Floridian (Amtrak)
Encyclopedia
The Floridian was an Amtrak
route that ran from Chicago to Miami
and St. Petersburg, Florida
. Its route mainly followed that of several former Louisville and Nashville Railroad
passenger trains, including the Humming Bird
(Cincinnati—Louisville—New Orleans). Originating in Chicago, the train served Lafayette
and Bloomington, Indiana
; Louisville
and Bowling Green, Kentucky
; Nashville, Tennessee
; Decatur
, Birmingham
, Montgomery
and Dothan, Alabama
; and Thomasville
, Valdosta
and Waycross, Georgia
. At Jacksonville, Florida
, the train split to serve two different routes, one serving St. Petersburg, Florida
via Orlando
, and the other serving Miami
via Ocala
and Winter Haven
. These two legs crossed each other near Lakeland, Florida
.
The Floridian was notorious for poor on-time performance, frequent problems owing to poor condition of equipment inherited from the private railroads, and poor condition of some of the trackage it traversed. The train used the lines of the L&N (in Indiana, over the former Monon Railroad
, which merged into the L&N shortly before the formation of Amtrak), and Seaboard Coast Line. All are now part of CSX Transportation
; some parts of the line have been abandoned.
Amtrak discontinued the train in October 1979. This left Louisville and Nashville without passenger train service, two of the largest such cities in the nation. (Louisville briefly regained Amtrak service with the Kentucky Cardinal, which ran from 1999 to 2003).
's South Wind
and the Illinois Central's City of Miami
, which operated over Penn Central track from Chicago to Louisville via Logansport
and Indianapolis, Indiana
; then L&N from Louisville to Montgomery, Alabama
; the Atlantic Coast Line
(ACL) from Montgomery to Jacksonville, and then either the Florida East Coast Railway
(FEC) to Miami or the Atlantic Coast Line to St. Petersburg
.
(the re-named City of New Orleans
and not the original IC All-Pullman flagship) until that facility was vacated later in favor of consolidating all services at Chicago's Union Station
.
The new Floridian had to contend with Penn Central's (PC) poor track conditions, which resulted in its using at times the former Chicago & Eastern Illinois and Chicago Indianapolis & Louisville (Monon) routes north of Louisville. One winter, the Floridian also froze to the tracks reminiscent of a similar incident thirty years earlier that resulted in Pullman ladders being used as firewood aboard the City of San Francisco
.
Amtrak, which came into being May 1, 1971, also began serving the west coast of Florida by splitting the now-daily South Wind at Auburndale, with a section to St. Petersburg via Tampa. Amtrak's abandoned the Jacksonville Terminal/Jacksonville Union Station located at the corner of Bay and Water Streets in favor of a new station along the former Atlantic Coast Line on the Kings Highway. For the now-renamed Floridian (and the other Florida trains), this mean the end to the need to back in and out of Jacksonville Terminal, which was stub-ended for all trains except those of the FEC—which was still operating freight-only under strike. Today Jacksonville Terminal survives as a convention center that pays homage to its rail heritage. Active freight service provided by CSX, plys the rails outside the station.
During Amtrak's tenure, it continued to utilize E-units from many railroads before replacing them with the SDP40Fs which began arriving in the mid 1970s. Unfortunately, these engines had a tendency to derail, especially on rickety PC trackage. The train suffered abominable time keeping and not infrequent derailments, including one at 10 mph. The consists remained steam-heated until the end and at times included dome cars along with the regular complement of coaches, Pullmans, and food service (diners and lounges) cars.
The Floridian was briefly combined with the Louisville—Sanford run of Auto-Train. This resulted in consists of AT U36B locomotives and purple, red, and white auto carriers mingling with Amtrak platinum mist, red, and blue cars. Unfortunately, the success with the original Lorton—Sanford Auto-Train did not replicate itself on the Louisville-Sanford run, in part due to the poor timekeeping of the Floridian and this train was discontinued before Auto-Train itself finally succumbed to financial difficulties in the early 1980s. As part of this move Amtrak stopped serving Union Station
in Louisville on November 1, 1976, instead using Auto-Train's suburban station. This continued until the Floridians discontinuance.
A similar end would come for the Floridian as it ceased operations in 1979, along with the National Limited
, North Coast Hiawatha, Lone Star, and Champion
, thus helping to roll back some of the key parts of the original Amtrak system and gains made since its May 1, 1971 founding. The discontinuance was the outgrowth of a DOT report compiled during the Carter Administration that recommended the reduction of services on several routes that did not meet a metric for cost coverage. This report also recommended the discontinuance of the Chicago—Oakland (San Francisco) San Francisco Zephyr
—which, as the California Zephyr
, has gone on to become one of Amtrak's most popular trains.
Recently, articles have appeared in the Tennessean
(July 2007) noting that people are hoping to see Amtrak in Nashville in the future. Officials advise that no one should expect anything soon, as Nashville is facing a transit funding deficit for the next ten years.
