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Southern Railway Passenger Equipment |
C. W. Witbeck / collection
The Southern always prided itself on the quality of its passenger service with such name trains as the CAROLINA SPECIAL, CRESCENT, PEACH QUEEN, ROYAL PALM, SOUTHERNER and the TENNESSEAN. While the Southern was already well known for its passenger service, the road became even better known when it opted to stay clear of the quasi-government Amtrak, formed in 1971. Although the Southern tried valiantly to keep its passenger service running, eventually the costs greatly outweighed any possible benefits and the railroad turned over the remnants of its passenger service to Amtrak on February 1, 1979. The SOUTHERN CRESCENT lived on as Amtrak's CRESCENT, thus continuing a proud tradition.
James Kinkaid — Southern Railway Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment
adapted from Southern Railway Handbook - Aubrey Wiley & Conley Wallace / collection
Huntsville, Al / fall 1967 / JCH
Our Southern passenger equipment scrapbook below is in no way comprehensive,
but instead offers a sampling of our photographs, collected materials, and survivor snapshots.
Business Cars
Georgia & Florida #100
Pullman business observation / collection
from Georgia & Florida Railroad Album
- Albert Langley Jr. / collection
The Georgia & Florida Railroad had a main line from Madison, Florida, to Greenwood, South Carolina. The Southern Railway gained control in 1963, reorganized it as the Georgia & Florida Railway, and merged it into subsidiary Central of Georgia Railroad in 1971. At the end of 1960, G&F operated 321 miles of road on 395 miles of track. Business car #100 — the second G&F car to wear that number — was acquired by Southern and made appearances all over the system.
Oakdale, Tn / collection
collection
collection
Southern Railway #400 "New River"
Gadsden, Al / May 1967 / JCH
Business car #400, the "New River," was owned by Southern Railway and later Amtrak president W. Graham Claytor Jr. While online during his Southern tenure, the car usually carried Southern Railway markings. Previous owners of No. 400 included the New York Central, the Pittsburgh & West Virginia, and the Norfolk & Western Railway.
Gadsden, Al / May 1967 / JCH
Gadsden, Al / May 1967 / JCH
Fort Payne, Al / May 1967 / JCH
Jul 1967 / JCH
collection
Railway Postal cars
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #39
Bethlehem Steel RPO (1927) / Oakdale, Tn / Nov 1968 / JCH
Knoxville, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Knoxville, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
- Aubrey Wiley & Conley Wallace (1983) / collection
See also our complete Old Smoky Railway Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #4072
Bethlehem Steel RPO (1926) / Decatur, Al / May 1966 / JCH
Decatur, Al / May 1966 / JCH
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #1701 "Grand Junction"
Pullman-Standard RPO baggage (1941) / Duluth, Ga / Aug 2021 / RWH
Duluth, Ga / Aug 2021 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
- Aubrey Wiley and Conley Wallace / collection
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #3585
Bethlehem Steel RPO (1928) / Chase, Al / May 1999 / JCH
Chase, Al / Aug 2019 / RWH
Chase, Al / Aug 2019 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
/ collection
See also our complete North Alabama Railroad Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Baggage and Express Cars
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #139
American Car & Foundry baggage (1923) / Sheffield, Al / Sep 1968 / JCH
Chase, Al / Aug 2019 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
/ collection
Aug 2019 / RWH
Chase, Al / Aug 2019 / RWH
See also our complete North Alabama Railroad Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #391
Pullman baggage (1927) / collection
Southern Railway #501
Bethlehem Steel baggage car (1939) / Versailles, Ky / Feb 2018 / RWH
Versailles, Ky / Feb 2018 / RWH
See also our complete Bluegrass Railroad Museum scrapbook in Preservation
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #518
baggage car / Albany, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
/ collection
Albany, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Albany, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Albany, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
See also our Thronateeska Heritage Center scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #4529
Duluth, Ga / Feb 2018 / RWH
Duluth, Ga / Feb 2018 / RWH
See also our Southeastern Railway Museum passenger scrapbook in Preservation
Coaches
Southern Railway #664 "Fort Oglethorpe"
Budd coach (1947) / ex Central of Georgia / Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
from Southern Railway Handbook
/ collection
Southern Railway #665 "Fort McPherson"
Budd coach (1947) / Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
See also our complete Southern Appalachia Railway Museum scrapbook in Preservation
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #706 "South Carolina"
Pullman-Standard baggage-dorm-coach / Knoxville, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
- Aubrey Wiley & Conley Wallace (1983) / collection
Knoxville, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
See also our complete Old Smoky Railway Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #808 "Birmingham"
Pullman-Standard coach (1941) / Birmingham, Al / Aug 1970 / JCH
Birmingham, Al / Aug 1970 / JCH
Southern Railway #810 "Bristol"
Pullman Standard coach / Bristol, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Bristol, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Bristol, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Bristol, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Bristol, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Bristol, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
