The South Wind and the Floridian Streamliners
| Last Floridian train toots through town today | Whenever I Get Bored, I Think of Greyhound | First Amtrak into Louisville |
Chronology of Amtrak Chicago-Florida Service
MAY 1, 1971 - OCTOBER 6, 1979
Brief History
In the heyday of rail passenger service, one of the strongest markets to exist was travel to Florida While the New York - Miami segment was always a stellar performer, travel to and from the Midwest also created a very significant volume. The East Coast routes were generally limited to two routes through the Carolinas, one via Charleston, the other via Columbia. The Midwest, on the other hand, offered a plethora of selections for travel to the Sunshine State. While the northern terminus of nearly all of these routes was Chicago, limited service also was provided to St. Louis, Detroit and Cleveland. Before the serious decline of rail passenger service in general set in in the mid-1950's, a Chicago - Florida traveler had the choice of no less than six routings to choose from. These selections could be narrowed down a bit further in terms of Ohio River crossings which were: Cairo, IL., Evansville, IN., Louisville, KY. and Cincinnati. By 1956, through service via the Evansville gateway had been eliminated, and the Cincinnati gateway had declined to handling only a few through cars off the New York Central and Pennsylvania to either Southern or Louisville & Nashville. Within two years, all of that service had ended, and the remainder consisted of the CITY OF MIAMI and the SOUTH WIND, each operatin~ on alternate days via Cairo, IL and Louisville respectively.
Throughout the 1960's, patronage on these two routes managed to hold up better than through passenger service in general, but it was becoming clear that the quality of service was eroding, particularly on the SOUTH WIND. The Pennsylvania Railroad became increasingly unhappy with its share of costs for the train, and consequently did nothing to promote ridership. When New York Central and Pennsylvania merged in 1966 to form Penn Central, the problem accelerated, as the passenger deficit on the combined system was considered totallly out of hand, and necessary steps would be taken to eliminate or downgrade as many trains as possible. Late in 1966, PC threatened to discontinue the handling of through cars on the train, requiring all passengers to transfer at Louisville. That threat was m~!~ forestalled for one year, but in the interim, PC reduced the train's consist to S cars, down from the normal 12 to 15 carried during the winter months. Meanwhile, the CITY OF MIAMI was experiencing equipment reductions, as Illinois Central, under new management, was seeing what could be done to pare its passenger deficit as well. A diner-counter-lounge was substituted for the full diner, and sleeper service was reduced to a mere two cars, one to Miami, the other to St. Petersburg.
When PC finally discontinued the through-car operation in November 1969, its substitute train consisted of only three cars, a baggage-but tet-lounge and two coaches. 9hort of complete discontinuance, it appeared triat the level of service had reached bottom. So bad it was, in tact, that Spaborad Coast Line applied to discontinue their portion of the run south of Montgomery. Only the coming of Amtrak forestalled that event, but ultimately, as will be reviewed in the following pages, the horrors of Penn Central would continue to bedevil the train until it was finally forced off the Amtrak map by edict of Congress.
May 1, 1971. Startup of Amtrak on a nationwide basis. For the Chicago - Florida route, most of the pre-Amtrak SOUTH WIND routing was selected over the CITY OF MIAMI, but with some alterations. The train originated at Central Station in Chicago and used Illinois Central trackage between there and Kankakee, thence Penn Central to Indianapolis, duplicating the JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY's routing between those two cities. South of Indianapolis, it returned to its old routing of ex-PRR trackage to Louisville, Louisville & Nashville to Montgomery and Seaboard Coast Line to its Florida destinations. In pre-Amtrak operation, SCL split the Miami and St. Petersburg sections at Jacksonville, operating the Miami section via Orlando, Auburndale and West Palm Beach, while the St. Petersburg section operated via 6ainesville and Clearwater, missing Tampa. Amtrak discontinued the routing via Gainesville and kept the two sections combined as tar as Auburndale, then letting the West Coast section assume a routing via Lakeland and Tampa to reach St. Petersburg. Penn Central track conditions in Indiana, already showing signs of major deterioration, forced Amtrak to accept a 6-hour-45-minute Chicago - Louisville schedule, nearly an hour slower than that of 15 years earlier. But this was only the beginning, as Amtrak was to find out, and the rerouting of this train, along with the JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY, of f of PC trackage ultimately becam a forced issue.
July 12, 1971. Schedule change to allow for slower running over PC's Indiana trackage. Twenty five minutes added between Chicago and Louisville, with overall schedule lengthened by 35 minutes.
October 21, 1971, Southbound SOUTH WIND, operating as PC 90, derailed entire train near Vienna, IN. resulting in injury to 16 passengers, none serious. Spread track was tentatively assigned as the cause, and immediately resulted in a blanket 30 MPH slow order over the entire Indianapolis - Louisville line as well as on the un-New York Central Kankakee - Indianapolis line, causing on-time performance to nose-dive. Nine hours became the norm for Chicago - Louisville trips. Many long stretches of 10 MPH slow orders also resulted and with the onset of winter weather, very little improvement resulted in track conditions.
November 14, 1971 A major schedule change, assignment of Amtrak numbers and renaming occurred. The schedule was changed to a two-night one-day operation, allowing for late-morning arrival at Miami and 9t. Petersburg, and a 7 AM arrival in Chicago to permit better connections with other Amtrak trains. Amtrak assigned its own numbers, 52 (southbound) and 53 (northbound) to this train and renamed it the FLORIDIAN. Additional running time in the schedule now called for a 35-hour-b-minute Chicago - Miami journey, or 1 hour and 20 minutes slower than on May 1. The Chicago - Louisville stretch continued to be the biggest headache, and while a 7-hour-tO-minute schedule was carded between the two cities, it was rarely, if ever, achieved.
December 17, 1971 At the startup date of the traditional winter tourist season in Florida, Amtrak rescheduled its SILVER STAR to match up with the new FLORIDIAN schedule in both directions at Jacksonville, allowing the operation of a combined train south of that city. The Miami and St. Petersburg sections continued to split at Auburndale.
January 23, 1972 Beset with increasing delays on the en-NYC Kankakee - Indianapolis route, Amtrak rerouted the FLORIDIAN via ex-PRR trackage out of Chicago through Logansport, thus returning the train to Chicago Union The Journey which included a 1 hour 55 minute layover in Jacksonville and 3C)-minute station stops in Montgomery and Louisville. ~dd to this a lo-hoLr-;~(:)-minute LOLisville-to-rhicayo schedLle, with arrival in Chicayo at ~ ~M7 and you have what has to be considered a grave insult to passenyer train operat ion. Not only was the schedule a horror, but the equipment for the train dwindled to an all time low, too Since Amtrak s start up, through Chicaqo - Miami and Chicayo St, Petersbury sleeper service had been provided, but effective with this schedule chanqe, St. Petersbury sleeper service ended. The consist thus dwindled to a mere 5 cars: baggage, diner, sleeper and coaches.
