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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Saturday, June 12, 2010 4:45 PM

 OK, its time the wrap this question up.  The responses I received were as follows:

CSSHEGEWISCH
    Erie Limited - Erie - New York-Chicago
    Alton Limited - C&A - Chicago-St. Louis
    Nickel Plate Limited - NKP - Chicago-Buffalo
    Pere Marquette - PM - Detroit- Detroit-Grand Rapids; Grand Rapids-Chicago
    North Western Limited - C&NW - Chicago-Minneapolis

HENRY6
    Rutland Flyer - Rutland -
    Wabash Cannon Ball - Wabash- St. Louis-Detroit

DAVEKLEPPER
    Pennsylvania Limited - PRR - New York-Chicago
    Pere Marquette - PM - Chicago-Grand Rapids
    Lackawanna Limited - DLW - New York-Buffalo
    Nickel Plate Limited - NKP - Chicago-Buffalo
    Katy Flyer - MKT - St. Louis-Texas
    C&O Express - PRR - New york-Washington
    C&O Limited - C&O - Washington-Chicago

ADKDIVFAN
    Rio Grande Zephyr - DRGW - Denver-Ogden
    Erie-Lackwanna Limited - EL - New York-Chicago
    Pennsylvania Special - PRR - New York-Chicago

Thanks to all who participated.  I'm going to give the nod to daveklepper through his tenacity even though he and csshegwisch technically were tied - daveklepper had some entries that cssegwisch entered.

As for the other possible answers, as mentioned earlier, I have nearly 300 names and variations of names that would have qualified for this question.  For the sake of brevity and to move on with this forum, Ill give some of the highlights of my list.

The greatest portion of names that qualified were from the PRR in their New York-Washington service.  In carrying cars beyond Washington via the C&O, Southern Railway, SAL, ACL and Norfolk and Western, the PRR designated their New York-Washington trains to reflect the extra through cars in various ways:

- New York and Washington Express/Washington and New York Express along with the connecting railroad name(s),
- After 1932, one of the named trains, such as the President, Legion, Arlington, etc., along with the connecting railroad name(s),
- Naming a run utilizing the connecting railroads names exclusively.

This practice existed from the 1880's up to the 1950's.


As for trains from other railroads, here's a sample:

ACL Express - RFP/ACL - Washington-Jacksonville
Atlantic Coast Line Limited - ACL/RFP/PRR - Jacksonville-New York
B&A Southwestern - B&A/NYC - Boston-Cleveland
B&A Wolveriene
- B&A/NYC/MC - Boston-Chicago
B&O Express - LV - New York-Buffalo
Big Four Limited - NYC/B4 - New York-St. Louis/Cincinnati
C&O Resort Special - PC/CO - New York-White Sulphur Springs
C&O Special - B4/C&O - St. Louis-Washington
Florida East Coast Limited - PRR/RFP/ACL/FEC - New York-Jacksonville-Miami-Key West
Frisco Express - CEI - Chicago-St. Louis
Frisco Limited - Frisco - Birmingham-Kansas City
Frisco Special - CEI - Chicago-St. Louis
Great Northern Express - CBQ/GN - Kansas City-Billings-Seattle
Great Northern Flyer - St. Paul-Seattle
Great Northern Limited - St. Paul-Seattle
Great Western Daylight - CGW - Chicago-Minneapolis
Great Western Limited - CGW - Chicago-Minneapolis
Great Western Special - CGW - Chicago-Minneapolis
Katy Special - MKT - St. Louis-Texas
Michigan Central Express - NYC/MC - New York-Chicago
Michigan Central Limited - NYC/MC - New York-Chicago
Michigan Central Special - NYC/MC - New York-Chicago
New York Central Limited - B4 - St. Louis-cleveland
New York Central Limited - B4/LSMS/NYC - St. Louis/Cincinnati-New York
North Western Mail - C&NW - Chicago-Minneapolis
North Western Special - C&NW - Chicago-Minneapolis
Northern Pacific Express - CBQ/NP - Chicago-Seattle
Northern Pacific Limited - NP - St. Paul-Winnepeg
Rio Grande Express - DRG - Denve-Grand Junction
Santa Fe Eight - ATSF - Los Angeles-Chicago
Seaboard Fast Mail - SAL - Hamlet-Atlanta
Seaboard Air Line Local - SAL - Hamlet-Columbia
Seaboard Florida Limited - PRR/RFP/SAL - New York-Miami
Seaboard Mail - RFP/SAL - Washington-Jacksonville
Seaboard Passenger, Mail and Express - SAL - Portsmouth-Norlina
Southern Railway Fast Mail - SR/Plant System - Washington-Jacksonville
Western Pacific San Francisco Express - DRGW/WP - Denver-Oakland

