1952 Passenger Trains of the Southern Railway
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Southern Railway Passenger Trains of 1952
With competition from highways and airlines, ridership on passenger trains had already begun to decline after 1944. However, 1952 was a year that Southern and other railroads had most of their trains still running, and had begun to invest in new equipment and services to try to reverse or minimize the declines in ridership.
Southern’s first two streamlined trains were the Southerner and the Tennessean in 1941. But it was not until the early 1950s that the rest of signature trains, including the Crescent, received their streamlined passenger cars.
This page is an overview of the trains Southern had listed in their May15, 1952 Schedule
SOU Named Passenger Trains in 1952
The following is a quick list of the Southern’s named trains. Their details, follow it in the detailed list below.
- #1&2 Ponce de Leon (Chicago to Miami)
- #3&4 Royal Palm (Chicago to Miami)
- #7&8 Kansas City-Florida Special (Kansas City to Miami)
- #9&10 Skyland Special (Asheville to Miami)
- #15&16 Asheville Special (Washington DC to Asheville)
- #17&18 Birmingham Special (New York to Birmingham)
- #27&28 Carolina Special (Charleston/Goldsboro to Cincinnati)
- #29 The Peach Queen (New York to Atlanta)
- #29&30 The Sunnyland (Atlanta to Birmingham)
- #31&32 Aiken-Augusta Special (Washington DC to Augusta)
- #33&34 Piedmont Limited (New York to New Orleans)
- #35&36 Washington-Atlanta-New Orleans Express (New York to New Orleans)
- #37&38 The Crescent (New York to New Orleans)
- #40 The New Yorker (Atlanta to New York)
- #41&42 The Pelican (New York to New Orleans)
- #45&46 The Tennessean (Washington DC to Memphis)
- #47&48 The Southerner (New York to New Orleans)
SOU Detailed List of all Passenger Trains in 1952
# | Name | From – Depart | To – Arrive | Equipment | Connections | Stops | Miles |
1 | Ponce de Leon | Chicago – 1:00PM | Miami – 7:00AM Tampa – 5:45AM | Coach, Restaurant- Lounge, Sleeper | Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis | Cincinnati, Lexington, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Valdosta, Jacksonville | |
1 Local | Unnamed – Knoxville Division | Bristol – 4:00AM | Knoxville – 9:20AM | Coach | 130.7 | ||
2 | Ponce de Leon | Miami – 10:00PM Tampa – 10:30PM | Chicago – 3:00PM | Coach, Restaurant- Lounge, Sleeper | St. Louis Cleveland, Detroit | Jacksonville, Valdosta, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Lexington, Cincinnati | |
3 | Royal Palm | Chicago – 1130PM | Miami – 4:45PM Tampa – 12:55PM | Coach, Restaurant-Lounge, Diner, Sleeper | Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis | Jacksonville, Valdosta, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Lexington, Cincinnati | |
4 | Royal Palm | Miami – 12:01PM Tampa – 2:10PM | Chicago – 6:50AM | Coach, Restaurant-Lounge, Diner, Sleeper | St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit | Jacksonville, Valdosta, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Lexington, Cincinnati | |
4 Local | Unnamed Local – Knoxville Division | Knoxville – 5:30AM | Bristol – 10:08AM | Coach | 130.7 | ||
7 | Kansas City – Florida Special | Kansas City – 11:30PM | Miami – 4:45PM Tampa – 12:55PM | Coach, Restaurant-Lounge, Diner, Sleeper | St. Louis | Memphis, Birmingham, Atlanta, Macon, Jacksonville | |
7 | Unnamed Local – Richmond Division | Richmond – 3:10PM | Danville – 7:10PM | 140 | |||
8 | Kansas City – Florida Special | Miami – 12:01PM Tampa – 2:10PM | Kansas City – 730AM | Coach, Restaurant-Lounge, Diner, Sleeper | St. Louis | Jacksonville, Macon, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis | |
9 | Skyland Special | Asheville – 4:45PM | Miami – 3:40PM St. Pete – 2:35PM | Coach, Dinette-Coach, Sleeper | Charlotte | Spartanburg, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville | |
10 | Skyland Special | Miami – 1:00PM St. Pete – 9:45AM | Asheville – 11:30AM | Coach, Dinette-Coach, Sleeper | Charlotte | Jacksonville, Savannah, Columbia, Spartanburg | |
11 | Unnamed | Richmond – 10:15PM | Danville – 2:15AM | Coach, Drawing Room-Sleeping Car | |||
12 | Unnamed | Danville – 4:00AM | Richmond – 8:00AM | Coach, Drawing Room-Sleeping Car | |||
14 | Unnamed Local – Richmond Division | Danville – 12:50PM | Richmond – 4:50PM | 140.4 | |||
