The service began on December 12, 1948 as the Steeler, a single round-trip between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. It departed Cleveland in the morning and returned from Pittsburgh in the late afternoon. Its travel time of 2 hours and 40 minutes was, at the time, the fastest between the two cities. At first the Steeler made just two intermediate stops, in Alliance and Hudson, Ohio.[1] On April 30, 1950, the Pennsylvania inaugurated a second round-trip between the two cities, adding a morning departure from Pittsburgh and a corresponding afternoon return from Cleveland.[2] The morning pair were dubbed the Morning Steeler and the afternoon pair the Afternoon Steeler. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach John Michelosen was on hand to christen the new service.[2] Prior to this the Pennsylvania had five daily round-trips between the two cities: the Steeler, Clevelander, and three additional unnamed pairs. The Steeler carried both a parlor and a "dining lounge" car in addition to coaches.[3]: 241
The Pennsylvania discontinued the Morning Steeler on September 7, 1957. The railroad cited competition from the newly completed Ohio Turnpike; daily patronage had fallen to 35 and yearly losses totaled $41,000. Its discontinuance left two Pennsylvania trains, the Afternoon Steeler and the Clevelander, between Pittsburgh and Cleveland.[4][5]: 6 The Afternoon Steeler survived another year, ending on June 28, 1958.[6] At the insistence of the Pennsylvania Utility Commission a rump version of the Steeler continued to operate as a commuter train to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania until late July.[7]
