In the 1950s, Norfolk & Western was a highly profitable coal hauler, but it didn’t serve enough big cities to be a major passenger carrier. Its main passenger line was from Norfolk to Cincinnati, served by two passenger trains, the Powhatan Arrow and the Pocahontas. A third train, the Cavalier, followed the same route but for some reason it terminated at Portsmouth, Ohio.

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N&W’s other long-distance trains, including the Pelican, the Tennessean, and the Birmingham Special started and ended on other railroads and N&W just provided a bridge over part of the route. The Pelican, for example, went from New York to New Orleans, a trip of about 1,300 miles, but only 200 miles of that were on Norfolk & Western.

The same 200 miles form part of the Tennessean‘s New York-Memphis trip and the Birmingham Special‘s New York-Birmingham trip. Most of the miles on all three trains were over the Southern Railway, which had its own alternative route but must have sent some trains over the N&W either because that route was shorter or to serve cities not on the Southern route.