Champion (passenger train)
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| Champion | |
| Info | |
|---|---|
| Type | Inter-city rail |
| System | Atlantic Coast Line (1939–1967) Seaboard Coast Line (1967–1971) Amtrak (1971–1979) |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Terminals | New York City St. Petersburg, Florida Miami, Florida |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1939 |
| Closed | 1979 |
| Operator(s) | Atlantic Coast Line (1939–1967) Seaboard Coast Line (1967–1971) Amtrak (1971–1979) |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 1,314 miles (2,115 km) (Amtrak) |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) |
The Champion was a 1,314-mile (2,115 km) passenger train route operated by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad between New York City and Miami or St. Petersburg, Florida, beginning in 1939. Inherited by Amtrak as part of its inaugural system in 1971, it was discontinued in 1979.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Atlantic Coast Line
The Champion started as a daily service of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL), introduced in 1939, which competed with the Silver Star, Silver Meteor and Silver Comet of the Seaboard Air Line (SAL) on the lucrative New York–Florida route. Initially just a New York–Miami service, the ACL added a St. Petersburg train in 1941 once enough streamlined equipment was available. The two trains were called the Tamiami Champion (West Coast), which ran from New York to St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay area, and the Tamiami Champion (East Coast), which ran from New York to Miami, Florida. After a train wreck in 1943, the names were simplified to the East Coast Champion and West Coast Champion.[1]
Southbound trains originated in New York's Pennsylvania Station, and traveled south over the Pennsylvania Railroad-owned Northeast Corridor through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. There, a radio-equipped lounge car was added to the train. Leaving Washington, trains traveled over the tracks of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad to Richmond, Virginia, the northern tip of the ACL's main line. From Richmond, trains continued south along the Atlantic coast through Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida. Here, the trains split, with the West Coast trains moving south then west through DeLand and Sanford to the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area, while East Coast trains turned south south-east to run along Florida's east coast to Miami. Northbound trains retraced this route.
From the outset, the Champions were pulled by streamlined diesel locomotives and included Pullman sleeping cars.[2][3]
[edit] Seaboard Coast Line
After the merger of the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line into the Seaboard Coast Line, the Champion remained as a New York–St. Petersburg service, numbered #91 southbound and #92 northbound.[4]
[edit] Amtrak
When Amtrak assumed control of most of the passenger rail service in the United States in 1971, the Champion was retained as a New York–St. Petersburg service (#85/87) operating over the same line it had for the past thirty-two years. In 1979, budget cuts forced Amtrak to eliminate the Champion, which was consolidated with its old rival the Silver Meteor.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- ACL Tamiami Champion timetable from 1941
- ACL Champion timetable from 1966-1967
- Amtrak Champion timetable from 1971
[edit] References
- ^ Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Florida Rails Online Museum. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
- ^ Timetable. Florida Rails Online Museum. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
- ^ Timetable. Florida Rails Online Museum. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
- ^ Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak. Trains.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
- ^ Holsendolph, Ernest. " ", New York Times, August 30, 1979, p. 1. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
[edit] Further reading
- Schafer, Mike (2003). Classic American Railroads. MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 076031649X.