September 1972: Another major schedule change occurred, as the FLORIDIAN was restored to its SOUTH WIND heritage schedule of two davs and one niyht. With the elimination of the combined operation with the SILYER STAR south of Jacksonville, and shortening of dwell time at Montyomery and Louisville, the schedule was tiyhtened up to about 37 and one half hours. Even this was found to be too loose and Amtrak trimmed one more hour off the next schedule chanyc, but cutting the runniny time bet ween Chicago and Louisville by this amount. Sleepiny car service was; restored between Chicago and St. Petersburg also.
October 29, 1972: The schedule was shortened by one hour in each direct ion as descri bed in the preced my parayraph. The southbound train frequently arrived in Louisville over an hour early under the September schedule, causing storage batteries on the passenger equipment to run down during the long layover.
April 29, 1973 Apparently unsatisfied with the day-night-day operation of the FLORIDIAN , Amtrak reverted to the night- day-night scheme once again The train was again comb i ned with the SILYER STAR south of Jacksonville, but under a different arrangement than the previous one. The FLORIDIAN continued on to St. Petersburg, operating via Orlando, and hand conveyed the STAR' 5 New York - St. Petersburg cars, while the STAR took on the FLORIDIAN's Chicago -~ Miami cars and operated to that city via Wildwood. Thus, the split at Auburndale, which was the FLORIDIAN' S method of operat ion since Amtraks startup, ended. Switching was now handled at Jacksonville. Under this arrangement, the schedule again had to be lengthened to about 39 hours. One of the more absurd aspects of this schedule was the 3 1/2. hour layover for southbound passengers at Jacksonville. Northbound passengers. didn't fare much better either, as they had to endure a 2-hour-2()-minute wait at that locat ion
July 2, 1973 Amtrak announced that it would discontinue the FLORIDIAN effective August 2. Based on a Department of Transportation review, the FLORIDIAN, along with the NATIONAL LIMITED and the Richmond - Newport News segment of the JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY, were marked for discontinuance due to poor ridership and heavy losses. The Interstate Commerce Commission postponed the train-off dates until December 2, while public hearings could be held. The proceedings never got that far, as Amtrak, under an avalanche of written and verbal protests, withdrew the application on September 1.
October 26, 1973 The shuffling of the SILVER STAR's schedule again forced another setback in running times for the FLORIDIAN. The STAR was set up to run 1 1/2 hours earlier northbound and 45 minutes later southbound, but no adjustment was made in the FLORIDIAN's schedule north of Jacksonville, so now FLORIDIAN passengers were subject to an unholy 4 hours of station time at that point. Since this layover occurred between 11 P.M. and 6 AM, one could scarcely put this time to use for shopping or seeing the sights of Jacksonville. But even when the October schedules were printed, Amtrak saw its shortcomings and proposed to upgrade the train into something butter. They published a tentative schedule that would take effect December 14, restoring it to its traditional day-night-day routine. Yet another change in routing was to occur, too. The two sections would split at Wildwood, with the Miami section continuing on its usual route through West Palm Beach. The St. Petersburg section was to assume a somewhat unorthodox routing, in that it would operate via Auburndale and Lakeland, which required a back-up movement at Auburndale to get from the ex-SAL main line to the former ACL Tampa line. Twenty minutes additional had to be allowed in the schedule for this maneuver. The train missed Orlando and Winter Park completely, which are no small markets to bypass in view of the proximity of Walt Disney World. This fact was not lost on Florida politicians, who ultimately prevailed in blocking this schedule change at the last minute. Timetables reflecting the change had already been printed by Amtrak, as well as by the operating railroads for their employees. Amtrak was stuck with a messy situation and had to cancel or alter many reservations that had been taken in anticipation of the proposed schedule. The train did receive a significant upgrading in equipment with the October schedule change, however. An observation-lounge was added and placed in its proper position on the rear of the train. This made the FLORIDIAN look like a respectable passenger train for once in its life. Unfortunately, Amtrak couldn't stand prosperity and replaced them with mid-train lounges in December.
December 14, 1973 Forced to continue on the night-day-night schedule with both the Orlando and Wildwood routings for its Florida sections, the schedule was tightened up by 2 1~2 hours southbound and by 1 hour 50 minutes northbound. The long layover at Jackeonvifle was reduced to less than an hour in each direction, but padding of the Montgomery - Jacksonville portion resulted in about an hour's additional running time between those poiflts. The FLORIDIAN and SILVER STAR were no longer combined through Florida.
April, 1974 The first in a new series of locomotives began to appear on the FLORIDIAN. The SDP4OF's, which in short order were to become one of Amtrak's biggest headaches, marked the beginning of the end for the venerable E7's and 9,5 which Amtrak had acquired from the railroads at its startup. The fleet of E's replaced by the SDP's was aging and subject to frequent road failures, but alas, who couldn't argue that the E's were far more aesthetically pleasing to the overall appearance of a passenger train than their successors. About this time, the deterioration of Penn Central trackage became a very active issue. The FLORIDIAN hit the ground four times while on PC trackage between March 17 and June 17. The last derailment spurred the Federal Railroad Administration into action and resulted in a condemnation of the entire route north of Louisville on August 1. While freight serviced resumed a couple of days later at greatly reduced speeds, Amtrak was forced to detour the FLORIDIAN between Chicago and Nashville via L&N, utilizing the en-Chicago & Eastern Illinois main line north of Evansville. A shuttle bus provided service to the missed stops of Bowling Green, Louisville and Indianapolis. The detour route, while safer, proved to be of no help in improving timekeeping. Accordingly, when PC made sufficient repairs to its Louisville line to satisfy the FRA and Amtrak, the FLORIDIAN came back home on September 24. The JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY, which had been bumped off its en-New York Central trackage via Kankakee the previous October 19 when the FRA condemned that line, also had to find a new routing, since in the interim it had shared the FLORIDIAN's Logansport route between Chicago and Indianapolis. An alternative route was readily available in the Chesapeake & Ohio's Indiana line, and this was to continue into the '90's. The spring of 1974 also saw Amtrak try to duplicate a service of its newest competitor, Auto-Train. The latter concern started a Louisville - Sanford (FL) route on May 24, operating every third day and tailored after its Lorton - Sanford route which began in December 1971. Amtrak proposed to begin its own version in July consisting of tour open-sided tn-levels per train operating between Indianapolis and Poinciana, FL. The test runs, conducted in early May, proved highly unsatisfactory in terms of damage and vibration to autos, and caused Amtrak to set its startup date back to the fall of that year. Ultimately, wiser minds prevailed and the whole project was scrapped. Just over two years later, Amtrak and Auto-Train would try their hand at merging their serv4ces, but this, too, proved to be unworkable.