15 | Asheville Special | Washington DC – 7:20PM | Asheville – 9:15AM | Coach, Diner, Sleepers | Boston, New York, Raleigh | Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Greensboro, W. Salem, Statesville | |
16 | Asheville Special | Asheville – 3:45PM | Washington DC – 4:20AM | Coach, Diner, Sleepers | Raleigh, New York, Boston | Statesville, W. Salem, Greensboro, Lynchburg, Charlottesville | |
17 | Birmingham Special | New York – 11:30AM | Birmingham – 9:30AM | Coach, Diner, Sleepers, Lounge | Boston | ||
18 | Birmingham Special | Birmingham – 3:30PM | New York – 4:25PM | Coach, Diner, Sleepers, Lounge | Boston | ||
27 | Carolina Special | Cincinnati – 9:50PM | Charleston – 8:30PM Goldsboro – 11:46PM | Coach, Diner, Sleepers, Lounge | Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis | Knoxville, Asheville, Wnstn Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh Columbia | |
28 | Carolina Special | Charleston – 7:30AM Goldsboro – 5:00AM | Cincinnati – 7:00AM | Coach, Diner, Sleepers, Lounge | Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis | Columbia, Raleigh, Greensboro, W. Salem, Asheville, Knoxville | |
29 | The Peach Queen – SB | New York – 4:25PM | Atlanta – 2:30PM | Meridian, Shreveport | |||
29 | The Sunnyland | Atlanta – 4:45PM | Birmingham – 8:30PM | Coach, Diner, Sleeper | Memphis, St. Louis | Anniston | |
30 | The Peach Queen – NB | Atlanta – 1:55PM | New York – 11:40AM | Shreveport, Meridian | |||
30 | The Sunnyland | Birmingham – 7:25AM | Atlanta – 1:25PM | Coach, Diner, Sleeper | St. Louis, Memphis | Anniston | |
31 | Aiken-August Special – SB | Washington DC – 7:20PM | Augusta – 11:15AM | ||||
32 | Aiken-August Special – NB | Augusta – 1:45PM | Washington DC – 4:20AM | ||||
33 | Piedmont Limited – SB | New York – 10:15PM | New Orleans – 8:05AM | ||||
34 | Piedmont Limited – NB | New Orleans – 5:00PM | New York – 6:20AM | ||||
35 | Washington-Atlanta-New Orleans Express – SB | New York – 8:30AM | New Orleans – 7:30PM | ||||
36 | Washington-Atlanta-New Orleans Express – NB | New Orleans – 8:20AM | New York – 9:55PM | ||||
37 | The Crescent – SB | New York – 2:50PM | New Orleans – 7:55PM | ||||
38 | The Crescent – NB | New Orleans – 11:00PM | New York – 8:55AM | ||||
39 | Train #39 – SB | New York – 7:30PM | Atlanta – 7:50PM | ||||
40 | The New Yorker – NB | Atlanta – 7:00PM | New York – 1:20PM | ||||
41 | The Pelican – SB | New York – 7:30PM | New Orleans – 7:30AM | ||||
42 | The Pelican – NB | New Orleans – 9:00PM | New York – 11:50AM | ||||
45 | The Tennessean – SB | Washington DC – 8:00AM | Memphis – 7:45AM | ||||
46 | The Tennessean – NB | Memphis – 7:40PM | Washington DC – 8:10PM | ||||
47 | The Southerner – SB | New York – 4:25PM | New Orleans – 8:50PM | ||||
48 | The Southerner – NB | New Orleans – 9:00AM | New York – 1:20PM | ||||
135 | (Unnamed) Local | Washington DC – – 830AM | Atlanta – 9:40AM | ||||
136 | (Unnamed) Local | Atlanta – 10:45PM | Washington DC – 9:30PM | ||||
Royal Palm Ad from the Schedule
Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources
- Personal Maps, Timetables & Memorabilia – Documents, maps and track charts that I have from the SOU and predecessor railroads
- Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
- Book – Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
- Book – Harshaw: ‘Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians’
- Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
- Book – Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone’
- Book – Stout: ‘Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service’
- Book – Ward: ‘Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979’
- Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
- Book – Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Southern Railway Handbook’
- Book – Withers & Sink: ‘Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial’
- Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
- Magazine – ‘Trains‘
- Magazine – ‘Classic Trains‘
- Website – StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot
- Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website – Hawkinsrails.net
- Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
- Website – Norfolk Southern Track Charts at Multimodalways.org
- Website – TheDieselShop.us
- Website – SteamLocomotive.com
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