Humming Bird (train)

Last updated
Humming Bird
Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Hummingbird.JPG
Postcard of the Humming Bird circa 1940s-1950s
Overview
Service type Inter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
Locale Midwestern United States
Southeastern United States
First serviceNovember 17, 1946 [1]
Last serviceJanuary 9, 1969
Former operator(s) Louisville & Nashville
Route
Termini Cincinnati, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri
New Orleans, Louisiana and Memphis, Tennessee
Distance travelled927 miles (1,492 km)
Average journey timeOriginal schedule, 19 hours in each direction [2]
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)Southbound: 5; Northbound: 6
On-board services
Seating arrangements Reclining seat coaches
Sleeping arrangements Open sections, roomettes, double bedrooms
Catering facilities Dining cars, tavern-lounge car

The Humming Bird was a named train of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). The train, inaugurated in 1946, originally ran from Cincinnati, Ohio, to New Orleans, Louisiana, via Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile and later via a connection at Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Memphis, Tennessee. A connection to Chicago was provided by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad.

Contents

Condensed 1956 timetable documenting different northern origins and southern destinations of the Humming Bird, along with the train consist Humming Bird Pan American itinerary 1956.jpg
Condensed 1956 timetable documenting different northern origins and southern destinations of the Humming Bird, along with the train consist

The Humming Bird had separate sections in the north and the south. The main northern part originated in Cincinnati; other sections (of the L&N's Georgian ) originated in St. Louis and from Chicago. These sections linked with the main part of the train in Nashville. At Bowling Green, Kentucky, a southwest-bound section broke off, bound for Memphis; whereas the main southern route continued south to Nashville and New Orleans. Also, en route to New Orleans, a connecting bus option in Flomaton, Alabama assisted with travel to Pensacola, Florida, while trains were used for the northbound trip. [3]

In the mid-1950s, Train 5 departed Louisville at 10:05 pm for New Orleans. Train 6 was the northbound number. [4]

The original equipment was part of a 28-car order of four train sets of lightweight stainless steel cars built in 1946 by ACF. Fourteen cars were assigned to the Humming Bird and fourteen to the Georgian. Many of those cars were removed from service in the late 1960s due to severe corrosion problems.

The L&N Railroad served the old Union Station in Memphis, until its closure on April 1, 1964. The railroad then used Central Station. Both L&N and Southern Railway were forced to reopen part of Union Station on December 1, 1966, and use it until March 30, 1968.

The Humming Bird was canceled on January 9, 1969. At that time, the L&N Railroad earned some unwanted publicity when it terminated the final run of the train en route southbound at Birmingham when a federal judge lifted the order keeping the train running after the Interstate Commerce Commission approved its permanent discontinuance. The passengers were then bused to their destinations. [5]

The train inspired the song "Hummingbird" by country artist Ricky Skaggs and was mentioned in the song "Southern Rains" by country artist Mel Tillis.

Important stations on the Humming Bird route

Throughout its run, the Humming Bird had an additional northern-originating section running from Chicago' Dearborn Station, to Terre Haute, to Evansville, then meeting up with the main New Orleans bound train at Nashville. [6] The C&EI ended the Chicago - Nashville branch of the train by February 1968. [7]

The main Cincinnati originating section had a branch that broke off at Bowling Green and headed southwest to Memphis, Tennessee's Union Station. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway</span> Defunct railway company in the southeastern United States (1851-1957)

The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville on December 11, 1845, built to 5 ft gauge and was the first railway to operate in the state of Tennessee. By the turn of the twentieth century, the NC&StL grew into one of the most important railway systems in the southern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville and Nashville Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railway

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.

<i>Pan-American</i> (train) Cincinnati-New Orleans passenger rail service

The Pan-American was a passenger train operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) between Cincinnati, Ohio and New Orleans, Louisiana. It operated from 1921 until 1971. From 1921 to 1965 a section served Memphis, Tennessee via Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Pan-American was the L&N's flagship train until the introduction of the Humming Bird in 1946. Its name honored the substantial traffic the L&N carried to and from the seaports on the Gulf of Mexico. The Pan-American was one of many trains discontinued when Amtrak began operations in 1971.

<i>Floridian</i> (train) Former Amtrak train between Chicago and Florida

The Floridian was a train operated by Amtrak from 1971 to 1979 that ran from Chicago and Florida, with two branches south of Jacksonville terminating at Miami and St. Petersburg. For its Nashville to Montgomery segment, its route followed that of several former Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) passenger trains, including the Pan-American and the Humming Bird. Originating in Chicago, the train served Lafayette and Bloomington, Indiana; Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Decatur, Birmingham, Montgomery and Dothan, Alabama; and Thomasville, Valdosta and Waycross, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Station (Louisville)</span>

The Union Station of Louisville, Kentucky is a historic railroad station that serves as offices for the Transit Authority of River City (TARC), as it has since mid-April 1980 after receiving a year-long restoration costing approximately $2 million. It was one of at least five union stations in Kentucky, amongst others located in Lexington, Covington, Paducah and Owensboro. It was one of three stations serving Louisville, the others being Central Station and Southern Railway Station. It superseded previous, smaller, railroad depots located in Louisville, most notably one located at Tenth and Maple in 1868–1869, and another L&N station built in 1858. The station was formally opened on September 7, 1891, by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. There was a claim made at the time that it was the largest railroad station in the Southern United States, covering forty acres. The other major station in Louisville was Central Station, serving the Baltimore and Ohio, the Illinois Central and other railroads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memphis Union Station</span> Former intercity railroad station in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.