September 15, 1974 For the upcoming winter tourist season, Amtrak spruced up the FLORIDIAN once more. A special service program, conducted by the on-board Passenger Service Representative, was inaugurated. Yarious types of entertainment and games for both children and adults were carried on in the lounge car~ In the wee hours, the lounge was used as an all-night canteen car, providing light meal and beverage service. Complimentary wake-up coffee and orange juice was also instituted. Again, the schedule had to be juggled somewhat to allow for the ever-worsening PC track. The Chicago - Louisville portion had 35 minutes added to the southbound schedule and 20 minutes to the northbound. The Montgomery - Jacksonville segment, however, was shortened by 55 minutes, resulting in 15 minutes reduction of schedule time for the overall southbound run. Inexplicably, the northbound run had 15 minutes added to its Jacksonville - Montgomery leg, but this was compensated for somewhat by shortened dwell times in Montgomery and Louisville, but still resulting in 15 minutes added to the overall northbound schedule.
January 11, 1975. With the holiday season over, Amtrak decided not to retain the planned entertainment program and the all-night lounge service. The complimentary morning coffee and orange juice service was continued, however.
February 11, 1975. The FLORIDIAN bade an unceremonious farewell to Penn Central trackage north of Louisville. Another FRA inspection resulted in an unsafe-at-30-MPH decree. The southbound FLORIDIAN didn't arrive in Louisville until nearly noon that day, some five-plus hours late. It would be the last time that the FLORIDIAN would ever traverse that route again, in spite of Amtrak's intentions to return it there when track conditions permitted. Effective with the departure of the southbound run from Chicago that night, the FLORIDIAN was detoured over the same route it assumed when PC was closed down the previous Augusta Again, this resulted in a loss of 2 to 3 hours running time due to a mostly 40 MPH speed limit and heavy freight traffic. Amtrak also started up the shuttle bus service to cover the missed stops of Indianapolis, Louisville and Bowling Green, but this was dropped after a short time due to low patronage. There was some interest in keeping the FLORIDIAN on its ex-C&EI and L&N routing through Danville, Terre Haute, Evansville and Hopkinsville, but slightly over a month later, Amtrak would find a detour route considered more acceptable: the former Monon route between Chicago and Louisville.
March 13, 1975: A derailment and washout on L&N~s detour route south of Evansville caused Amtrak to reroute the FLORIDIAN via L&N's ex-Monon between Chicago and Louisville. L&N was at first reluctant to run the PLORIDIAN on this route, mainly due to the operation of the six-axle SDP40F~s, which ordinarily would be restricted to 25 MPH. The FLORIDIAN had been detoured this way on two previous,occasions, once with E units and once with SDP's on the point, and the 25 MPH rule had been enforced when the SDP~s were used. But with lighter freight traffic than on the C&EI and an agreement to raise speed limits to 50 MPH and 40 MPH north and south of Lafayette respectively for the SDP's, L&N soon began accepting it on a route that had seen its Last regularly scheduled varnish some 7 1/2 years previous. The rerouting caused a couple of minor operating problems. The first was encountered at 40th Street in Chicago. To reach Chicago & Wustern Indiana trackage from Union Station, a backup movement was necessary from the original Penn Central route to C&WI track due to the lack of a connecting track leading in the proper direction. This was corrected some 21 months later when a link was constructed between the two roads just south of 21st Street. After running 19 miles on the C&WI, which had a 40 MPH maximum, Monon route trackage was attained at Hammond. Ten MPH speeds were mandatory through Lafayette, Bedford and New Albany due to long stretches of street running which further hindered high-speed operation. The approach to Louisville also contributed to slow running, due to the necessity of running over the Kentucky & Indiana Terminal for some 6 miles at 10 MPH and having to contend with heavy Southern Railway freight traffic as well as dealing with a non- interlocked grade crossing with the Illinois Central Gulf. Once L&N tracks were reached, a backup movement of slightly over a mile was required. With the storage mail cars on the rear, this called for the services of a L&N switcher to pull the train into Union Station on its southbound run and out of the depot on its northbound run, a service for which L&N quite naturally billed Amtrak.~ This was quickly remedied by placing the storage mail cars on the head end, thus permitting a crew member with a backup hose to handle the movement in and out of the station. The Monon route running times were about equal to the former Penn Central times, and frequently arrived in Louisville before the scheduled 6,35 A.M. Amtrak continued to show the Indianapolis routing in its May 15 timetable, but with a subtle note that 'Due to operating conditions, No. 53 subject to delay between Louisville and Chicago.
September 14, 1975 Convinced that it would be a long time be- fore Penn Central track was restored to usable standards, Amtrak made the Monon routing a semi-permanent arrangement by establishing intermediate stops at Bloomington and Lafayette. The timetable still listed Longansport and Indianapolis in the FLORIDIAN's schedule, but noted that "service to these points temporarily suspended." The rerouting caused another 40 minutes to be added to the schedule, which was not absorbed on other portions of the southbound schedule, but, inexplicably, resulted in a 20 minute overall improvement in the northbound run. The Montgomery - Jacksonville portion, also a favorite segment for schedule juggling, had 55 minutes trimmed from its northbound carding, and 15 minutes from it southbound.
April 25, 1976: The FLORIDIAN's numbers were changed to 56 and 57, with the northbound train assuming the even number. This reversed the previous arrangement of the southbound train having the even number, 52, and the northbound being numbered 53. Because of its frequent change of directions, it often changed numbers in the operating timetables of the various operating roads to conform to their computer numbering system. At this time, the two Florida sections split at Auburndale once again, causing about one hour to be added to the Miami section's schedule. It also left Waldo, Ocala and Wildwood out of the route, and again Florida politicians complained to Amtrak resulting in restoration of the Jacksonville split on May 15. About this time, Amtrak also applied to the ICC to discontinue through sleeper service to Miami, but this, too, was withdrawn in short order.
