West Virginia Night Express

The West Virginia Night Express, also known as the Wheeling Night Express, was a passenger train operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) on its route between Chicago, Illinois, and Wheeling, West Virginia. The train made major stops in Willard and Newark, Ohio. It began service in 1912 and ended in 1956 due to declining passenger demand.

The B&O, chartered in 1827, was a significant railway that expanded by acquiring smaller railroads. Service between Chicago and Wheeling started in 1880, with the West Virginia Night Express providing overnight sleeping car service from 1912 until its discontinuation. The train operated as Train No. 46 eastbound and had a reverse route, Train No. 45, known as the Chicago Night Express.

During World War II, the West Virginia Night Express was consolidated with Train No. 9, the Pittsburgh-Chicago Express, from Willard to Chicago. After the war, it resumed independent operation in 1946. The train's equipment included head-ended cars, a baggage car, coach, and sleeper. Between Newark and Wheeling, it featured a diner-parlor car by 1947. The train was dieselized in its final year of operation, 1956.

The decline in railroad passenger traffic nationwide led to the discontinuation of the West Virginia Night Express on December 1, 1956, ending rail service between Chicago and Wheeling.