Piedmont Limited
{{italic title}}
{{distinguish|text=Amtrak Piedmont Service}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width =
| name = Piedmont Limited
| logo =
| logo_width =
| image = Some Passenger Trains from the 1960s by Roger Puta -- 5 Photos (37062887466).jpg
| image_width = 300px
| caption = The Piedmont Limited in Charlotte in 1962
| type = Inter-city rail
| status = Discontinued
| locale = Southeastern United States
| first = March 12, 1899
| last = 1967
| operator =
| formeroperator = Southern Railway
| ridership =
| start = New York, New York
| stops =
| end = New Orleans, Louisiana
| distance =
| journeytime =
| frequency = Daily
| trainnumber = 33 (southbound), 34 (northbound)
| class =
| access =
| seating = Reclining seat coaches
| sleeping = Pullman open sections, roomettes and other closed rooms
| autorack =
| catering = Dining car
| observation =
| entertainment= Lounge-coach with radio
| baggage =
| otherfacilities=
| stock =
| gauge =
| el =
| speed =
| map = {{Piedmont Limited|inline=y}}
| owners =
| map_state = collapsed
}}
The Piedmont Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the southern United States. For most of its life it was a New York—New Orleans train, operating over the same route as the more famous Crescent Limited. The Southern Railway discontinued the Piedmont Limited in 1967, though reused the name Piedmont a few years later for an Atlanta–Washington service.
History
The Southern Railway introduced the train on March 12, 1899, and it was known as the crack train of the route until the introduction of the Crescent in 1925.{{cite web| url=http://www.srha.net/public/history/event_list.asp?D_ID=3-12| title=This date in Southern Railway history| publisher=Southern Railway Historical Association| work=Southern Railway History| accessdate=2011-06-19}}{{cite news | title=New Southern Train Will Be Put On April 26 | date=March 7, 1925 | accessdate=2011-06-19 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8DUsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LcoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4839,5408562 | newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal}}
A spur branch served Birmingham, but this was eliminated by 1964.Southern timetable, April 1964, Table B http://streamlinermemories.info/South/SRR64-4TT.pdf By the end of that year, the southbound itinerary of the route was cut from running from New York to New Orleans to having Kings Mountain, North Carolina, south of Charlotte, North Carolina as the southern terminus of the route.{{cite journal |title=Southern Railway, Table B |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=97 |issue=7 |date=December 1964}} By late 1966, the train was running from Washington, D.C. to Salisbury, North Carolina in both directions.{{cite news |title=Hearings Set On Bid To Drop SR Train |work=The Durham Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-durham-sun/130440123/ |access-date=August 24, 2023 |agency=The Durham Sun |via=Newspapers.com |date=May 26, 1967 |page=14}} {{free access}}{{cite journal |title=Southern Railway, Table D |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=99 |issue=7 |date=December 1966}} Amid the postwar decline in passenger rail service, the train was eliminated in 1967.{{Cox-Dixie}}
=''Piedmont''=
{{SR Piedmont|collapsed=y}}
Beginning in 1970 the Piedmont name was revived for an Atlanta–Washington daytime service, supplementing the then-Southern Crescent along its middle leg. Southern did not join Amtrak in 1971, leaving the service as one of the few intercity rail routes in America which was not operated by the new quasi-government agency.{{cite book |last1=Edmonson |first1=Harold A. |title=Journey to Amtrak |date=1972 |publisher=Kalmbach Publishing |isbn=978-0890240236 |pages=102–104}}{{cite magazine |magazine=Trains|title=Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak |url=https://ctr.trains.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/f/7/7/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224220507/https://ctr.trains.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/f/7/7/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf |archive-date=2021-02-24 }} In 1975, its southern terminus was truncated to Charlotte. This train was discontinued in 1976; by then its southern terminus had been cut back to Salisbury, North Carolina.
Route details
In its prime the Piedmont Limited operated over the following roads:
- Pennsylvania Railroad: New York—Washington, D.C.
- Southern Railway: Washington—Atlanta, Georgia
- West Point Route: Atlanta—Montgomery, Alabama
- Louisville and Nashville Railroad: Montgomery—New Orleans
=Major cities served=
Aside from the above cited cities, the train served Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Greensboro, Charlotte, Spartanburg, Greenville, Gainesville, Mobile and Gulfport.Southern timetable, July 1952 Table B http://streamlinermemories.info/South/SOU52TT.pdf
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commonscat-inline}}
- [http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19730610&item=0045 1973 timetable]
{{Named Trains of the Southern Railway}}
{{LN named trains}}
Category:Railway services introduced in 1899
Category:Passenger trains of the Southern Railway (U.S.)
Category:Passenger trains of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Category:Named passenger trains of the United States
Category:Railway services discontinued in 1976
Category:Passenger rail transportation in Alabama
Category:Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:Passenger rail transportation in Louisiana
Category:Passenger rail transportation in Mississippi
Category:Passenger rail transportation in North Carolina
Category:Passenger rail transportation in South Carolina