July 19, 1976: In a test run to determine the feasibility of operating a joint service with Auto-Train, Amtrak operated a special train from St. Petersburg to Chicago, picking up Auto-Train cars at Sanford, resulting in a 27 car train through to Chicago. Timekeeping didn't fare too well, as Chicago was not reached until 2.38 A.M. on the 21st. The proposed schedule called for a 9:30 P.M. arrival. This performance caused Auto-Train to forget about running their operation into Chicago, but ultimately they agreed to a joint Louisville - Sanford service. When Auto-Train initiated their Louisville service in May 1974, it operated on an every-third-day basis, but was soon changed to a weekly frequency, departing Sanford on Friday and Louisville on Saturday. In mid-1976, they were forced to suspend service entirely due to equipment shortages caused by a derailmenta
October 31, 1976. Amtrak and Auto-Train initiated a joint service between Louisville and Sanford, dividing fuel and operating crew personnel expenses equally. To match up with the new schedule Auto-Train wanted, Amtrak changed the FLORIDIAN's schedule to a day-night-day schedule once more. With roughly a 38-hour schedule, it barely managed to get the FLORIDIAN into its southern terminals before midnight. Under the new operation,~ a single E unit handled the train between Chicago and Louisville, laying overnight in Louisville and returning t6 Chicago on the next day's train. At Louisville, two Auto-Train GE U36B units took over. The Auto-Train portion, consisting of about 10 cars, was added to the rear of the FLORIDIAN, making for a 20- plus car train. The portions remained segregated, with FLORIDIAN passengers confined to their portion of the train, and Auto-Train's to theirs. At Jacksonville, the FLORIDIAN's Miami section had to be switched out, which, co-incident with the schedule change, had lost its dining service. Lounge service had to suffice for hungry passengers on that end of the run. At Sanford, the Auto- Train engines and cars were dropped, and the FLORIDIAN's St. Petersburg section proceeded on to its destination under Amtrak power once againa Initially, this joint venture was viewed with optimism, as it was hoped that it would greatly reduce the FLORIDIAN's large operating deficita But as fall turned to winter, and with the extremely bad weather conditions that prevailed early in 1977, Amtrak and Auto-Train began to differ widely on their policies, which would soon lead to a termination of the agreement. One nice feature of the new schedule was the mostly-daylight ride on the former Monon north of Louisville. The southbound schedule, while much slower, resembled that of the bygone THOROUGHBRED and the Monon's scenery in southern Indiana was far superior to that of Penn Central's. Paradoxically, this was the chief contributing factor to lower speed requirements, in view of the hilly terrain that was traversed.
January 16, 1977: The FLORIDIAN suffered a major derailment 15 north of Birmingham. Ten of the 20-plus cars left the tracks, some of them going down a steep embankment. Of the 205 passengers aboard, 147 were examined and released with the remainder being treated for minor injuries. The Auto- Train portion of the train did not derail. Amtrak's troubles were coming to a system-wide head about this time, as the coldest winter on record hit the East and Midwest. Problems with their new SDP4OF's also was shaping up into a major issue. Burlington Northern had placed an embargo on their operation due to a derailment of the SAN FRANCISCO ZEPHYR in Nebraska the previous month. BN claimed the SDP4OF's were especially derailment-prone on curves of one degree or greater when operating above 40 MPH.
January 19, 1977. Record cold temperatures caused Amtrak to take the unprecedented action of suspending eight of its routes, including the FLORIDIAN. Weather conditions in Chicago were extremely bad, and Amtrak experienced a large- scale freeze-up of its steam-heated cars. Most of the suspended routes were restored within two weeks, and the FLORIDIAN resumed operation as a Jacksonville - Miami shuttle on January 31. Full operation was restored on February 18, but the through Chicago - Miami sleeper was not in the consist, as Amtrak pleaded equipment shortages. conducted jointly by Amtrak, FRA and BN. Their findings concluded that the big six axle engines were indeed subject to heavy lateral forces which caused gauge widening on curves and subsequent derailment.. Accordingly, Amtrak was forced to accept a system-wide decree that on curves of one degree 30 minutes or more, the SDP's would be limited to 40 MPH.
October 12, 1977: In a speech before the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Commerce, Amtrak President Paul Reistrup outlined the effects of the budget shortfall, the goals set by Amtrak and the guidelines considered necessary for the operation of a successful system. Concerning the criteria used to determine if a route of questionable financial performance was involved, Reistrup had this to say regarding the FLORIDIAN. "At each point when an amount less than our request for operating funds was contemplated, we advised that reduced funding would mean the elimination of service. Our hope was to apply the Route and Service Criteria, which were approved by this committee. And the reports of the House Appropriations Commmittee, the Senate Appropriations Committee and the report of the Conference of Managers each specified that we were to live within the approved amounts by reducing service, stressing the fact that we had the approved criteria and procedures to rely upon for reducing service. "It must be noted, however, that the route and service criteria and procedures were not designed to be a budget- cutting mechanism. The procedures are biased heavily toward taking every possible step to improve a route's performance before it is decided that a route cannot be saved and should be eliminated. The procedures themselves are lengthy and involve complex comparative analyses of possible alternatives or changes in a route or service, the receipt of public comment and suggestions, and a consider- able amount of 'due process' before a service can be removed." "By way of example, the route furthest along in the procedures now is that of the FLORIDIAN trains .~. It there ever was a route that was destined to be in difficulty, it is this one -- it wanders all over the map and over some very dubious track before it gets to Florida. It never did get to Atlanta, as the Amtrak Incorporators intended -- the route as it was originally started was in effect on a detour from day one. It no longer even goes through Indianapolis -- which is the loss of another important market, because of bad track in Indiana. It is now on its fourth detour in Indiana. Much of the line it's on in the South doesn't even have any signals. Yet the FLORIDIAN's review under the procedures, which began in March of this year, just yesterday went into the public hearing phase. Even if the final outcome of the process is outright discontinuance -- and in no way would it be proper to assume that discontinuance will be the outcome -- it would be months before the trains could stop. This would take us well into the current fiscal year, and the savings could only be gained for those months 2remaining after the trains stop."
October 30, 1977 With the new restrictions on the SDP's, Amtrak was forced to lengthen some of its long-distance schedules, including the FLORIDIAN. The L&N portion south of Louisville, heretofore remaining one of the FLORrDIAN's more consistent stretches of good running, had about 1 112 hours added to its schedule. In order to keep the FLORIDIAN from going into its southern terminals after midnight, the departure from Chicago was set up to 9300 n.M. Likewise, the northbound departures from Miami and St. Petersburg had to be advanced to 7.00 and 7.30 A.M. respectively. While the overall times (39:40 southbound, 39:02 northbound) weren't as bad as those in the days of combined SILVER STAR operation, the new schedule proved to be unsatisfactory in terms of connections at Chicago and arrival at the Florida terminals. Even minor delays caused post-midnight arrivals, a major source of passenger complaint. With the Auto-Train joint operation terminated, the only practical alternative was to return it to its night-day-night schedule, but with the status of the train in limbo due to budget cutbacks, Amtrak would wait until January to implement the timetable change.
