Humming Bird (passenger train)

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The Humming Bird was a named train of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). The train, inaguated in 1946, originally ran from Cincinnati, Ohio to New Orleans, Louisiana, via Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile, and later via a connection at Bowling Green, Kentucky to Memphis, Tennessee. The L&N Railroad earned some unwanted publicity, in 1968, when they terminated the train enroute after a Federal Judge lifted the order keeping the train running after the ICC approved its discontinuence. The passengers were then bussed to their destinations.

In the mid-1950's, Train 5 departed Louisville, Ky at 10:05pm for New Orleans. Train 6 was the northbound number.[1]

The original equipment was part of a 28 car order of 4 train sets of lightweight aluminum cars built in 1946 by ACF. 14 cars were assigned to the "Humming Bird" and 14 to the "Georgian." Many of those cars were removed from service in the late 1960's due to severe corrosion problems.

The L&N Railroad served the old Union Station in Memphis, until its closure on April 1, 1964. The railroad then used Central Station. Both L&N and Southern Railway were forced to reopen part of Union Station on December 1, 1966, and use it until March 30, 1968.

The Humming Bird was canceled in 1968.[2]