Steam-hauled Streamliners

[Deggesty]

Further notes on the Pelican (and notes on the Birmingham Special):

The 7-31-1949 Southern timetable shows only heavyweight sleepers; the 11-10-49 timetable shows a 10-6 between New York and Williamson, a 10-6 between New York and Bristol, and a 10-6 between Washington and Roanoke. So, these cars were pulled by steam on the Southern from Monroe to Washington until the Southern had enough diesels to handle the train both ways north of Monroe (by 12-27-51).

The 6-11-50 Southern timetable shows a 10-6 between New York and Birmingham on the Birmingham Special; I cannot determine the exact date this car was inaugurated; I can only say that it was after 11-10-49. This car was pulled by steam on the Southern Washington to Monroe from its inauguration until  the Southern had enough diesels to handle the train both ways north of Monroe (by 12-27-51).

When I lived in Bristol, Tennessee, (1954-1959) the cars were usually N&W cars, and not Southern cars, whereas the 14-4 sleepers on the Tennesseean were usually Southern cars. (I saw some D&RGW sleepers used on the Bristol-Nashville and Bristol-Memphis 10S C 2DBR lines.)

[Deggesty]

Norfolk & Western notes

The N&W bought 15 lightweight coaches in 1941, and these probably were put into service on the Pocahontas, and may well have been operated on the Powhatan Arrow when it was inaugurated in 1946. In 1948, three 10-6 sleepers were acquired from P-S for service on the Cannonball. In 1949 and 1950, twenty more 10-6's were acquired from Budd; these were operated on the other lines, such as the Pocahontas, New York-Roanoke via Hagerstown, Winston-Salem and Columbus (Pocahontas between Roanoke and Portsmouth), New York-Williamson (Cavalier west of Roanoke). All these trains had steam power until the end, which, as I said in a previous post, may have been 1959. Perhaps someone who would not have to dig as much as I would have to could check back issues of Trains in that period.

[daveklepper]

A N&W lightweight 10&6 alternated with a PRR 10&6 in NY-Penn - Norfolk service via PRR, RF&P, ACL, Petersberg, and N&W.   Rode it.   But by then, GP-9 diesel up front on N&W.

[Falcon48]

jimrice4449

The Dakota 400 had a streamlined Pacific. Among the others:
James Whitcomb Riley Big Four (NYC)
Mercury Mich. Central (also NYC)
Tennesean Southern's only S/L Ps-4 Wa***o Lynchburg N&W J there to Bristol.
There are,for sure, many others. TLC has a new book out titled The Steamliners on this very subject.

I don't think that C&NW's Dakota 400 was pulled by steam (leaving aside instances where the regularly assigned engine broke down).  However, its predecessor - the Minnesota 400 - definitely was.