| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Locale | Northeastern United States |
| Predecessor | Colonial |
| First service | 1894 |
| Last service | May 1, 1971 (Name revived briefly by Amtrak (2003-2004) |
| Successor | Night Owl |
| Former operator(s) | New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad Penn Central |
| Route | |
| Termini | Boston, Massachusetts Washington, D.C. |
| Distance travelled | 458.6 miles (738.0 km) |
| Service frequency | Daily |
| Train number(s) | South/North 27/62 43/62 71/72 171/172 173/172 177/176 67/66 |
| On-board services | |
| Seating arrangements | Reclining seat coaches |
| Sleeping arrangements | Sections, roomettes and double bedrooms |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
The Federal Express (after April 1939, officially known as just the Federal) was an overnight named passenger train run by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad between Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C., and South Station in Boston, from 1912 to 1971. At different times, its route has taken it across the Hudson River via a car float between Port Morris and Jersey City (the ferry Maryland), the Poughkeepsie Bridge, and finally the Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad. The final routing was identical to today's high-speed Northeast Corridor.
The train carried sleeping cars and coaches, as well as mail and baggage. As the train operated well outside of dinner hours after 1917 (10:00 - 11:00 PM departure), food service was limited to beverages and light snacks on departure, and continental breakfast in the morning, generally dispensed from a lounge car which also contained sleeping accommodations.