November 16, 1977: At its Board of Directors meeting, Amtrak voted to suspend operation of the FLORIDIAN, effective January 19, 1979. Budget shortfall was cited as the reason, but apparently the comments and suggestions sent in by the public during the previous solicitation period were reviewed. Strong support and rerouting considerations notwithstanding, the FLORIDIAN was now targeted to become the first train of Amtrak's original basic network to be dropped.
November 30, 1977: In a movement spearheaded by Congressman Albert Gore of Nashville, the House voted to give Amtrak $19 million more thus assuring retention of all services Amtrak had planned to trim, including the FLORIDIAN. Upon receipt of this notice, Amtrak said that it would begin work to reroute the FLORIDIAN through Atlanta in a hoped- for April 30, 1979 startup. The vote to put a freeze on any reductions, which passed by a vote of 259-138, was intended to give Congress, Amtrak and the Department of Transportation time to review the national rail passenger system.
January 6, 1978: The FLORIDIAN's schedule was flip-flopped for the fifth time in just over six years. The revised schedule meant no improvement in..' running time, but full dining service was restored t6 Miami. The St. Petersburg Section, while retaining its sleeper, now made do with the lounge car for meal service. The new night-day-night schedule called for an 11 P.M. Chicago departure, which permitted connections with nearly all late evening arrivals in that city.
January 15, 1978: The northbound FLORIDIAN derailed just north of Ellettsville, IN injuring 15 of the 55 passengers aboard. nil eight cars of the train left the tracks due to a broken rail.
January 26, 1978 A raging blizzard struck the Midwest, and the southbound FLORIDIAN became trapped in snowdrifts between Roachdale and Bambridge, IN. Efforts to free the train by ramming the drifts from the south failed and finally the passengers had to be rescued by hand-digging through the drift to the nose of the engine where the stranded riders were transferred to the engines that L&N had sent from Louisville to try and break the snowdrifts. Once aboard, they were shuttled to Bambridge where they were housed in local facilities until other travel arrangements could be completed. The rescue wasn't made until luOO A.M. on the 27th, confining the passengers to the train for over 30 hours. One car did remain heated, and there was sufficient food. The train, frozen to the rails, was freed two days later. Huge chunks of snow remained on the engines and cars until it could be moved to warmer climes to thaw out. Meanwhile, the northbound FLORIDIAN that left Miami on the 25th barely escaped the same fate, but had to tie up at Lafayette due to impassable snowdrifts between there and Chicago. Passengers were kept on the train nearly 46 hours before Amtrak finally made lodging arrangements at Lafayette motels. Passenger unrest caused friction with L&N Special Service personnel, who threatened them with arrest it they left the train. The train was tied up in Lafayette Yard, where fuel and water were readily available to keep the train heated. During this period, Amtrak continued to operate the FLORIDIAN between Nashville and Florida, resuming full service on January 31.
February 22, 1978: Congressman John J. McFall of California introduced legislation in Congress that would abolish the present Amtrak Board of Directors, made up of consumer group representatives, member railroad personnel plus the Secretary of Transportation. The new group would consist of the DOT Secretary, the Treasury Secretary and one railroad man elected from the stockholding railroads. More important, McFall's bill would reduce Amtrak's operating budged to $510 million for each of the next two years, plus $100 million for capital expend~tures each year. While none of McFall's legislation was passed per se, it indeed started the ball rolling toward ap anti-Amtrak sentiment in Congress. When the DOT's "zerd-base" plan was released slightly over two months later, it came as little surprise that several long distance routes were earmarked for elimination. At the top of the list: the FLORIDIAN.
April 5, 1978 A dump truck hit the FLORIDIAN broadside at Alabaster, AL derailing the second engine and 7 cars, with one car remaining on the rails. Of the 67 passengers aboard, only about 27 were injured, none seriously. The driver of the dump truck was killed.
April 30, 1978: The FLORIDIAN's schedule was changed once again, a schedule that would be maintained until its demise. The southbound run was set up to a 9:30 P.M. Chicago departure with corresponding earlier arrivals at all points, save Miami, which would have 10 minutes cut out of the running time between there and Hollywood due to the opening of the new Amtrak station near Hialeah. Coincident with this schedule change, sleeper service was discontinued into St. Petersburg and restored into Miami. The northbound schedule, except for the later Miami departure, remained unchanged.
May 6, 1978: The Department of Transportation released its so-called "zero-base" preliminary plan to revise the route structure of the Amtrak system. Firm guidelines had not been set, but the study was an attempt to pare the worst money-losers from the Amtrak map. Not surprisingly, the FLORIDIAN was at the top of the list, followed by the INTER-AMERICAN, SHENANDOAH, HILLTOPPER, PIONEER, COLONIAL, SAN JOADUrN, PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL, SAN FRANCISCO ZEPHYR, either the EMPIRE BUILDER or NORTH COAST HIAWATHA and the Washington section of the NATIONAL LIMITED. The timetable for adoption and implementation of the plan was to be in the following order: the Rail Services Planning Office of the Interstate Commerce Commission would have until August 31 to complete public hearings on the plan, then until September 30 to prepare its report. The DOT would then have until December 31 to prepare its final plan, which would be somewhat different than the original proposal. Congress was then given sixty legislative days to consider the plan. Thus, effective May 1, 1979 routes could be added or discontinued accordingly, but sixty days' notice would be required for any route to be dropped, making the earliest discontinuance date possible July 1, 1979.
June 26, 1978: The Interstate Commerce Commission opened a series of hearings regarding the DOT's planned cutback. FLORIDIAN patrons were afforded the opportunity to testify in Louisville and Montgomery on June 27, Nashville and Jacksonville on June 29, Chicago on July 6, Tampa on July 10, Miami on July 12 and Indianapolis on July 13. Unfor- tunately, critical support tailed at the Louisville hearings, as the Louisville Chamber of Commerce offered no opposition nor did Kentucky.> Senator Walter leDeell Huddleston. Kentucky's other senator, Wendell Ford, while initially supporting the FLORIDIRN's cause , ultimately defaulted when he failed to vote for the Fowler-Gore amend- ment which would have frozen the flmtrak system.
September 30, 1978 The ICC's Rail Services Planning Office issued its report on the summer hearings. The report did not make specific recommendations to the DOT about individual routes, concluding that DOT's final report should cover that area. However, the ICC was critical of the DOT's criteria, based almost entirely on financial performance. More emphasis should be placed on probable environmental and energy consumption consequences, the ICC said.
October 25, 1978 Pondering the ICC's recommendations, the DOT reportedly considered rerouting the FLORIDIAN via Cincinnati, Birmingham and fltlanta, bypassing Louisville, Nashville and Montgomery. No action was ever taken on this proposal.
