Named pax trains

[Anonymous]

Everybody knows The Twentieth Century Limited and The Empire Builder and many others. I dont really know much about american passenger trains but I believe there was a train called The Senator was there not?

Was there ever a train called The American ??
Or how about The Presidential or something similar??

I'm just pulled those 2 names out of the air because i wasnt sure. They sound like ok names to me for a prestigious train. Did they exist somewhere?

[Anonymous]

Tyson--

Good guesswork! The Senator ran on the Pennsylvania Railroad (and the New Haven) from Boston to Washington, D.C., by way of New York City. It was one of the top trains on those roads. Southern Pacific also had a Senator, which ran from Oakland to Sacramento.

Pennsylvania also had an American, which ran between New York City and St. Louis, and a President, which ran between New York City and Washington, D.C.

--John

[Anonymous]

AND......

Immediately after WWII and before the Penn Texas, PRR's American carried at least some of the through sleepers interchanged at STL with the southwestern RRs

[ndbprr]

PRR also had, "The Patriot, The Congressional Limited, The Legislator" and several others that were all New York To DC trains - extra fare and limited stops

[randybc2003]

My memory may be failing me, but I think the Illinois Central has one called the PAN AMERICAN.

[Anonymous]

L&N had the Pan American (a fine train by all accounts)...Illinois Central had the Panama Limited (absolutely, positively, among the best).

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys!

I believe there was one called The Capitol wasnt there? Was there one called The Statesman ? Or even The United States ?? i doubt there would have been one called that? doesnt seem right to me

I'm also guessing those trains i listed if they were run then it was by the Pennsy? Since they have national/political names i figure. Speaking of which, was there ever a train called The National or something?

Was there ever a passenger train that ran right across the continent from some Atlantic port city to a Pacific port city?

Thanks for answering my questions

[Anonymous]

Pennsylvania did go for patriotic/political names for passenger trains...my favorite is "Liberty Limited." The New Haven, Baltimore & Ohio and Southern Pacific railroads also used patriotic/political names for some of their trains.

B&O had the "Capitol Limited" and the "National Limited." The Capitol ran Baltimore-Chicago; the National ran Baltimore-St. Louis. For a time both trains ran to Jersey city via Reading and Central of New Jersey.

Both Pennsylvania and Southern Pacific had a "Statesman." The PRR train ran Washington-Pittsburgh; the SP train ran Oakland-Sacramento.

Can't say I ever heard of a train named "United States."

Also, I can't think of a scheduled passenger train that ran from east coast to west coast in the US, until Amtrak extended the route of the "Sunset" east of New Orleans. That train now runs from Jacksonville, Florida to Los Angeles.

--John

[AntonioFP45]

It's good that passenger trains with patriotic names are still running. It's surprising that the "anti-American" politically correct extremists haven't pressured Amtrak to change the trains' name.

I know I seem sarcastic but many "extreme leftists" that I've heard speak or read about would call for changing these train's names if they thought they could be successful! Especially the ones that are invited as guest speakers on university campuses. For persons with just a "little" common sense, it's quite chillling.

Just my opinion guys, but look, listen, and do your research!

[passengerfan]

True their was no coast to coast passenger trains before Amtrak but their were coast to coast sleeping cars during 1950's and their were quite a few of those. But if one looks north of the border the CN SUPER CONTINENTAL and CPR CANADIAN could both be considered coast to coast trains. The CPR at one time ran beautiful Empress Liners across the Pacific Ocean from Asia to Vancouver where one could board a CPR transcontinental train to Montreal and then board another Empress liner across the Atlantic to Great Britain and Europe. This particular service ended with WW II but the trans-atlantic service operated up until the early 1960's. At the same time that the CPR had Budd build the Canadian trains they also built three new trans-atlantic Empress Liners Empress of England, Empress of Britain and Empress of Canada.
Through coast to coast sleeping cars operated jointly with PRR, NYC, and B&O from east connecting in Chicago with CB&Q, AT&SF, UP and CRI&P to the west. The Southern and Southern Pacific operated through sleeping cars between New York and Los Angeles by way of New Orleans even under Amtrak.

[ndbprr]

There was no scheduled passenger train that ran or runs from coast to coast. HOWEVER, never say never! I'm pretty sure that at some time someone needed to get a group of people form one side to the other and back and a special or two or more probably did run from Boston, New York or Philly to the west coast or vice versa. I think the closest thing Amtrak has is the Sunset limited. Doesn't that take a l o n g time to go from LA to Florida?