"....Air Railroad"

[Anonymous]

During the 1800's several railroads used the term "air" in their names, ie, Seaboard Air . What was the purpose? What point was being made by the management?
cbt141

[dehusman]

An "Air Line" was a straight line (e.g. "as the crow flies"), the shortest difference between two points. So "Seaboard Ait Line" was the shortest, most direct route to the seaboard (in the eyes of the management.)

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

thank you.

[Overmod]

Seems to me that SAL would be better described as a straight route ALONG the 'seaboard' -- look at the route.

Almost always, the 'straight' route involves up and down grades, some of which can be substantial. There is no direct correlation between 'air line' routing and either the capability or the practice of high-speed train operation... at least in that era. Modern TGV lines use this style of routing (with properly compensated *vertical* curves) because even substantial grades (on the order of 8 to 10%) can be easily accommodated by the momentum of trains moving at speeds of 300kph or so. Conversely, I believe the longest air line stretch in the world is the trans-Australian route across the Nullarbor Plain, where speeds were (and probably are) restricted because of the extreme difficulty of access in case of accident...

[gbrewer]

I understand that after Lindberg crossed the Atlantic, all the airline stocks went way up -- including the stock of the Seabord Air Line Railroad.

[SALfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gbrewer

I understand that after Lindberg crossed the Atlantic, all the airline stocks went way up -- including the stock of the Seabord Air Line Railroad.

SAL stock did go up - doesn't say much for the research a lot of people did before buying stock.

The longest straight stretch of track in the U.S. is ex-SAL, inland from Wilmington, NC. It's almost 79 miles, IIRC. I-95 crosses that stretch of track at Lumberton, NC.