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Anybody on here ride a train on the last day before Amtrak? As noted in another post I was on the last southbound L&N Georgian.The name had been dropped from the timetable, by then just numbers 3 and 4.
I rode it from Chattanooga to Atlanta 5/1/71. It was 2 hrs 35 minutes late.
Average crowd, few seemed to know it was the last day.To be coach only it was fairly decent.It used the stainless steel coaches C&EI built in 1953 and later sold to L&N. There was a pleasant stand up food bar, sandwiches, coffee, etc, better than nothing if not quite the 20th Century Limited.
This train left from the Union Station. The last tran from the Southern's Terminal station had already left in 1970 as noted in another post
Most of the publicity over A-Day in Atlanta seemed to be more for the Nancy Hanks than any other train. There was one small picture of the Georgian in the Chattanooga papers, and that was about it.
One more thing: much later in life, after I moved to ATL, I discovered that the conductor on that last Georgian was the father of a guy at work.
Had to ride the silver pooch back home that night to Chattanooga.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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A-Day Eve, I was aboard MILW 103 "City of Everywhere" CUS to Savanna; return on BN #10 Twin Zephyr. Unlike Mr. Haithcoat's experience, there most definitely "was something happening out there".
That of course was my party's last experience in a UP Diner, by then BN had reduced food service on the Zephyrs to a Snack Bar.
A-Day, I was aboard AMTK(MILW) 31 Empire Builder Chi to Milw, return on a Hiawatha Service. That Saturday A-Day, CUS simply was a ghost town, for never in US history had so many passenger trains been whacked in a single stroke as occurred on May 1, 1971.
notelvis Member # 3071
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Very interesting hearing about Amtrak eve...I remember a nice photo-essay of the final departures/arrivals in Chicagoland in a book Kalmbach published 30 years ago titled "Journey to Amtrak."
As for us in Western North Carolina, Amtrak day came and ent unnoticed because we were in Southern Railroad country. Our trains continued to roll the next day as if nothing had happened.
Konstantin Member # 18
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I have the book "Journey to Amtrak." It is very good, showing the days before Amtrak and immediately after.
espeefoamer Member # 2815
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I ditched high school to ride a round trip between L.A. and San Diego on the last day of Santa Fe operation of the San Diegan.I was shocked at the high price of a Coke in the lounge car on Santa Fe.It cost me 35 cents.A coke on an SP automat car was only a quarter.The lounge was packed.The train was pretty full both directions.Santa Fe ran a classy train right up to the end.
rresor Member # 128
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I wasn't able to ride trains the day before Amtrak (was still in high school, and couldn't skip school), but I did do a pre-Amtrak "farewell trip" around the eastern US in March of 1971 (our spring break). It included L&N 3 from Atlanta to St. Louis -- we were the first passengers to get off the train in St. Louis in a week.
It also included L&N's "Pan American", N&W's "Pocahontas", the "Gulf Wind", the "Nancy Hanks", and the "Wabash Cannon Ball". We avoided the SCL trains because we knew those would keep running, as would the PC trains between NY and Chicago. We had ridden the "Capitol Ltd" the previous summer.
It was a mostly bittersweet experience -- half-empty stations, trains with minimal amenities -- but there were some bright spots, including the domes on the "Nancy Hanks" and the "Pocahontas".
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