The Aiken-Augusta Special was a named night train of the Southern Railway between New York City and Augusta, Georgia. Different from other long distance Southern Railway lines which tended to briefly go through the northwestern edge of South Carolina, this route went through the interior of the state. Its route marked the last directly north-south route between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina, and it marked one of the last long distance trains into Augusta, Georgia.
The train began as the Augusta Special on October 24, 1915.[1] Beginning in 1928 the train had a section that split from the main route at Trenton, South Carolina, and went to Aiken, South Carolina, and so the train took the name, Aiken-Augusta Special. The train was carried over Pennsylvania Railroad tracks from New York City to Washington, D.C., and in an unusual arrangement the coach cars were on a different train (No. 153 the Congressional southbound; No. 112 unnamed, northbound) from the sleeping cars between New York and Washington, and upon reaching the latter city the itinerary became merged.[1][2][3]
With dwindling traffic in the 1950s, the Aiken spur route was eliminated in 1953, and the train reverted to the Augusta Special.[1] Beginning on June 29, 1956, the Augusta Special was combined with the Crescent north of Charlotte.[4][5] In October 1966, the Augusta Special was cut back from both ends, running only between Warrenville and Fort Mill within South Carolina. [6] That stub train ran until October 14, 1967.[7]
Asheville Special
The Asheville Special at Biltmore in 1971
The train had the Asheville Special (#15 south/#16 north; begun in 1930), which split from the main route in Greensboro, North Carolina, (Salisbury until 1949) and continued west from Greensboro, to Winston-Salem and then to Asheville, North Carolina. Through sleeping cars ran between New York City and Asheville, but the coaches and diner only ran between Asheville and Greensboro.[8] The southbound Asheville sleeper shifted to the Southerner in 1955, though coach passengers continued to use the Augusta Limited.[9]
After the Augusta Limited was cut in 1966, the Asheville Special continued to be combined with the Southerner southbound and the Crescent northbound. It lost its name on February 1, 1970, and its through sleeper on February 15. On July 22, 1970, it was truncated to a tri-weekly Asheville-Salisbury train, which connected with the Piedmont at Salisbury. It was finally discontinued on August 8, 1975.[9]
The Crescent is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak in the eastern United States. It operates over a 1,377 miles (2,216 km) route between Pennsylvania Station in New York City and Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans as train numbers 19 and 20. Major service stops outside the Northeast Corridor include Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which styled itself as "The Route of Courteous Service", was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Predecessor railroads dated from the 1830s and reorganized extensively to rebuild after the American Civil War. The company was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, until 1958, when its main offices were relocated to Richmond, Virginia. The Seaboard Air Line Railway Building in Norfolk's historic Freemason District still stands and has been converted into apartments.
The Cincinnatian was a named passenger train operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). The B&O inaugurated service on January 19, 1947, with service between Baltimore, Maryland and Cincinnati, Ohio, carrying the number 75 westbound and 76 eastbound, essentially a truncated route of the National Limited which operated between Jersey City, New Jersey and St. Louis.
Northern Arrow was one of the named passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad, starting at Cincinnati, Ohio and ending at Mackinaw City, Michigan. It had merging branches originating from Chicago, Illinois, converging in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a train from St. Louis, Missouri from the west, converging at Richmond, Indiana. Carrying the number #519 northbound and #520 southbound, it used the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, a leased subsidiary of the Pennsylvania system.
The Cincinnati Limited was a named train of the Pennsylvania Railroad; the train traveled from New York City's Pennsylvania Station to the Cincinnati Union Terminal. It was a rival to New York Central's Ohio State Limited. The Cincinnati Limited carried connecting sleeping cars to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad's Cincinnati to New Orleans Pan American. By the mid-1950s, the sleeper extension on L&N lines ended at Memphis instead of New Orleans.
The R-Line is a secondary main railway line running between Charlotte, North Carolina and Augusta, Georgia, United States, which is home to the greatest train to traverse the railroads system, NS 12R. The line is operated by Norfolk Southern (NS) as part of the railway's Piedmont Division. The R-Line originally operated by the former Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad before being merged in 1878 with the Richmond and Danville which merged with the Southern in 1894. Today it is now operated by NS.
The Pelican was a named train of the Southern Railway which ran from New York City to New Orleans and back until 1970.
The Birmingham Special was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after Amtrak assumed control of most long-haul intercity passenger rail in the United States on May 1, 1971. The Birmingham Special is the namesake of the famed Glenn Miller big band tune "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
The Piedmont Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the southern United States. For most of its life it was a New York—New Orleans train, operating over the same route as the more famous Crescent Limited. The Southern Railway introduced the train on March 12, 1899, and it was known as the crack train of the route until the introduction of the Crescent in 1925. The Southern Railway discontinued the Piedmont Limited in 1967.
