Railroad Forums 

  • Historic NY to NO railroad trip question

  • General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.
General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.

Moderators: mtuandrew, gprimr1

 #1229033  by dracopticon
 
Hello all you fantastic people who know trains and railways!

I have a question that might sound totally weird to you, but I need an answer in this (and I'm sorry if this is off topic on this part of the forum):

If you wanted to go by ordinary passenger train from New York to New Orleans in the 1920's (say 1921), what would the railroad company names be of the different sections along the way? I've managed to locate the AT&SF railroad company for the Lousiana part of the trip, but what was the northern part of the company names called from New York all the way down to where the AT&SF took over?

And also, where would the passenger(s) change trains before reaching New Orleans? I believe the overall time for the trip should be something like 3 days during these times, but I can easily be totally wrong here.

Sorry for the poor english, since I'm a European guy myself (from Sweden). Thanks in advance for any answer! Erik B.
 #1229843  by mtuandrew
 
Welcome, Erik! Your English is fine, and we have many members from all parts of the world - you may find a few more Swedish-speakers here.

As for the question, a passenger could travel directly from New York to New Orleans by a single train, the New York & New Orleans Limited, operated by the Southern Railway. From New York to Washington, said train would be hauled by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and might only consist of one or a few Southern sleeper cars on a regular PRR train (the Congressional Limited) but from Washington, DC and south, that passenger's rail car would be part of a regular Southern Railway train. There were other options on different railroads, but this is the most straightforward.

After 1925, the NY&NO Limited became the Southern Crescent, but followed the same route. In fact, Amtrak's Crescent follows the same exact route even today, if you want some insight about routing or stations passed.

Good luck!
 #1230002  by SouthernRailway
 
Welcome! I am Swedish-American (with relatives from near Karlskrona).

The main train on the New York-New Orleans route was the Crescent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_(train" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

The Southern Railway operated the train from Washington to maybe Atlanta, and there were then 2 routes between Atlanta and New Orleans. One route followed the Crescent's current route, and another route went through Montgomery, Alabama. A few other railroads operated the part between New Orleans and maybe as far as Atlanta. The Pennsylvania Railroad operated the train between New York and Washington.

There were multiple Southern Railway trains along the route.

Glad to have you here!
 #1230442  by amm in ny
 
SouthernRailway wrote:The main train on the New York-New Orleans route was the Crescent...
My recollection from the days when I rode that route -- the mid 1960's -- was that there were (at least) three trains:
  • The Southerner, which was the top-of-the-line train,
  • The Silver Crescent, which was also a first-class train, and
  • some other "Crescent"
The main route ran through Spartanburg, SC, but there was a section that went through Ashville, NC. Not sure if the Ashville section was a train you had to change to or if it was a piece of the main train. There was also a separate train (the Carolina Special) that ran through both Ashville and Spartanburg.

At some point, all three trains got combined to make the Southern Crescent, and then they dropped the "Southern" part of the name.
 #1230449  by CarterB
 
amm in ny wrote:
SouthernRailway wrote: [*] The Southerner, which was the top-of-the-line train,
[*] The Silver Crescent, which was also a first-class train, and
[*] some other "Crescent"[/list]
The main route ran through Spartanburg, SC, but there was a section that went through Ashville, NC. Not sure if the Ashville section was a train you had to change to or if it was a piece of the main train. There was also a separate train (the Carolina Special) that ran through both Ashville and Spartanburg.
At some point, all three trains got combined to make the Southern Crescent, and then they dropped the "Southern" part of the name.

The SILVER Crescent!!!!!!!!!!!! No such existed...Silver Comet was a PRR/SAL NY-Birmingham train begun in 1947
The Southerner was begun only after 1941 and then as a coach train. (some sleepers added later)
The "top of the line" train was the Crescent.
Southern Railway also had the Pelican which ran From NYC and DC via Bristol, Knoxville, Birmingham to NO, and the Piedmont Ltd that ran the same route as the Crescent.
 #1230771  by GWoodle
 
THe Crescent you were thinking of used Atlanta & West Point & L&N rails from Atlanta to New Orleans. You may find some stainless Budd cars with L&N letters, similar to the California Zephyr's car fleet. The train changed to Southern Crescent when in 1970-1971, the Southern used its own route Atlanta-New Orleans. The L&N had it's own train, the Pan American, from Cincy to Birmingham to New Orleans. PRR did have some cars from New York put on the Pan American.