of New Jersey and Reading launched a new "Royal Blue Line" service between New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. Facing stiff competition from the parallel Pennsylvania, these new trains would be some of the most luxuriously appointed coach trains in the world. All new coaches, baggage cars and combines came from Pullman featuring plush interiors for comfort, semienclosed vestibules for safety and a regal deep blue paint scheme which set the train apart from anything else on the rails. There was not one "Royal Blue" train but rather 10 complete trains with multiple departures daily under the "Royal Blue Line" advertising banner. Cars were owned by all three railroads proportionally, but rather than list their names, ownership was identified by the New Jersey (CNJ), Pennsylvania (Reading) or Maryland (B&O) state seals centered on the car sides. This gave the train a uniform appearance with the four major cities along the route listed out above the windows. The B&O supplied dining cars and Pullman lounge or sleeping cars (for connecting trains) as needed. Motive power was equally modern and polished and typically included 4-4- 0 or 4-6-0 locomotives from each of the railroads. North of Philadelphia, Camelbacks were common.