The Carolina Special was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway between Cincinnati, Ohio and the Carolinas. It operated from 1911 to 1968. It was the last passenger train to use the route of the Charleston and Hamburg Railroad, which, as the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, began operation in December 1830, as one of the oldest railroads in the United States, and, by 1833, operated a 136-mile (219 km) line to Hamburg, South Carolina, on the Savannah River, the country's longest at that time. All Southern Railway Pullman service to Charleston rode over that historic, if bucolic, route from Branchville to the port city.
Union Station, also known as Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Southern Railway Station, is a historic train station located at Columbia, South Carolina. It was built in 1902, and is a brick and stone, eclectic Jacobethan Revival / Tudor Revival building. It features stepped gables and towering chimneys. It was designed by architect Frank Pierce Milburn for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Southern Railway. In contrast to the custom of 'union station' denoting the single station for several railroads, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad had its own station one-half mile away. The formerly Seaboard Silver Star still operates through another station in Columbia.
The Green Mountain Flyer was an international day train between Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the Northeast United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. It was operated in cooperation between the Rutland Railroad, the Canadian National Railway and the New York Central Railroad. The train carried the number 65 running north, and number 64 running south. The Mount Royal was the night train counterpart to the Green Mountain Flyer. Following years of cutbacks, both trains were discontinued in 1953 when the Rutland Railway ended all passenger service.
The Southland was a night train between Chicago, Illinois and different points in western and eastern Florida from 1915 to 1957. In the early years it was called the New Southland. It was distinctive among Midwest to Florida trains as its western branch was the only all-season mid-20th-century long-distance train passing from Georgia to Florida bypassing the usual passenger train hub of Jacksonville Union Station. The main operator was the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and pooling partners were the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and to lesser extent, the Wabash Railroad and the Florida East Coast Railway. For southeast bound -but not northwest bound- trips to Norfolk, Virginia, some coaches in 1946 diverged at Cincinnati along a Norfolk and Western Railway route. Northwest bound, travelers could switch trains at Cincinnati for heading towards Chicago.
Augusta Union Station was a train depot in Augusta, Georgia at 525 8th Street, serving trains from its opening in 1903 to its closing in 1968. The Spanish Renaissance styled building was in central Augusta at Barrett Square, five blocks from the banks of the Savannah River.
The Southwestern Limited was a night train, as #205 of the Illinois Central Railroad in the Southeastern United States. Running on the IC subsidiary Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Vicksburg Division, from Meridian, Mississippi's Union Station to Shreveport, Louisiana's own Union Station, it was one of the few trains spanning the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, Missouri and north of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Skyland Special was a long distance named night train of the Southern Railway from Asheville, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Apart from the Southern's trains originating in Cincinnati, the Skyland Special was distinctive as an all-Southern Railway operation going directly to Florida. It was also one of the few Southern Railway trains making a direct north-south route through South Carolina. In early years, the train had sections that continued to various destinations in Florida.
NC By Train is a brand name used by the Rail Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for two state-supported Amtrak routes operating in the U. S. state of North Carolina–the Carolinian and the Piedmont.
The Del-Mar-Va Express was a named passenger train of the Pennsylvania Railroad that at its peak went from New York City to the southernmost point of the Delmarva Peninsula, Cape Charles, Virginia. Initiated in 1926, the train's north–south passage through Delaware stood in contrast with the main passenger traffic through Delaware being a brief passage through cities in the upper reach of Delaware, mainly Wilmington. Most importantly, the train served as a more direct path from New York City and Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia, by way of a ferry from Cape Charles across the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk, a path that bypassed Baltimore and Washington, D.C. This saved time in comparison to travel over PRR, Atlantic Coast Line and Norfolk & Western trains through Washington to Norfolk. The Del-Mar-Va trip, including ferry travel was 11 hours from New York; and the longer all-land route through Washington was 13 hours and 40 minutes.
The Buffalo Day Express was a long-distance north–south Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train from Washington, D.C. to Buffalo, New York. It had a second branch that originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and at times, from New York, New York. In the southbound direction, the train ran by the name, Washington Express. It was the longest running of trains on the Washington-Buffalo route, north through central Pennsylvania on the Buffalo Line, operating from 1900 to the latter years of the 1960s, with a shortened segment until 1971.
Canton station, or Canton–Akron station, is a former train station in Canton, Ohio.
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