The Colonial, also known as the Colonial Express, was a service of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad between Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. and South Station in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Colonial began on January 18, 1892, as a daytime express service between Boston and Washington, D.C.. From Boston, the train traveled west over the New York, New Haven & Hartford's Shore Line and then the New Rochelle branch to the Harlem River, where passengers boarded the passenger steamer Maryland, which carried them to Jersey City, New Jersey.
Passengers continuing south on the Colonial boarded a new train in Jersey City, which used the Pennsylvania main line to reach Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland and Washington.
[2] The PRR merged into Penn Central Transportation in 1968, which absorbed the NYNH&H in 1969.
When Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971, it took over the Federal, which ran as trains 170 and 171 (changed to 173 and 174 in the November 14 timetable).