Memphis Union Station was a passenger terminal in Memphis, Tennessee. It served as a hub between railroads of the Southwest, the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and railroads of the Southeast, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway and the Southern Railway. The terminal, completed in 1912, was built in the Beaux-Arts style and was located on Calhoun Street, between south Second Street and Rayburn Boulevard. It was demolished in 1969. This location in south Memphis was approximately two blocks east of the other major Memphis railroad terminal, Memphis Grand Central Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham station (Alabama)</span>

Birmingham station is a train station in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a service stop for Amtrak's Crescent, which provides daily service between New York City, Atlanta, and New Orleans. The current station is located on the site of another station originally built by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1960, although Amtrak did not use the building itself, which was torn down in the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Union Station</span>

Montgomery Union Station and Trainshed is a historic former train station in Montgomery, Alabama. Built in 1898 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, rail service to the station ended in 1979 and it has since been adapted for use by the Montgomery Area Visitor Center and commercial tenants. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

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 Louisville and Nashville Depot, or Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot or Louisville and Nashville Passenger Station, Louisville and Nashville Railroad Passenger Depot or variations, may refer to the following former and active train stations previously used by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Some of these are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Railpark and Train Museum (Bowling Green, Kentucky)</span> Former railway station in Bowling Green, Kentucky

The Historic Railpark and Train Museum, formerly the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is located in the historic railroad station. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1979. Opened in 1925, the standing depot is the third Louisville & Nashville Railroad depot that served Bowling Green.

The South Wind was a named passenger train equipped and operated jointly by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, and the Florida East Coast Railway. The South Wind began operations in December 1940, providing streamliner service between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. This was one of three new seven-car, all-coach streamliners operating in coordination every third day along different routes between Chicago and Miami. The other two longest enduring Chicago-Florida trains were the City of Miami and the Dixie Flagler. The South Wind remained in service through the creation of Amtrak in 1971.

<i>Dixie Flagler</i>

The Dixie Flagler was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. It began in 1939 as the Henry M. Flagler, a regional service between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida; the FEC renamed it and extended it to Chicago a year later. It was one of the few Chicago to Florida trains that passed through Atlanta. As an overnight streamliner it was part of the every-third-day pool shared by the City of Miami and South Wind. It was renamed Dixieland in 1954 and discontinued altogether in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine series (railcar)</span> Class of 29 Pullman 6–6-4 sleeping cars

The Pine series was a fleet of sleeping cars built by Pullman-Standard in 1953. The cars were built according to Pullman plan 4183; each contained six sections, six roomettes and four double bedrooms. The cars were originally owned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N), the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (C&EI), and the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL).

<i>Dixie Flyer</i> (train)

The Dixie Flyer was a premier named passenger train that operated from 1892 to 1965 via the "Dixie Route" from Chicago and St. Louis via Evansville, Nashville, and Atlanta to Florida. However, the train continued until 1969 as an Atlanta to Florida operation, run solely by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line. The Flyer's route varied in early years, but by about 1920 was set as follows:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Railway Depot (Decatur, Alabama)</span>

The Southern Railway Depot is a historic building in Decatur, Alabama. The depot was built in 1904–05 along the Southern Railway line. Decatur had become a transportation hub of North Alabama by the 1870s, with its connections to the Tennessee River, the east–west Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad, and the north–south Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station (Evansville, Indiana)</span> United States historic place

Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station, also known as L & N Station, was a historic train station located in downtown Evansville, Indiana. It was built in 1902 for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and was a Richardsonian Romanesque style rock-faced limestone building. It consisted of a three-story central block with two-story flanking wings, and a one-story baggage wing. It had projecting gabled pavilions and a slate hipped roof.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Station (Louisville)</span> Former rail station in Kentucky, USA

Central Station was a major train station in Louisville, Kentucky. Built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, it served several railroad companies until the mid-20th century. It was situated at North 7th Street and West River Road, near the Ohio River waterfront, and it was also known as the 7th Street Depot.

Lexington Union Station was a union station, serving most of the railroads passing through Lexington, Kentucky. Located on Main Street, just west of Walnut Street it served the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad from 1907 to 1957.

References

  1. Herr, Kincaid (1964). The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, 1850-1963 (Paperback (2009) ed.). University Press of Kentucky. pp. 283–284. ISBN   9780813147505 . Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. "The Humming Bird (Time table) May 18,1947". Streamliner Schedule. Eric H. Bowen. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  3. Louisville & Nashville December 18, 1965 timetable, Tables A, C, H and J http://streamlinermemories.info/South/L&N65TT.pdf
  4. members.aol.com/chirailfan [ dead link ]
  5. "www.koyote.com". Archived from the original on 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  6. "Louisville and Nashville, Tables 2 and 7". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 100 (5). October 1967.
  7. "Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, Table 1, reporting from the February 1968 timetable". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 101 (1). June 1968.
  8. "Louisville and Nashville, Table 3". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 96 (1). June 1963.
  9. "Louisville and Nashville, Table 9". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 100 (5). October 1967.