daveklepper - take it way!

 

 

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Saturday, June 12, 2010 4:34 PM

daveklepper

You are probably more right than I am on this subject.   On page 103 of the Westing Apex of the Atlantics, the 1914 PRR train No. 56 is identified as the F. F. V. - Southern Railway Express, but on Page 104 it is identified as the C & O - Southern Railway Express, same train number, same year.

 

As I had mentioned in an earlier forum entry, names of passenger trains before the 1920's was a capricious affair and unfortunately, this has crept into rail enthusiast publications..

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, June 11, 2010 6:54 AM

You are probably more right than I am on this subject.   On page 103 of the Westing Apex of the Atlantics, the 1914 PRR train No. 56 is identified as the F. F. V. - Southern Railway Express, but on Page 104 it is identified as the C & O - Southern Railway Express, same train number, same year.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:10 PM

I will get back to you.   It was in the period when E6's were handling the premium NY-DC trains, before the K4's took over.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 2:28 PM

daveklepper

I guess I will have to research that book myself and give you the dates recorded in it.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have that book.  If you can give me the dates that particular train ran I could appreciate it.

Also, my computer hard drive crashed and as a result I spent the last few days "off line" in getting it back in order.  Ill give this question another day and Ill tally the results.

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 2:33 AM

I guess I will have to research that book myself and give you the dates recorded in it.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, June 3, 2010 4:00 AM

Check Fred Westing's Apex of the Atlantics book on the E-6!

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:02 PM

daveklepper

The Southern Railway and FFV Express or the FFV and Southern Railway Express.

Cars from one of the Soouthern's trains were combined with cars from the Fast  Flying Viginian (C&O) and run both ways as one train.   The Southern, not the C&O, diner ran through to NYC.

 

When did this name exist?  I don't have this on my list.  Based on my research, C&O through cars to and from New York tended to run on a PRR train that was named "C&O" somewhere within its name.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 1:51 PM

The Southern Railway and FFV Express or the FFV and Southern Railway Express.

Cars from one of the Soouthern's trains were combined with cars from the Fast  Flying Viginian (C&O) and run both ways as one train.   The Southern, not the C&O, diner ran through to NYC.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Tuesday, June 1, 2010 12:48 PM

daveklepper

The railroads that ran through cars to New York over the PRR would then have their equipment in trains labeled:

The Seabord Express or Seabord Limited

The Seaboard Air Line name was used on various ways on the PRR:

Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line Express

Seaboard Air Line Express

Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line and Washington and New York Express...

and others...

The Coast Line Express or Coast Line Limited

The Atlantic Coast Line name was used in various ways on the PRR:

Atlantic Coast Line Express

Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Express

Atlantic Coast Line and Southern Railway Express

and others...

 

The Chesapeak and Ohio Express or Chesapeak and Ohio Limited

both yes,

The Southern Express or Southern LImited

Nope, the SR was always represented as the "Southern Railway" in various names.

I think one of these has already been posted.

I cannot imagine an RF&P express. Their only fast train that did not run south of Richmond was the Blue and Grey, and any through cars to NY were probably handled on regular PRR trains.

