Passenger Service on Southern' Railway's Memphis/Chattanooga Line

[Anonymous]

I grew up outside of Memphis on a farm near Forest Hill in the 50s & 60s. When we moved there, the mail would still be dropped from the RPO car at both Forest Hill (a flag stop) and Germantown (had a station agent)

We would travel on #s 35 & 36 to Chattanooga to visit grandparents & I took the "Tennessean" to Knoxville to University of Tennessee. While service delined rapidly in those years & ended in the late 60s, I wondered how many passenger trains ran along that line at it's peak? Does anyone out there know?

[Anonymous]

In July 1937 there were two trains daily in each direction through Forest Hill and Germantown. Westbound Train 25, the "Memphis Special" passed through without stopping around 6:30 a.m., and its eastbound counterpart, No. 26, passed through without stopping about 10 p.m. A local (No.35) passed through westbound making a flag stop in Forest Hill at 5:24 p.m., and a regular stop in Germantown at 5:35 p.m. It's eastbound counterpart (No. 36) stopped in Germantown at 9:13 a.m. and made a flag stop at Forest Hill at 9:15 a.m.

That's for July, 1937. Perhaps before the 1929 stock market cra***here was additional service that was discontinued during the depression.

[ZephyrOverland]

Looking at the Southern Railway schedules in the January 1930 Official Guide, there were two trains that ran between Chattanooga and Memphis: The Memphis Special, which did not stop at Germantown and #35,36, an all-stops local. Additional service included a Sheffield-Memphis all-stops local and a Chattanooga-Tuscumbia local.

Going back several years further, to August, 1923, a similiar schedule setup existed with the exception of an additonal train, a Moscow-Memphis all-stops local.