Soon after the Central of Georgia took delivery of E8
s 811 and 812, they were sent to Chicago and repainted in Illinois Central colors, returning to the CofG only on diesel run-throughs of Illinois Central power. They were used all over the IC system. As a result, the IC supplied power to the City of Miami from Chicago to Miami and in the mid-1960s on the Seminole
between Chicago and Columbus, Georgia. These engines were returned to the Central of Georgia after Amtrak
came into being, but were immediately retired from service.
The Dixie Flagler was originally steam powered with each railroad supplying their own power. Some had specifically designated streamlined engines.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
route that ran from Chicago to Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
and St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. Its route mainly followed that of several former Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
passenger trains, including the Humming Bird
Humming Bird (passenger train)
The Humming Bird was a named train of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad . The train, inaugurated in 1947, 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...
(Cincinnati—Louisville—New Orleans). Originating in Chicago, the train served Lafayette
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
and Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
; Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
; Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
; Decatur
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur is a city in Limestone and Morgan Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, affectionately known as "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County...
, Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
and Dothan, Alabama
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...
; and Thomasville
Thomasville, Georgia
Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...
, Valdosta
Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 54,518. The Valdosta metropolitan area, according to the 2010 estimate, has a population of 139,588...
and Waycross, Georgia
Waycross, Georgia
Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census. A small portion of the city extends into Pierce County. According the U.S...
. At Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, the train split to serve two different routes, one serving St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
via Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, and the other serving Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
via Ocala
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
and Winter Haven
Winter Haven, Florida
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,487 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 estimates, the city had a population of 32,577, making it the second most populated city in Polk County...
. These two legs crossed each other near Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
.
The Floridian was notorious for poor on-time performance, frequent problems owing to poor condition of equipment inherited from the private railroads, and poor condition of some of the trackage it traversed. The train used the lines of the L&N (in Indiana, over the former Monon Railroad
Monon Railroad
The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
, which merged into the L&N shortly before the formation of Amtrak), and Seaboard Coast Line. All are now part of CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
; some parts of the line have been abandoned.
Amtrak discontinued the train in October 1979. This left Louisville and Nashville without passenger train service, two of the largest such cities in the nation. (Louisville briefly regained Amtrak service with the Kentucky Cardinal, which ran from 1999 to 2003).
Pre-Amtrak
The Floridian as conceived by Amtrak was a combination of the Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's South Wind
South Wind (passenger train)
The South Wind was a named passenger train equipped and operated jointly by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad , and the Florida East Coast Railway. The South Wind began operations in December 1940, providing streamliner service...
and the Illinois Central's City of Miami
City of Miami
This article is about the streamliner. For the city in Florida, see Miami.The City of Miami was a seven-car coach streamliner inaugurated by Illinois Central Railroad on December 18, 1940. Its route was from Chicago to Miami a total distance of ....
, which operated over Penn Central track from Chicago to Louisville via Logansport
Logansport, Indiana
Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,396 at the 2010 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana, at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northeast of Lafayette.-History:...
and Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
; then L&N from Louisville to Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
; the Atlantic Coast Line
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad...
(ACL) from Montgomery to Jacksonville, and then either the Florida East Coast Railway
Florida East Coast Railway
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a project of Standard Oil principal Henry Morrison...
(FEC) to Miami or the Atlantic Coast Line to St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
.
Amtrak
Amtrak restored the South Wind—later renamed Floridian—as a through daily Chicago-Miami train. However, the train was rerouted away from Logansport to the James Whitcomb Riley route, changing its northern terminus to Chicago's Central Station (owned by the Illinois Central), which it shared with Amtrak's Panama LimitedPanama Limited
The Panama Limited was a premier all-Pullman car service between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. For most of the trains' history a St. Louis section also operated between St...
(the re-named City of New Orleans
City of New Orleans
The City of New Orleans is a nightly passenger train operated by Amtrak which travels between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. Before Amtrak's formation in 1971, the train was operated by the Illinois Central Railroad along the same route . The train currently operates on a 19½ hour...
and not the original IC All-Pullman flagship) until that facility was vacated later in favor of consolidating all services at Chicago's Union Station
Union Station (Chicago)
Union Station is a major train station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, replacing an earlier 1881 station. It is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the city's primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between Adams...
.
The new Floridian had to contend with Penn Central's (PC) poor track conditions, which resulted in its using at times the former Chicago & Eastern Illinois and Chicago Indianapolis & Louisville (Monon) routes north of Louisville. One winter, the Floridian also froze to the tracks reminiscent of a similar incident thirty years earlier that resulted in Pullman ladders being used as firewood aboard the City of San Francisco
City of San Francisco
The City of San Francisco was a streamlined passenger train operated jointly by the Chicago and North Western Railway, the Southern Pacific Railroad, and the Union Pacific Railroad...
.
