Major League Sports Team Travel

Before the rise of airline dominance in long distance travel major league sports teams traveled by rail. What kind of accommodations did they have? Separate cars? Separate trains?

Probably separate cars, using Pullman sleepers.
Pullman ran sleeper cars on just about every railroad.
The most common Pullman sleeper (12 sections -1 drawing room) could sleep 27 passengers, enough to handle a baseball team and a couple of coaches.

Major league sports teams still do travel by rail in the Northeast. Amtrak usually runs special trains for them, with a coach and the conference car (and maybe a cafe?)

Exporail The Canadian Railway Museum in Delson***-Saint-Constant, Quebec has a nice display depicting overnight travel by the Montreal Canadiens in a typical CPR 12 Sec 1 DR Heavyweight Sleeper Neville from that era:

In Canada, the term ‘The Original Six’ usually refers to the six teams that made up the National Hockey League until the 1967 Expansion. These six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With all those cities easily reachable overnight or even on a daytime trip.....railways were the usual means of transportation for the teams.

***Delson, Quebec is named for the Delaware and Hudson Railway....and the junction between the CPR and the D&H route to New York State......and the route the Canadiens would have taken to play the Rangers at Madison Square Gardens. (The D&H was known as the Napiervile Jct Rwy in Canada)

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deathtopumpkins wrote:Major league sports teams still do travel by rail in the Northeast. Amtrak usually runs special trains for them, with a coach and the conference car (and maybe a cafe?)

Usually these are 3-car charters, often with Metroliner 9800 on the rear. The Cleveland Browns also have done charter specials to visit the Bills as well.

Great interior shots of a 12-1, in case anyone didn't click on them.