Birmingham Special on the Southern Railway
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Southern Railway Birmingham Special
Birmingham Special Stats
- Route: New York City to Birmingham AL
- Cities: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Bristol, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Birmingham
- Numbers: 17 southbound & 18 northbound
- Years in Service: 1909 to 1970
- Partner Railroads: Pennsylvania (NYC to DC), N&W (Lynchburg to Bristol)
- Streamlined: Never fully streamlined
- Dieselized: Late 1940s with Es & Fs
- Distance: 985 miles
- Scheduled Time: 23 hours (1952)
- Average Speed: 43 MPH (1952)
- Equipment: Coach, Sleeper, Diner, and Restaurant/Lounge in variation throughout its history. In 1952 the Tennessean consist included – Diner: DC to Roanoke. Restaurant/Lounge: DC to Birmingham. Sleepers: 1 NYC to Birmingham, 1 DC to Birmingham, 1 NYC to Knoxville
Birmingham Special Origin and Routing
The Southern Railway premiered the Birmingham Special in 1909. It’s original route was Birmingham to New York City through Atlanta and North Carolina. In 1932, the routing was changed more northward, through Chattanooga, Knoxville, Johnson City, Bristol, Roanoke, and Lynchburg.
Southern, Pennsylvania and Norfolk & Western Railroads
North of Washington DC the Pennsylvania Railroad carried the train on to New York City, while the Norfolk & Western took care of the Bristol to Lynchburg segment.
The Birmingham Special included sleepers, a diner, and coach cars.
For quite a few years, the Special’s northbound and southbound trains would pass through Johnson City within ten minutes of each other around 2AM, using the passing siding for their meet.
(Photo by Roger Puta, Birmingham Special 1968)
Birmingham Special Gradual Decline and Termination
The sleeper service ended in 1964. In 1970, Southern Railway cancelled the train, which by that time the Special only ran on partial segments of the full run between Washington DC and Birmingham.
(The Birmingham Special near Alexandria VA in 1969. Appears to be an E8 and 2 Fs on point. Photo by Roger Puta)
Birmingham Special Timetable 1952
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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3Cs Websites
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