Hamlet, North Carolina is a busy railroad town today, but it was a busy passenger-train town in the 1950s. Known as “the hub of the Seaboard,” Hamlet is where southbound Seaboard trains to Atlanta and Birmingham split from those to … Continue reading
The 1945 Report on Streamline Trains focused exclusively on Seaboard Air Line’s Silver Meteor. The report observed that this operation grew from a single seven-car train that went from Richmond to Miami every three days in early 1939 to three … Continue reading
In lieu of canceling train service (which generally required either federal or state approval), various ways that railroads attempted to save money in the face of declining ridership included: 1. Simplifying exterior paint schemes; 2. Simplifying dining car menus; 3. … Continue reading
This 1962 brochure advertises several Seaboard streamliners: the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, and Palmland from New York to Florida; the Silver Comet from New York to Atlanta and Birmingham; and the Gulf Wind from Jacksonville to Chattahoochee, Florida on the … Continue reading
On February 2, 1939, shortly after Dieselizing the Orange Blossom Special, Seaboard inaugurated the Silver Meteor, a Budd-built coach train between New York and Florida pulled by an E-4 locomotive. Initially, Seaboard purchased a single, seven-car train set, allowing service … Continue reading
The Orange Blossom Special was an all-Pullman, winter-only train between New York and Florida that the Seaboard Air Line began running in 1925. By 1941, the average speed of the New York-Miami trains was a respectable 57 mph. Like New … Continue reading