December 4, 1978 The White House Office of Management and Budget released its proposal for the Rmtrak operating subsidy for the fiscal year 1980. The total amount, $456 million, was $94 million short of what DOT had requested and $209 million short of what flmtrak claimed was needed to keep the present system intact. OMB's proposal, if adopted, would trim the flmtrak system down to a short- distance corridor operation plus a handful of long-distance routes. In meetings between 0MB head James Mcintyre and DOT Secretary Brock fldams, fldams was unable to convince McIntyre of the logistics of the budget and went to President Carter who intervened on DOT's behalf. Meanwhile, the DOT's final report, du~e on December 31, was delayed until late January.
January 15, 1979: Through sleeper service to St. Petersburg was restored. This was the first time in two years that both section of the FLORIDIRN were so equipped. fl severe winter storm hit Chicago about this time, causing suspension of the FLORIDIflN, along with numerous other trains, for three days. In the interim, the FLORIDIflN operated only between Nashville and Florida.
January 31, 1979: Secretary of Transportation Brock fldams announced the DOT's final plan for cutting back the flmtrak system. Basically, the plan called for a 43% reduction in route-miles. Only four long-distance routes would originate in Chicago, and there would be only three north- south long-distance trains (New York - Florida, Chicago - New Orleans and Seattle - Los Angeles). Thus outside of the corridors, there would be, at best, token service. Not surprisingly, the FLORIDIAN was high on the list of services to be completely elimina~ted, with no other service coming even close to compensating for it.
March 12, 1979: Amtrak President Alan Boyd, in a talk before the Chartered Institute of Transport in London, affirmed his position of not opposing the DOT cutback plan per se. Citing lack of reliable equipment, a budget spread too thin, and lack of other necessary facilities, Boyd said he hoped that the Amtrak Board of Directors would approve cutting back the system in order to operate a more sound network of trains. Boyd also brought out the continual financial crisis atmosphere that has haunted Amtrak since its inception, making long-term planning impractical. Unless Congress commits itself to a significant change in providing for Amtrak's funding, he said, the future of rail passenger transportation in this country will have no future.
April 12, 1979: Secretary of Transportation Brock Adams, in a speech before a congressional subcommittee, said. "The U.S. Government could buy every Birmingham passenger who rides the FLORIDIAN to Chicago or Miami a first class airline ticket for the money it costs to subsidize that train." Adams went on to say that his cutback plan would allow savings of "almost $1.4 billion over 5 years."
May S, 1979: As the deadline for congressional action neared, the House voted 227 - 196 to reject an amendment by Congressman Dan Glickman of Kansas that would have given Amtrak $73 million more to maintain services.
May 15, 1979: The House Commerce Committee, by a vote of is - 7, rejected a disapproval of the DOT plan, effectively killing any disapproval action in Congress. A favorable vote on retaining 3 or 4 of the threatened routes was made, but a motion was defeated that would have kept all routes showing recent ridership increases of 20% or more. This action, if passed, would have meant retaining the FLORIDIAN. Congress as a whole did not come to a vote on the DOT cutback plan by their original deadline, and work on the matter continued into the summer months.
June 1, 1979: The FLORIDIAN lost its St. Petersburg sleeper, as Amtrak cited greater need of the cars elsewhere due to an equipment shortage. Meanwhile, a shortage of gasoline was pushing Amtrak ridership ap to record levels as the peak summer travel season approached.
July 25, 1979: The full House of Representatives passed a scaled-down version of DOT's cutback plan, as the Senate was to do on August 1. As the final criteria to determine if a route would be dropped, it must carry at least 150 passengers per mile and the deficit amount to no more than 7 cents per mile. Routes tailing to meet this criteria were: the NORTH COAST HIAWA~THA, FLORIDIAN, NATIONAL LIMITED, LONE STAR, HILLTOPPER and one New York - Florida train (either the SILYER METEOR or the CHAMPION). The SAN JOADUIN was also included, but the state of California ultimately provided funding of its own to keep it running. This scheme amounted to about an lax reduction in the Amtrak system as opposed to the DOT's hoped-for 43X. A valiant effort was made by Congressmen Gore of Tennessee and Fowler of Georgia to freeze the present Amtrak system for one year, but that amendment was defeated by a vote of 214 - 197. Similarly, Senator John Meloher's amendment in the Senate failed by a vote of 65 - 35. With this action, Amtrak was now free to begin the 60-day train-off notice period, making the last run of the doomed trains to occur on September 30.
August 29, 1979 At its monthly board meeting, Amtrak formally moved to eliminate the trains Congress voted to drop. Train-off notices were posted at all stations on the affec- ted routes.
September 25, 19793 As the final trips for the doomed trains, including the FLORIDIAN, neared, farewell riders climbed aboard in increasing numbers, swelling the passenger counts up to capacity. The legal battles, however, weren't quite over. Federal Judge Frank Theis, sitting in Wichita, KS) issued a restraining order against Amtrak, barring them from discontinuing the NORTH COAST HIAWATHA, LONE STAR and FLORIDIAN. The 10-day restraining order was issued on the basis of suits filed by the states of Texas, California, Kansas, Minnesota and Alabama and the metropolitan government of Nashville claiming that the trains were to be discontinued without public hearings and without environmental impact statements being filed. A separate suit filed by the city of Dayton, OH kept the NATIONAL LIMITED's status in limbo. This, however, was nullified two days later when Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger signed an order vacating that of the lower court that had barred the discontinuance. The NATIONAL LIMITED and HILLTOPPER were thus allowed to make their last runs on September 30.
October 1, 1979: As the FLORIDIAN, along with the LONE STAR and the NORTH COAST HIAWATHA began operation under court order, the consists were cut back to coaches and a food service car, and no reservations were accepted. The LONE STAR was combined with the SOUTHWEST LIMITED between Chicago and Newton, KS. Meanwhile, Amtrak made arrangements to meet with Judge Theis and try and persuade him to lift his restraining order.
October 4, 1979: Judge Theis reversed his ruling, thus clearing the way for flmtrak to discontinue the three affected routes. Amtrak announced that the last FLORIDIANs would leave their respective Chicago and Florida terminals on that date. As the basis for reversing his decision, Judge Theis cited the enactment of the Amtrak Reorganization Act of 1979, which President Carter had signed into law the previous Saturday. "Once Congress has specifically spoken on national railway transportation policy, the courts thereby are bound," he said.
October 5, 1979: One more last-ditch effort was made to save the doomed trains. Kansas Attorney General Robert Stephan, who had filed the original suit with Judge Theis, now won a preliminary injunction from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, thus setting aside Judge Theis' reversal. A hearing was scheduled for October 26 to argue the issue of environmental impact and public hearings of the affected trains.
