Not to be confused with the Pennsylvania Railroad's night train of the
same name on the DelMarVa peninsula.
The Cavalier was one of the named passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway. Originally running from Norfolk, Virginia, to Cincinnati, Ohio, by 1957 trains 15 and 16 had been cut back to a Petersburg, Virginia, to Portsmouth, Ohio run. Service to Norfolk was maintained by combining train 15 with train 27, and train 16 with train 22, the eastbound Cannonball.
Westbound, train 27 departed Norfolk at 10:15 pm and arrived at Petersburg at 12:01 am. Train 15 departed Petersburg at 12:35 am, and made selected stops before arriving at Roanoke, Virginia, at 5:15 am, and a connection with the Southern Railway's Pelican . After a 6:25 am departure from Roanoke, the Cavalier became a local, with scheduled or flag stops at most stations to Portsmouth, where it arrived at 5:45 pm.
Eastbound, departure from Portsmouth was at 12:20 pm, with an 11:35 pm arrival at Roanoke. Departing at 12:30 am, the Cavalier ran limited-stop to Petersburg, arriving at 4:55 am. The connecting Cannonball arrived at Norfolk at 7:30 am.
The Cavalier carried three sleeping cars, but not all at the same time. A Norfolk to Roanoke 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom car was carried in trains 27 and 22 from Norfolk to Petersburg and in the Cavalier from Peterburg to Roanoke. Also at Roanoke, sleeping cars were switched with the Pelican – a Petersburg to Bristol, Virginia 10-section-1-compartment-2-double-bedroom car would be exchanged for a Washington, D.C., to Williamson, West Virginia 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom car.
Also carried was a Roanoke to Williamson lounge-dining car.
Despite the small contribution they made to the Norfolk & Western's operating revenue, the company offered a wide variety of passenger trains to serve the public. Although there were relatively few people in its service area from which to draw patrons, N&W put its best foot forward. Named trains such as the Pocahontas , the Cavalier, and the famed all-coach Powhatan Arrow were but a part of a fleet including joint operations with other companies as well as branch line accommodations. However, the Cavalier ran on a more local schedule, and the Pocahantas and Powhatan Arrow made more limited stops. [1]
The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from 1902 to 1967. The train traveled between Grand Central Terminal in New York City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along the railroad's "Water Level Route".
The City of Denver was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. It operated between 1936 and 1971. From 1936–1955 the Chicago and North Western Railway handled the train east of Omaha, Nebraska; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad handled it thereafter. The train was the fastest long-distance train in the United States when it debuted in 1936, covering 1,048 miles (1,687 km) in 16 hours. For almost its entire career its principal competitor was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Denver Zephyr. When Amtrak assumed operation of most intercity trains in the United States in 1971, it discontinued the City of Denver, preferring to use the Burlington's route between Chicago and Denver.
The Norfolk and Western Railway, commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precision Transportation"; it had a variety of nicknames, including "King Coal" and "British Railway of America". In 1986, N&W merged with Southern Railway to form today's Norfolk Southern Railway.
The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built between Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia and was completed by 1858. The line was 85 miles (137 km) of 5 ft track gauge.
The Chief was an American long-distance named passenger train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway that ran between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. The Santa Fe initiated the Chief in 1926 to supplement the California Limited. In 1936 the Super Chief was introduced, after the Super Chief was relaunched in 1948 with daily departures from LA and Chicago it gradually eclipsed the Chief as the standard bearer of the Santa Fe because of its timetable oriented to the Raton Pass transit. For some the Chief and San Francisco Chief as deluxe integrated trains with both Pullman sleepers and fully reclining coach seating with all facilities; lounges and pleasure domes, available to all passengers were at least equal flagships better suited to the business and executive market. From the mid 1960s the super Chief was only a small entirely separate section of the El Capitan seated vista train, the El Capitan passengers having no access to the Super Chiefs expensive eateries and bars which selling point was exclusion and service. The Chief was discontinued in 1968 due to high operating costs, competition from airlines, and the loss of Postal Office contracts.
The Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) between Lincoln, Nebraska and Chicago, Illinois, United States. The first version operated from 1940 to 1947; a revived service operated from 1953 to 1970. The "Ak-Sar-Ben" portion of name was created by spelling Nebraska (Neb-ras-ka) backwards and taken from a fraternal organization of the same name. "Zephyr" was a name applied by the CB&Q to many of its trains, beginning with the Pioneer Zephyr in 1934. The name derived from "Zephyrus", the Greek god of the west wind.
The Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad was organized in 1833 to extend from the area of the rapids of the Roanoke River at its fall line near Weldon, North Carolina to Portsmouth, Virginia, across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk on the harbor of Hampton Roads.
The Pocahontas was a named overnight passenger train, operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in the United States. It made its inaugural operation on November 21, 1926, with two trains; Nos. 3 and 4, which both ran 676 miles (1,088 km) daily at night on the N&W mainline between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio, with a through-connection to and from Chicago, Illinois. The Pocahontas replaced an earlier passenger train called the Norfolk-Chicago Express, which bears the same train numbers.
The Powhatan Arrow was a named flagship passenger train, operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in the United States. It made its inaugural operation on April 28, 1946, with two trains; Nos. 25 and 26, which both ran 676 miles (1,088 km) daily at daylight on the N&W mainline between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio in opposite directions. It takes about 15 hours and 45 minutes for both trains to run per day. They were hauled behind N&W's streamlined 4-8-4 class J steam locomotives.
The Norfolk and Western J class was a class of 14 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives built by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, between 1941 and 1950. The most powerful 4-8-4 locomotives ever produced, the J class were part of the N&W's "Big Three" that represented the pinnacle of steam technology.
Norfolk Terminal Station was a railroad union station located in Norfolk, Virginia, which served passenger trains and provided offices for the Norfolk and Western Railway, the original Norfolk Southern Railway and the Virginian Railway. The N&W, Norfolk Southern, and Virginian's Norfolk terminal location stood in contrast to competitor railroads, such as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, Southern Railway, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad which operated out of Cape Charles (Virginia), Newport News and Portsmouth, terminals outside of Norfolk. Customers took ferries or, later in the 20th century, buses from Norfolk to reach those other terminals. The terminal was located at 1200 East Main Street in Norfolk, near today's Harbor Park baseball stadium.
The Pelican was a named train of the Southern Railway which ran from New York City to New Orleans and back until 1970.
Petersburg Union Station is a former train station in Petersburg, Virginia, United States. It was built in 1909–1910 for the Norfolk and Western Railway, and was later used by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Amtrak.
Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is the only surviving example of Norfolk and Western's (N&W) class J 4-8-4 type "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives. Built in May 1950 at N&W's Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, it was one of the last main line passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents a pinnacle of American steam locomotive technology.
The Mountaineer was a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Norfolk, Virginia, and Chicago, Illinois, via Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the first train to use the Norfolk and Western Railway's tracks since the creation of Amtrak in 1971 and followed the route of the Pocahontas, the N&W's last passenger train. Service began in 1975 and ended in 1977. A new train, the Hilltopper, operated over much of the Mountaineer's route but was itself discontinued in 1979.
The 21st Century Steam program was conducted by the Norfolk Southern Railway from 2011 to 2015, featuring four classic steam locomotives pulling passenger excursions along Norfolk Southern rails in the eastern United States. The last train was to be Southern 4501's Piedmont Limited excursion trip from Atlanta, Georgia, to Toccoa, Georgia, but cancelled on October 1 due to Hurricane Joaquin.
Bedford station was an intercity rail station located in Bedford, Virginia. It was served by Norfolk and Western Railway passenger trains until 1971. It was later served by Amtrak's Mountaineer from 1975 to 1977, then the Hilltopper until 1979. The station building remains extant and is used as a restaurant.
Roanoke station is a train station in Roanoke, Virginia, the current southern terminus of Amtrak's Northeast Regional line. Built in 2017, it follows several other Roanoke passenger stations that operated from the 1850s to 1979. The unstaffed station consists of a single high-level platform with no station building or waiting room available for passengers. All tickets must be purchased in advance; there is no Quik-Trak kiosk at the station.
Christiansburg station was an intercity rail station located in Christiansburg, Virginia. Originally built in 1906 to replace a previous station, it was served by Norfolk and Western Railway passenger trains until 1971. It was later served by Amtrak's Mountaineer from 1975 to 1977, then the Hilltopper until 1979. The station building remains extant.
The Cedar train wreck occurred on the night of January 23, 1956, when the Norfolk and Western (N&W) Pocahontas passenger train derailed at more than 50 mph (80 km/h) along the Tug River near Cedar, West Virginia. The accident killed the engineer and injured 51 passengers and nine crew members. It was the last major wreck of a steam-powered revenue passenger train in the United States.