There was no RF&P express on the PRR.  Train name would include the "Richmond" in the name.  Those trains would carry through cars to and from Richmond.

 
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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, May 31, 2010 9:12 AM

The railroads that ran through cars to New York over the PRR would then have their equipment in trains labeled:

The Seabord Express or Seabord Limited

The Coast Line Express or Coast Line Limited

The Chesapeak and Ohio Express or Chesapeak and Ohio Limited

The Southern Express or Southern LImited

I think one of these has already been posted.

I cannot imagine an RF&P express. Their only fast train that did not run south of Richmond was the Blue and Grey, and any through cars to NY were probably handled on regular PRR trains.

There was definetly an Atlanta and New Orleans Express, but that was not the name of a railroad, as far as I know.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Sunday, May 30, 2010 4:22 PM

daveklepper

In that case, there must also have been a:

Fort Worth and Denver City No. 1 Nope

Fort Worth and Denver City No. 2 Nope

Fort Worth and Denver City Denver Express  Nope

But a Forth Worth and Denver City Vestibule Express I am not so sure about! Nope

Colorad and Southern Limited?    Possibly even narrow gauge? Nope

South Park Limited Nope

South Park Express Nope

Rio Grande Southern Express? Nope

Virginian Express or Virginian Limited or Virginian Special Nope - I don't think the Virginian ever had a named train.

The Burlington's Number One and Burlington's Number Two that I previously mentioned were displayed as such - not Burlington's No. 1/Burlington's No. 2.

 

One RR that used names of other railroads in their composite names was the PRR in their New York-Washington service.  Look there for inspiration.

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, May 30, 2010 1:31 PM

In that case, there must also have been a:

Fort Worth and Denver City No. 1

Fort Worth and Denver City No. 2

Fort Worth and Denver City Denver Express

But a Forth Worth and Denver City Vestibule Express I am not so sure about!

Colorad and Southern Limited?    Possibly even narrow gauge?

South Park Limited

South Park Express

Rio Grande Southern Express?

Virginian Express or Virginian Limited or Virginian Special

 

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Sunday, May 30, 2010 8:26 AM

daveklepper

Before fleet names were adopted for fleets, the first trains of the type were called;

The Burlington Zephyr, not just the Zephyr.

and

The Rock Island Rocket, not just the Rocket.

 

Inclusion of the railroad name in the advertising and promotion as part of the train name identified the product as TRAIN.

 

This lasted only as long as there was only one on each railroad.   Then city names replaced the railroad names.

 

That may be true, but generally the railroad name was used in conjunction with the train name in promotional and marketing efforts only.  The names I have been requesting were actually in the railroad schedule and consist listings.  Ironically, one of the railroads you mentioned, the Burlington, did actually name their trains with the railroad name on a consistent basis in the late 1890's-early 1900's. 

Examples are:

Burlington's Denver Express

Burlington's Number One

Burlington's Number Two

Burlington's Vestibule Express

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, May 30, 2010 4:38 AM

Before fleet names were adopted for fleets, the first trains of the type were called;

The Burlington Zephyr, not just the Zephyr.

and

The Rock Island Rocket, not just the Rocket.

 

Inclusion of the railroad name in the advertising and promotion as part of the train name identified the product as TRAIN.

 

This lasted only as long as there was only one on each railroad.   Then city names replaced the railroad names.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Friday, May 28, 2010 1:55 PM

adkdivfan

Just to add to the confusion, the names "Broadway Ltd" & "Pennsylvania Ltd" were switched to other services late in the game. In the 50's, PRR 1/2, an all-Pullman extra-fare service known as the Pennsylvania Limited, was dropped, and the name was attached to a train previously known as 'The Gotham". The better-known switch occurred in 12/67 when 28/29 were discontinued and the "Broadway" name was applied to the General.