October 5, 1979. The last breath of life in the FLORIDIAN's short, but colorful and tortured existence, was snuf ted out. Supreme Court Justice Byron White, overseeing the 10th Circuit, signed an order vacating the lower court's injunction. Upon receipt of the news, Amtrak announced that the FLORIDIANs which left Chicago and Florida on October 7 would be the final runs. With no other avenues of reprieve open, the FLORIDIAN bowed out in a rather unceremonious manner. Some of the passengers aboard were unaware of its imminent demise, and since the throngs of farewell riders had made their appearance in anticipation of an October 1 ending, patronage during the court-ordered period was very light. While the FLORIDIAN officially wound up its career when the last southbound train arrived in Miami at 1:00 P.11. on the 9th, this writer was witness to the last northbound FLORIDIAN to leave Louisville, departing at 10:43 P.M. As the train crossed the Ohio River into Indiana at 11.30 P.M., it is perhaps symbolic that one of Indiana's pioneer railroads, the New Albany & Salem (predecessor to later-day Monon) played host to the last regularly scheduled passenger train to serve Louisville.
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Jim Latimer April 1985
THE DECATUR DAILY; FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1979
Reprinted by permission of The Decatur Daily
Last Floridian train toots through town today
By Lee Sentell Daily Staff Writer
Trains that left Chicago and Miami last night headed for Decatur today on the final run of the Floridian. The trains were scheduled to stop here this afternoon, with prospects dim that passengers will step aboard another train in Decatur in the foreseeable future.
A federal judge in Wichita, Kan lifted his restraining order Against Amtrak on Thursday, freeing the passenger railway to eliminate the Floridian
A reservation agent said this morning the last passenger train for North Alabama was being run. "on a day to day basis" without reservations. The agent said the train would stop in Decatur on north- and southbound routes today, but there was no guarantee that it would be in operation Saturday. An hour later came the news that the Friday run was the last one. . ~
Decatur's Amtrak depot owned by Southern Railway has been closed since the last "official" run Monday The pay telephone outside has been removed and passengers who boarded purchased tickets on the train knowing they Could not return by train U.S. district Judge Frank Theis said the Amtrak Reorganization Act of 1979 which was signed by President Carter last Saturday, changed the complexion of the suit.
The temporary restraining order can not stand and must be dissolved he said. " Once Congress specifically spoken on national railway transportation policy, the courts they are bound. The judge set the lifting of the restraining order today at 6:00 p.m. making today's runs the last of the Floridian. Therefore the final run was expected to happen without ceremony or notice. Theis ruled last Friday that Amtrak Must continue running three lines - The Lone Star from Chicago to Houston; the North Coast Hiawatha from Chicago to Seattle and the Florida from Chicago to Miami. The Floridian stops in Decatur , Birmingham, Montgomery and Dothan The three trains were among five scheduled for elimination last Monday.
The federal court suit was organized by Kansas Attorney General Robert Stephan, who claimed the Department of Transportation did not hold the required environmental impact hearings or file environmental statements before deciding weather to eliminate the Lone Star.
The State of Minnesota, through which the North Coast Hiawatha runs , and metropolitan Nashville through which the Floridian runs joined in the suit last week.
What had been argued as a flawed administrative action by DOT now has been adopted by an act of Legislation" theis said Thursday. He said the courts had the power to review the Amtrak report that eliminated the train, but not Congress decision to adopt that report knowing it was flawed.
Decatur has been a rail passenger center for the Tennessee Valley since the first railroad east of Virginia reached here from Tuscumbia in 1835. Although service was interrupted by Business failures many times before and after the Civil War, Decatur has had unbroken passenger service throughout the past century.
The Final run of the Floridian through Decatur marks the end of the passenger service era.
Whenever I Get Bored I Think of Greyhound
reprinted from The Louisville Times by permission @ 1979
The Floridian rolls to the end of the line IN the radiant light of the glass- ceilinged dome car sits Joseph Katock, a huge man in a bright red shirt, a retired Brooklyn transit worker whose business cards now read "Scuba Diving & Mathematics Instruction." The Tennessee landscape flashes by. "It's the Appalachian hills," Katock says, nodding out the window, his body lurching with the rhythm of the train. "Kentucky," says his seatmate, Daniel Walczok, a long-haired 17- year-old with a black eye who is on his way from Cleveland to Fort Lauder- dale. "It's just like I pictured it in the movies. The sound of Beach Boys music re- verberates from a tape-player nearby where Laura, Leslie, and Shannon (Vanderbilt University, Class of 1980) rev up for spring vacation in Pompano Beach. "Little surfer, little one, made my heart come all undone. And, nearby, Marcia Ferree of Cin- cinnati sits reading a paperback, Sweet Savage Love, on one of her biweekly trips to visit her husband in Montgomery. "It's just a big party on the train," she says with a laugh. "There's nothing else to do." Welcome aboard the Floridian. This Chicago-to-Florida express is the last passenger train to serve Louisville-a shadow of the more than 120 trains that passed through daily in the 1920's, emblazoned with names such as Humming Bird, South Wind, George Washington, Pan-American. The Floridian today is one of Am- trak's biggest money-losers, operating at a yearly deficit of 11 million dollar~, on schedule roughly six days in 10. Though ridership has increased be- cause of the current gasoline crisis, the Floridian will die October 1 unless Congress acts to save it. IT may not be a 1970's-style way to travel. You do not see the natty, briefcase- toting, clock-watching executives you encounter aboard airplanes. You do not doze an hour, awaken to consume a prepackaged meal, and arrive in a dif- ferent climate and time zone-without ever talking to a soul. The train is a social experience. You eat broiled snapper on china plates in the dining car, sharing a table with a friendly Chicago suburbanite and her son. You chat over a drink with a bearded man with a broken arm in the club car. You drift into conversation with conductors, flagmen, porters. You tour Americana and watch the landscape leap backward. The train slices through the back- yards of communities, past gritty in- dustry and domestic tableaux. You see a husband kiss his wife good-bye. You catch a freeze-frame glimpse of two old men fishing. "Chew Mail Pouch To- bacco" signs give way to Coppertone billboards. The Floridian's Louisville-to-Miami journey is scheduled to begin at 7:49 a.m. But one weekday morning this spring it did not pull up to the small Amtrak station at 7727 National Thrnpike until nearly 9, Its schedule says the train will arrive in Miami at 1:10 p.m. the next day. "We're retired-we have plenty of time,~' says Jim Maultsby, 70, a former railroad worker who lives in south Louisville and is waiting for the Flori- dian with his wife, Cora. They are headed to Orlando, Fla., to baby-sit with their grandchildren. Their relaxed schedule is typical of many passengers, as is their enthu- siasm for rail travel. "You