Asheville Special on the Southern Railway
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- Passenger Trains | Asheville Special | Birmingham Special | Carolina Special | Crescent | Peach Queen | Pelican | Piedmont Limited | Ponce de Leon | Royal Palm | Southerner | Tennessean
- Cities: Bristol TN/VA
- Related Lines: Embreeville Branch | Johnson City & Carolina | Johnson City Southern
- Notable People: Dr. Samuel B. Cunningham | Samuel Spencer | W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
- Today: Norfolk Southern
- Railfan Guides: Virginia & Southwestern
- Resources & Sources: Books | Scholars-Authors | Museums | Associations | Website Editor | Site Map
- Related Websites: Rails Across the Appalachians | Clinchfield.org
Southern Railway Asheville Special
Asheville Special Stats
- Route: New York/Washington DC to Asheville
- Cities: New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Greensboro, Winston -Salem, Statesville, Asheville
- Numbers: 15 southbound & 16 northbound
- Years in Service: 1932 to 1975 (Source: ‘Classic Trains’ June, 2021)
- Partner Railroads: Pennsylvania
- Streamlined: In most consists, was not fully streamlined
- Dieselized: 1940s (EMD Es and Fs)
- Distance: 706 miles
- Scheduled Time: 18 hours 25 minutes (1952)
- Average Speed: 38 MPH (1952)
- Equipment: Coach, Sleeper, Diner, and Dome in variation throughout its history. Diner: DC to Ash, Sleepers: 2 NYC to Ash, 1 DC to Ash, 1 Raleigh to Ash, 1 NYC to Winston-Salem
- Related Southern Train: Aitken-Augusta Special (Trains were the same NYC to Greensboro).
- Route Change: Throughout its history, routing changed somewhat to include/exclude Winston Salem
Southern Railway’s Asheville Special
More Southern Railway information will be added to this page and others in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the railroads, the region, or model railroading.
Asheville Special Photo
The Asheville Special arriving Biltmore NC in 1971. In its later years, a dome car was added for the Greensboro to Asheville segment. Photo by Roger Puta.
Asheville Special 1952 Timetable
Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources
The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Southern Railway and its predecessors. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Southern-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.
- Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
- Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
- 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 – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
- Book – Reisweber: ‘Southern Railway Power’
- 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
- Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
- Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website – Hawkinsrails.net
- Website – Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
- Website – Multimodalways.org: Norfolk Southern Track Charts
- Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
- Website – SteamLocomotive.com
- Website – TheDieselShop.us
- Website – VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
Contact Us
Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the Southern or Model Railroads.
3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