Amtrak, which came into being May 1, 1971, also began serving the west coast of Florida by splitting the now-daily South Wind at Auburndale, with a section to St. Petersburg via Tampa. Amtrak's abandoned the Jacksonville Terminal/Jacksonville Union Station located at the corner of Bay and Water Streets in favor of a new station along the former Atlantic Coast Line on the Kings Highway. For the now-renamed Floridian (and the other Florida trains), this mean the end to the need to back in and out of Jacksonville Terminal, which was stub-ended for all trains except those of the FEC—which was still operating freight-only under strike. Today Jacksonville Terminal survives as a convention center that pays homage to its rail heritage. Active freight service provided by CSX, plys the rails outside the station.
During Amtrak's tenure, it continued to utilize E-units from many railroads before replacing them with the SDP40Fs which began arriving in the mid 1970s. Unfortunately, these engines had a tendency to derail, especially on rickety PC trackage. The train suffered abominable time keeping and not infrequent derailments, including one at 10 mph. The consists remained steam-heated until the end and at times included dome cars along with the regular complement of coaches, Pullmans, and food service (diners and lounges) cars.
The Floridian was briefly combined with the Louisville—Sanford run of Auto-Train. This resulted in consists of AT U36B locomotives and purple, red, and white auto carriers mingling with Amtrak platinum mist, red, and blue cars. Unfortunately, the success with the original Lorton—Sanford Auto-Train did not replicate itself on the Louisville-Sanford run, in part due to the poor timekeeping of the Floridian and this train was discontinued before Auto-Train itself finally succumbed to financial difficulties in the early 1980s. As part of this move Amtrak stopped serving Union Station
Union Station (Louisville)
The Union Station of Louisville, Kentucky is a historic railroad station that serves as offices for the Transit Authority of River City, as it has since mid-April 1980 after receiving a year-long restoration costing approximately $2 million. It was one of three union stations in Kentucky, the other...
in Louisville on November 1, 1976, instead using Auto-Train's suburban station. This continued until the Floridians discontinuance.
A similar end would come for the Floridian as it ceased operations in 1979, along with the National Limited
National Limited
The National Limited was the premier train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on its route between New York City and St. Louis, Missouri, with major station stops in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio. The all-Pullman version of the National Limited was introduced by the B&O on April 26,...
, North Coast Hiawatha, Lone Star, and Champion
Champion (passenger train)
The Champion was a passenger train operated on a route by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad between New York City and Miami or St. Petersburg, Florida, beginning in 1939...
, thus helping to roll back some of the key parts of the original Amtrak system and gains made since its May 1, 1971 founding. The discontinuance was the outgrowth of a DOT report compiled during the Carter Administration that recommended the reduction of services on several routes that did not meet a metric for cost coverage. This report also recommended the discontinuance of the Chicago—Oakland (San Francisco) San Francisco Zephyr
San Francisco Zephyr
The San Francisco Zephyr was the name adopted in June 1972 for the Amtrak passenger train between Chicago, Illinois and the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Previously Amtrak had called it the City of San Francisco on the tri-weekly run west of Denver and Denver Zephyr on the daily run between...
—which, as the California Zephyr
California Zephyr
The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...
, has gone on to become one of Amtrak's most popular trains.
Proposed revival
There has been no concrete effort to re-establish a Chicago-Miami service, either on the route of the South Wind/Floridian or on that of its partners the City of Miami and Dixie Flagler. During the early 2000s, Amtrak extended the Kentucky Cardinal to a re-opened Louisville Union Station, then followed that act by discontinuing the train again. Any future service restoration will depend upon the interest of the private sector in the project which will be needed to restore infrastructure to its 1950s-era utility and undertake the market-building necessary to make such trains great again.Recently, articles have appeared in the Tennessean
The Tennessean
The Tennessean is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky....
(July 2007) noting that people are hoping to see Amtrak in Nashville in the future. Officials advise that no one should expect anything soon, as Nashville is facing a transit funding deficit for the next ten years.
Motive Power
In the diesel era, the South Wind was originally powered by Pennsylvania Railroad engines. Later, when a second train set was added, the train was typically headed by the E-units of the Pennsylvania on one set, and the Atlantic Coast Line on the other set. Apparently diesels of the Florida East Coast Railway were sometimes used. Though the train used the L&N for a significant portion of its run, a run-through agreement between the PRR & ACL provided that L&N units were only used in emergencies.Soon after the Central of Georgia took delivery of E8
EMD E8
The EMD E8 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive manufactured by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, or E8A, was manufactured from August, 1949 to December, 1953, and 449 were produced – 446 for U.S., and 3 for Canada...
s 811 and 812, they were sent to Chicago and repainted in Illinois Central colors, returning to the CofG only on diesel run-throughs of Illinois Central power. They were used all over the IC system. As a result, the IC supplied power to the City of Miami from Chicago to Miami and in the mid-1960s on the Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
between Chicago and Columbus, Georgia. These engines were returned to the Central of Georgia after Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
came into being, but were immediately retired from service.
The Dixie Flagler was originally steam powered with each railroad supplying their own power. Some had specifically designated streamlined engines.