Piedmont Limited on the Southern Railway

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Southern Railway Piedmont Limited

The Piedmont Limited was a long-running passenger train on the Southern Railway, inaugurated in 1899 and operating until 1967. For much of its history, it ran from New York City to New Orleans, traveling over the same general route as the more famous Crescent Limited. As one of the Southern Railway’s earliest and most prestigious trains, the Piedmont Limited provided a full complement of services, including sleeping cars, coaches, and dining cars, often in partnership with other railroads like the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Louisville & Nashville.

Compared to the Crescent, the Piedmont Limited operated about 10 hours later allowing it to traverse the segment from Lynchburg to Atlanta during the daylight hours.

The train was ultimately overshadowed by the faster, all-Pullman Crescent when it was introduced in 1925. By the mid-1960s, as passenger rail declined across the country, the Piedmont Limited‘s route was steadily shortened. The service was eventually eliminated in 1967.

The name “Piedmont” was revived by the Southern Railway in 1970 for a daytime service running between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. This service also faced cutbacks and was discontinued in 1976, just a few years before the Southern handed over all of its remaining passenger operations to Amtrak.

Piedmont Limited Photos – Charlotte NC – 1962

Piedmont Limited - Southern Railway
Piedmont Limited - Southern Railway

Piedmont Limited Stats

  • Route: New York to New Orleans
  • Cities: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Greensboro, Charlotte, Greenville, Atlanta, Montgomery, Mobile, Biloxi, New Orleans
  • Numbers: 33 southbound & 34 northbound
  • Years in Service: 1899 to 1967
  • Partner Railroads: Atlanta & West Point, Louisville & Nashville, Pennsylvania
  • Dieselized: Mid-to-late 1940s (EMD Es and Fs)
  • Streamlined: Never fully streamlined
  • Distance: 1357 miles
  • Scheduled Time: 30 hours 50 minutes (1952)
  • Average Speed: 44 MPH (1952)
  • Equipment: Coach, Sleeper, Diner, and Lounge in variation throughout its history. Diner: Monroe VA southward. Sleepers: 2 NYC to NO, 1 NYC to Mobile, 1 NYC to Charlotte, 1 DC to NO, 1 ATL to NO, 1 Salisbury to NYC, 1 Birmingham to NYC (1952)
  • Predecessor: None

Piedmont Limited Timetable (1952)

Here’s the schedule for the Piedmont Limited in 1952, plus a comparison with its related New York to New Orleans trains.

Piedmont Limited Timetable - Southern Railway - 1952

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.

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.

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