See also our Wes Davis Greenway scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #811 "Sweetwater"
Pullman-Standard coach (1941) / Sweetwater, Tn / Sep 1988 / JCH
Sweetwater, Tn / Sep 1988 / JCH
Sweetwater, Tn / Sep 1988 / JCH
Southern Railway #829
Budd coach (1949) / East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
from Southern Railway Handbook
- Aubrey Wiley & Conley Wallace / collection
East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
See also our complete Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum scrapbook in Preservation
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #905 "Tennessean"
ex Central of Georgia coach / Knoxville, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
- Aubrey Wiley & Conley Wallace (1983) / collection
See also our complete Old Smoky Railway Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #906
ex Central of Georgia coach / Huntsville, Al / Nov 1971 / JCH
Huntsville, Al / Nov 1971 / JCH
Huntsville, Al / Nov 1971 / JCH
Huntsville, Al / Nov 1971 / JCH
Tennessee Valley #906
East Chattanooga, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
East Chattanooga, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Tennessee Valley #907
American Car & Foundry coach (1947) / East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Tennessee Valley #1000
Pullman heavyweight coach (1925) / East Chattanooga, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
East Chattanooga, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
East Chattanooga, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
from Southern Railway Handbook
- Aubrey Wiley & Conley Wallace / collection
Aug 2021 / RWH
Aug 2021 / RWH
East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
See also our complete Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum passenger scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #1001
Pullman coach (1922) / collection
Southern Railway #1037
Pullman coach (1911) / East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Southern Railway #1053
Pullman coach (1922) / Oakdale, Tn / Nov 1968 / JCH
"Lookout Mountain"
Southern Railway #1056 "Lookout Mountain"
modified Pullman coach (1922) / Huntsville, Al / Apr 1972 / JCH
To supplement its passenger car fleet for the steam excursion program, Southern Railway shops converted Pullman-built coach #1595 into an open-air excursion car. Renumbered #1056 and named "Lookout Mountain," the car featured a front section of bench seats, a rear standing-only section with larger open windows, and an open observation platform. "Lookout Mountain" travelled all over the Southern system and remained a rear-end fixture of the steam program for decades.
Huntsville, Al / 1975 / JCH
Huntsville, Al / Apr 1972 / JCH
Huntsville, Al / Apr 1972 / JCH
from Weekend Steam: 25 Years of Southern Steam Excursions
- edited by Bill Schafer / collection
Columbus, Ms / May 1975 / JCH
May 1975 / JCH
May 1975 / JCH
Columbus, Ms / May 1975 / JCH
May 1975 / JCH
Toccoa, Ga / Nov 1981 / Jim Owens 
Spring City, Tn / Oct 1984 / Robert Proctor
Southern Railway #1087
Pullman coach (1922) / Huntsville, Al / Nov 1971 / JCH
Southern Railway #1206
Pullman coach (1928) / collection
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #1207
2 section coach / Savannah, Ga / Dec 2019 / RWH
Dec 2019 / RWH
Savannah, Ga / Dec 2019 / RWH
Savannah, Ga / Dec 2019 / RWH
Dec 2019 / RWH
Dec 2019 / RWH
Dec 2019 / RWH
Dec 2019 / RWH
Dec 2019 / RWH
See also our complete Georgia State Railroad Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #1212
Pullman coach (1917) / Duluth, Ga / Feb 2018 / RWH
Duluth, Ga / Feb 2018 / RWH
Duluth, Ga / Feb 2018 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
- Aubrey Wiley and Conley Wallace / collection
See also our Southeastern Railway Museum passenger scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #4679
Pullman coach (1926) / Chase, Al / Aug 2019 / RWH
Chase, Al / May 1999 / JCH
See also our complete North Alabama Railroad Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Sleeper Cars
Southern Railway #2005 "Flint River"
Pullman 10/6 sleeper (1949) / Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
/ collection
Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Tifton, Ga / May 2019 / RWH
Tifton, Ga / Apr 2021 / RWH
See also our complete Tifton Terminal Railway Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #2006 "Ocmulgee River"
Pullman 10-6 sleeper (1949) / Huntsville, Al / JCH
See also our complete North Alabama Railroad Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #2351 "Crescent Moon"
Pullman sleeper-lounge (1949) / East Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Southern Railway #2352 "Crescent Harbor"
Pullman sleeper-lounge (1949) / East Chattanooga, Tn / Nov 1999 / JCH
See also our complete Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Dining Cars
Tennessee Valley #3158 "Travelers Fare"
Pullman dining car (1924) / East Chattanooga, Tn / Aug 2021 / RWH
FALLEN FLAG
now in a museum
Southern Railway #3164
Pullman diner (1924) / ex Southern Rwy / Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
2003 / JCH
from Southern Railway Handbook
/ collection
Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
Oak Ridge, Tn / 2003 / JCH
See also our complete Southern Appalachia Railway Museum scrapbook in Preservation
Southern Railway #3168
Pullman diner (1926) / Duluth, Ga / Feb 2018 / RWH
Duluth, Ga / Feb 2018 / RWH
from The Southern Railway Handbook
- Aubrey Wiley and Conley Wallace / collection
See also our Southeastern Railway Museum passenger scrapbook in Preservation
Links / Sources
- James Kinkaid - Southern Railway Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment (Morning Sun Books, 1996)
- Aubrey Wiley & Conley Wallace - The Southern Railway Handbook (W-W Publications, 1983)
- Southern Railway Image Archive