 

What you describe was more of the rule rather then the exception.  In the Amtrak era there is a false sense of stability as far as passenger train nomenclature is concerned.  For better or worse, excepting a few de luxe trains that were more or less stable, the passenger train names here in the US and Canada were more or less a capricious endeavor, with names appearing and disappearing with regularity.  It wasn't until the late 1920's that railroads discovered that train names had marketing value and by the time streamliners began appearing, you begin to see branding of passenger train services by the use of fleet names. 

Passenger train names has been one of my primary railroad-related interests ever since high school, and at this point I have a database of thousands of train names and variants of names going back to the 1880's.  About 300 of those names can answer the current question about passenger train names that contained railroad names in them.

So bring on some more answers!

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Posted by adkdivfan on Thursday, May 27, 2010 5:49 PM

Just to add to the confusion, the names "Broadway Ltd" & "Pennsylvania Ltd" were switched to other services late in the game. In the 50's, PRR 1/2, an all-Pullman extra-fare service known as the Pennsylvania Limited, was dropped, and the name was attached to a train previously known as 'The Gotham". The better-known switch occurred in 12/67 when 28/29 were discontinued and the "Broadway" name was applied to the General.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 2:56 PM

Thanks.   Always willing to learn something new.   The dates are important.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 10:43 AM

daveklepper

Do you have a timetable or Official Guide that lists the "Pennsylvania Special"?

 

I have plenty of Official Guides that document the Pennsylvania Special.  The Pennsylvania Special was the 20-hour train the PRR inaugurated the same day the New York Central and Hudson River RR and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern began the 20th Century Limited.  The Pennsylvania Special did not become the Broadway Limited until 1912.   There was also a Pennsylvania Special that ran on the PRR-Lines West in the early 1890's from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis. The following is a 1909 Milwaukee Journal advertisement about the Pennsylvania Special.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xhweAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RH4EAAAAIBAJ&dq=pennsylvania-special&pg=6741%2C2344884
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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 2:45 AM

Do you have a timetable or Official Guide that lists the "Pennsylvania Special"?

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Monday, May 24, 2010 9:09 AM

adkdivfan

A few more: "Rio Grande Zephyr" D&RGW Denver-Ogden: "Soo-Dominion" Soo/CP Twin Cities-Vancouver; "Erie-Lackawanna Limited" EL Hoboken-Chicago (name change after the 1960 merger, later the Phoebe Snow name was used); "Pennsylvania Special" PRR NY-Chicago (the forerunner of the Broadway, & a seperate train from the Pa Ltd). I realize I'm stretching so please consider this a non-competitive entry.

 

All of your entries are good. Thumbs Up 

Despite your request I'm considering this as one of the entries.  This question on the surface may seem simple but its going to take a lot of stretching to get all of the answers.

Also keep in mind that the purpose of the Classic Railroad Quiz is ultimately to exchange information and knowledge between like minded individuals who are interested in railroad history.  All submissions are good and the more people contribute the more we all learn. 

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, May 24, 2010 4:26 AM

Again, it was the Pennsylvania Limited, not the Pennsylvania Special.   Important.

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Posted by adkdivfan on Sunday, May 23, 2010 9:54 PM

A few more: "Rio Grande Zephyr" D&RGW Denver-Ogden: "Soo-Dominion" Soo/CP Twin Cities-Vancouver; "Erie-Lackawanna Limited" EL Hoboken-Chicago (name change after the 1960 merger, later the Phoebe Snow name was used); "Pennsylvania Special" PRR NY-Chicago (the forerunner of the Broadway, & a seperate train from the Pa Ltd). I realize I'm stretching so please consider this a non-competitive entry.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Sunday, May 23, 2010 2:44 PM

"The Pennsylvania Limited was the PRR flagship before the Broadway was introduced, and should qualify .  Actually, so should the Broadway, because it was named after the four-track RofW and not after the street in New York City.   Both NYC-Chi, of course."

The Pennsylvania Limited is OK.  The Broadway is not - Im looking for passenger train names that had the actual railroad name in it such as the Pennsylvania Limited.

