Amtrak kept service mostly identical through the spring and summer of 1971. It slowly began integrating the trains that summer. The two trains began exchanging through Washington–Chicago and Newport News–Chicago coaches at Cincinnati on July 12, and a through sleeping car began September 8. On November 14, the "Riley" and "George Washington" merged into a single long-distance Chicago-Washington train, with the eastbound train (train 50) known as the "George Washington" and the westbound train (train 51) known as the "Riley". The eastern terminus was briefly extended to Boston, giving the Northeast Corridor a one-seat ride to Chicago. However, it was truncated back to Washington in 1972. On May 19, 1974, Amtrak fully merged the "George Washington" into the "Riley".