Named Trains: #28 – Minute Man

#28 – Minute Man

Railroad(s): Boston & Maine; Amtrak

Operated: unspecified; 1972 – 1973; 1973 – 1995

Route(s): Boston – Troy (ME); Boston – Philadelphia; Boston – Washington

Another entry from New England, the Minute Man is a perfect reflection of the region's patriotic heritage as well as an embodiment of the train's speed and precision suggested by the moniker. During its Boston & Maine days, the Minute Man operated through the heart of the railroad's territory through Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, and the company's overall slogan was "the Route of the Minute Man." Near the end of the railroad's era, Minute Man Service was provided under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as a commuter rail operation between Boston and Concord, N.H. Currently, plans are moving forward to re-launch service on the route after the line was curtailed at Lowell, Mass., in the early 1980s.

Amtrak's use of the namesake corresponded with trains operating on its Northeast Corridor during the Metroliner era. Although Minute Man iconography is closely associated with New England in general and Massachusetts, in particular, Amtrak figured the colonial legacy of the Corridor states was enough to adapt the entire region.

#29 – Fast Mail
#30 – Lake Shore Limited
#31 – Comet