"Pere Marquattes.   Several trains, with the destinations then made part of the name."  OK

"Lackawanna Limited, Nickel Plate Limited. The Southern Crescent was the Crescent renamed after it got coaches and was rerouted via Birmingham instead of Montgomery."

The first two are fine, but the Southern Crescent name was actually derived from the combination of the Southerner and Crescent then those two trains were combined.

"The stillborn streamliner that never ran, the Chessie."  Nope - I'm looking for literal railroad names, not nicknames. 

"The Katy Flyer:"  OK

 

So far so good.  There are plenty more out there.  Also, there are a number of examples of named trains that were named for off line railroads.  Two examples:

C&O Special - Big4 - Chicago-Cincinnati

C&O Express - PRR - New York-Washington

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, May 23, 2010 1:41 PM

The Pennsylvania Limited was the PRR flagship before the Broadway was introduced, and should qualify .  Actually, so should the Broadway, because it was named after the four-track RofW and not after the street in New York City.   Both NYC-Chi, of course.

Pere Marquattes.   Several trains, with the destinations then made part of the name.

Lackawanna Limited, Nickel Plate Limited. The Southern Crescent was the Crescent renamed after it got coaches and was rerouted via Birmingham instead of Montgomery.

The stillborn streamliner that never ran, the Chessie.

The Katy Flyer 

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Sunday, May 23, 2010 11:53 AM

henry6

The Sante Fe Chief...was it named for the railroad or the city?  Chi-LA

The Southern Belle...wasn't it named for the Southern?

Rutland Flyer: Rouses Point, NY to NYC via Rutland, Bennington, and the NYC's NY and Harlem.

The Wabash Cannonball St. Louis to Detroit but named after the railroad or the river?

 

The Santa Fe Chief was officially named the Chief, not the Sante Fe Chief.

The Southern Belle operated on the Kansas City Southern, not the Southern.

The Rutland Flyer and Wabash Cannonball are OK.  The Wabash Cannonball was named after the song which, I assume referred to a train on the Wabash.

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Posted by henry6 on Sunday, May 23, 2010 11:20 AM

Oh, yes, I'm anxiously awaiting all the expected entries. 

The Sante Fe Chief...was it named for the railroad or the city?  Chi-LA

The Southern Belle...wasn't it named for the Southern?

Rutland Flyer: Rouses Point, NY to NYC via Rutland, Bennington, and the NYC's NY and Harlem.

The Wabash Cannonball St. Louis to Detroit but named after the railroad or the river?

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Sunday, May 23, 2010 9:25 AM

henry6

Yeah, the problem here is that virtually every road had a "limited" in their own name.  ..

 So lets add: the Rutland Flyer, The Wabash Cannonball, the Sante Fe Chief, et al., The Southern Belle,...but are these not geographic names (too)?  Ansewr(s) for this are gonna be fun to watch.

 

Why is it a problem?  That means more entries.....Wink

 As for your entries, could you also enter the RR and endpoints.  Also, I'm not accepting the Chief and Southern Belle.  I don't recall any railroads named Chief or Southern Belle.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Sunday, May 23, 2010 9:22 AM

CSSHEGEWISCH

For openers:

Erie Limited - Erie - Jersey City-Chicago

Alton Limited - Alton - Chicago-St. Louis

Nickel Plate Limited - NKP - Chicago-Buffalo

Pere Marquettes - PM - Chicago-Grand Rapids and Detroit-Grand Rapids

North Western Limited - C&NW - Chicago - Twin Cities

 

All good...Thumbs Up

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Posted by henry6 on Saturday, May 22, 2010 2:20 PM

Yeah, the problem here is that virtually every road had a "limited" in their own name.  ..

 So lets add: the Rutland Flyer, The Wabash Cannonball, the Sante Fe Chief, et al., The Southern Belle,...but are these not geographic names (too)?  Ansewr(s) for this are gonna be fun to watch.

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