see more from a train," says Cora. "Even the food is good." "This is a great train," agrees its 67- year-old engineer, W C. Roddy, stand- ing nearby "But," he adds, "they've treated this train badly," isolating it from bus ser- vice and the bustle of the city. "Seems like those bigwigs could have done better." Over and over, the employees and train travelers echo that theme-that while passenger travel may not be a big moneymaker, poor planning and scheduling have helped drive away business. Amtrak officials say that, ironically, business has been better than ever. Even on the Floridian, ridership is up 13 per cent over a year ago, and the trains are running closer to schedule. THE Floridian heads for Bowling Green. As it chugs past bleached-out corn- fields and grazing cattle, the dining car fills with passengers ordering break- fasts with names such as "The Baggage Car," "The Silver Spike," and "The Roundhouse." "This crew wishes its passengers a safe and pleasant trip. PS. Make it a great day," reads a small, hand- lettered sign on the waH. The bearded man with the broken arm swigs a Bloody Mary. A young couple play "hangman" at a table in the club car. Thelma Dorroh, a retired University of Missouri social- work professor who lives in Louisville, knits and reads a paperback mystery. She is headed for Sanford, Fla., on her first train trip since World War II. "I always had sentimental feelings about trains so I wanted to try them one more time," she says. "The man at the station said maybe the energy crisis will help the train. "Well, I hope so. "I know the railroads learned years ago they couldn't make money on pas- senger travel and they've done every- thing they can to discourage it." Nashville. "Home of the Grand Ole Opreeee," the club-car bartender intones before the train pulls in. The Floridian is nearly 3 hours be- hind schedule. The Chicago-to- Louisville tracks are the worst on its route, says an L&N employee; the Louisville-to-Nashville stretch comes in second. Slow freight trains have helped hold it up. The Floridian has averaged 36 mph. The Nashville depot is huge, with stained-glass windows and a faded grandeur reminiscent of Louisville's old Union Station. Further south, the train will stop at small stucco stations, salmon pink and gleaming white with cypress timbers and tile roofs. And the tracks will improve: The train that lumbered through Kentucky and Tennessee clips steadilY through central Alabama and southern Geor- gia. In Florida, it flies, averaging more than 70 mph. Laura, Leslie, Shannon, and other vacationing college students swell the crowd. The girls seem excited by the adventure of their first train trip- even though it is partly out of necessity. "You can't rent a car," one explains, "if you're under 21." They have come prepared. "Each of us got to pick a bag of our favorite cookies. We've got Oreos, French vanilla cremes, and chocolate chips...," says Laura. "We have onion dip, Ritz crackers, Dip in a Chip, potato chips, peanut but- ter and jelly, chicken spread. .. ," says Shannon. "And oranges, apples, and cheese," says Leslie, holding a huge paper bag. Besides the tape player and tapes, they have a Monopoly game. The Floridian rumbles into Birm- ingham at dark. A young woman, slinky in a bare- shouldered long dress, dines on fried chicken with her husband. Joseph Katock, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, sits across the table, next to a widow named Thelma Bucy from Huntsville, Ala. Four giggling coeds from Northern Michigan University down burgers. The bearded man with a broken arm flirts with Shannon in the club car. "I'm bored," Leslie complains. "Wheneveri get bored, I think of the Greyhound," a conductor tells her. Everyone is talking about a nice young woman who just boarded with her husband and their 4-month-old child. They're on their honeymoon. The train awakens to scrub pines and cattails. The first palm tree is sighted near Waldo. Then the first orange groves. Refrigerators and clothes washers sit on front porches. Chickens strut in backyards. A road sign advertises: "See the Cats, the Monkeys, FLA. REPTILE LAND." A conductor and a passenger from Seattle discuss trout-fishing, utility companies, Richard Nixon, Patty Hearst, the Mafia, legalized gambling, big business, public apathy, Edward Kennedy, and, of course, trains. The Floridian whizzes past a bank thermometer blinking "80 degrees." Passengers in the dome car cheer. "Hey, look at that white stuff." Katock points to sand along the tracks. "I woke up this morning and thought we had snow. Wildwood, Fla. R. E. Sweat, a sunburned man who says he works for the Blackberry Creek Railroad, wanders up while the train stops. "We need the railroad," he says. "If we have a war, we need it to move the troops." "In snow, buses can't go; planes don't fly We need the trains." Winter Haven. Sebring. West Palm Beach. The sun seems more intense. No ocean's in sight, but you can see yacht and sailboat dealerships and fuchsia blooms along the tracks. At the Delray Beach station, girls wait in shorts an men chat in shirtsleeves. Over a turkey sandwich in the dining Corky Ashkins, 24, of Bridge port, Conn., says his experiences ridin trains on a 21-day rail pass have bee stimulating. "I've met people from all over th country doing everything you ca imagine. You hear great stories. I ev got a couple job offers. "I took the Southern Crescent to Ne Orleans for Mardi Gras, and by t time I got there, I knew everythi about Mardi Gras." The Floridian pulls into the sm modern train station in northw Miami at 3 p.m.-2 hours behind schedule, exactly 30 hours after it left Louisville. Ashkins offers two caveats: Trains are often late and nev impersonal. "If you don't like people," he sa flatly, "it's a waste of time." I
First Amtrak into Louisville
Photos courtsey L&N archives and Charles Castner
written by Charles B Castner for the June 1971 L&N Magizine Amtrak on the L&N;
Amrak stands for "America's Tracks." Amtrak and its red-white-and-blue, arrow4ike symbol the identifying marks of the new nationwide Passennger service now rolling on American railroads. Specfically, the new service embraces 184 trains which began operating over more than a score of routes. Through L&N Land, Amtrak sends each day a pair of fast Chicago-Florida streamliners, one train in each direstionion, north- and southbound. L&N tracks are used from Louisville to Montgomery, with the trains ing at Bowling Green, Nashville, Decatur, and Birmingham, in addition to Louisville and the Ala- bama capital.(Montgomery) Schedules, slightly faster, follow generally those of formerer South Wind trains, and consists of the new Amtrak runs include reclining reserved-seat coaches, Sleepers and dining service from Chicago to both the' east and west coasts of Florida. Sleeping cars offer Amtrak travelers roomettes, bedrooms and compartments Extra added feature-vista domes between Chicago and Miami At inaugural ceremonies launching Amtrak service from New York City, Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe declared that Amtrak is starting a new era in intercity rail passenger travel in America. The secretary added that Amtrak intends "to compete directly and aggressively with airlines, busses and the private automobile." Rodger Lewis, president of the new rail service echoed Secretary Volpe in saying that Amtrak will be "innovative and promotional, selling rail and doing everything we can to attract passengers Lewis said the new operation will offer passengers what competing modes cannot: ~Easy access to terminals in city centers; Comparable travel time to airlines on medium- to shorter-distance intercity routes; A new style of leisurely, gracious travel on tance routes. E
