Tennessean on the Southern Railway
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- Cities: Bristol TN/VA
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Southern Railway Tennessean
Tennessean Stats
- Route: Washington to Memphis
- Cities: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Bristol, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Huntsville, and Memphis
- Numbers: 45 southbound & 46 northbound
- Years in Service: 1941 to 1968
- Partner Railroads: Pennsylvania (NYC to DC), N&W (Lynchburg to Bristol)
- Streamlined: 1941
- Dieselized: 1941
- Distance: 929 miles
- Scheduled Time: 24 hours 40 minutes (1952)
- Average Speed: 38 MPH (1952)
- Equipment: Coach, Sleeper, Diner, Tavern/Lounge in variation throughout its history. In 1952 the Tennessean consist included – Diner: DC to Knoxville. Tavern/Lounge: DC to Memphis. Reaturant/Lounge: Chattanooga to Memphis. Sleepers: 2 NYC to Memphis, 1 DC to Memphis, 1 Bristol to Nashville, 1 Knoxville to Memphis, 1 Chattanooga to Memphis.
Southern Railway’s Tennessean
The inaugural run for The Tennessean was in 1941 from Washington DC to Memphis TN. The Tennessean and The Southerner were the first two Southern Railway trains with streamlined passenger cars.
The train ran on the Southern Railway from Washington to Lynchburg, on the Norfolk & Western from Lynchburg to Bristol, then back on the Southern from Bristol to Memphis.
Its schedule usually had it leaving Washington around 8AM, and arriving Memphis 25 hours later. The St. Louis Southwestern Railway provided a connecting train to Dallas.
The train ended its run in 1968.
Tennessean 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
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org