Washington Terminal

Company History: WATC was established in 1901 to provide a "union" station and related facilities for Washington D.C. The railroads served were Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio, Southern and Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac. The RF&P also forwarded the trains of Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line. WATC facilities included Washington Union Station, Ivy City Coach Yard and Ivy City Engine Facility (which serviced the client road's passenger power as well as WATC's own switcher fleet.)

In 1950, they had 58 miles of track, 22 active switcher locomotives (mostly RS-1's) and handled 260 arrivals and departures on an average day. The company remains a separate entity today but Amtrak took over operations in the 80s.

Successor/Parent History: The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is a passenger railroad service that provides medium- and long-distance intercity service in the contiguous United States. Founded in 1971 through the government-sponsored consolidation of most of the remaining U.S. passenger rail companies, it is partially government-funded yet operated and managed as a for-profit corporation.

Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day on 21,300 miles (34,000 km) of track with select segments having civil operating speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and connecting more than 500 destinations in 46 states in addition to three Canadian provinces. In fiscal year 2015, Amtrak served 30.8 million passengers and had $2.185 billion in revenue, while employing more than 20,000 people. Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from the 10 largest metropolitan areas; 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles. Its headquarters is at Union Station in Washington, D.C.

The name "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "trak", the latter itself a sensational spelling of "track".

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Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.