# Memphis East/West?



## Trains4me (Jul 29, 2015)

I am just curious about whether any passenger train service ever travelled east/west thru Memphis?


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## xyzzy (Jul 29, 2015)

Not under Amtrak, which began operation on May 1, 1971. In prior decades Memphis had many trains east-west.


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## illinoisandy (Jul 29, 2015)

To the best of my knowledge, Amtrak has never had any service other than the North-South Service, first Panama Limited and now City of New Orleans, which as a side note utilizes the traditional Panama Limited time frame, the City was a Day Train, listen to the lyrics of the song.

To answer beyond Amtrak, my 1965 Official Guide of Railways list 7 railroads with passenger service and 2 freight only at Memphis, plus three stations. Central (Still used), Lauderdale St., and Mo Pac

The direction the line comes from and number of timetables is in ( ) * number of timetables may not mean number of physical lines but train routes.

CRI&P Rock Island (West, 1), Frisco (Northwest-Southeast 2), GM & O (North-South No Pass. ) IC (Current Amtrak Route 3 ) L&N (East, Northeast 3) Mo Pac (West-North) St. Lois SW (West No pass. ) Southern (East 1)

This is in a later period in the pre-Amtrak days and lines with no pass. Service had it at an earlier point,

Hopefully will answer your question and give a picture of how Memphis was one of the East Lines, West Lines meeting places like but to a lesser extent than St. Louis, KC, etc. back in the day for passenger service.


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## jphjaxfl (Jul 29, 2015)

Memphis was a Railroad Gateway city. I traveled through and changed stations many times in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a child with family


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## ciship (Jul 31, 2015)

WOW, would'nt it be wonderful to have a train going from Memphis to Nashville!!


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## jphjaxfl (Jul 31, 2015)

I rode the Memphis -Nashvile overnight train in the mid 1960s. It was schedule to depart Memphis at 10:30pm, but did leave until all the mail was loaded. It still arrived Nashville On time at 6:30am. It made many, many stops including Warren,TN which had less than 50 people. The through Memphis-Nashville tracks are gone

We traveled on the City of Memphis in the mid 1950s which was a much nicer train, but fewer passegers.


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## railiner (Aug 1, 2015)

Trains4me said:


> I am just curious about whether any passenger train service ever travelled east/west thru Memphis?


The last one that did that was this one....http://condrenrails.com/MRP/MemphisCentralStation/Frisco-Last-Pass-Train.htm

The last passenger train to operate east/west Through any rail "gateway" (CHI, STL, MEM, or NOL), was Amtrak's National Limited which ran NYP-KCY, with a thru sleeper to LAX. Amtrak also ran a thru NYP-NOL-LAX sleeper for a time, but not an entire train.


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## railiner (Aug 1, 2015)

I should amend that "last" statement to count the Los Angeles-Miami (later Sanford) Sunset Limited before it was cut back to NOL again....


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## jis (Aug 2, 2015)

I don't think the Sunset ever terminated at Sanford. It did do so at Orlando.


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## railiner (Aug 3, 2015)

jis said:


> I don't think the Sunset ever terminated at Sanford. It did do so at Orlando.


You're correct....I had forgotten....for some reason I assumed it terminated at the AT terminal, where mechanical forces are based....but the old TT's do show Orlando.

Thanks for clearing that up....


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## Eric S (Aug 3, 2015)

It looks like in 1996-1997 the Sunset Limited originated/terminated in Sanford (Miami before that, Orlando after that).


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 3, 2015)

Eric is correct! I rode the Sunset East in '96 from NOL to Sanford, the terminal Station! ( and it was 18 Hours Late!)


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## railiner (Aug 6, 2015)

jis said:


> I don't think the Sunset ever terminated at Sanford. It did do so at Orlando.





railiner said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > I don't think the Sunset ever terminated at Sanford. It did do so at Orlando.
> ...





Eric S said:


> It looks like in 1996-1997 the Sunset Limited originated/terminated in Sanford (Miami before that, Orlando after that).





jimhudson said:


> Eric is correct! I rode the Sunset East in '96 from NOL to Sanford, the terminal Station! ( and it was 18 Hours Late!)


So...I was right, afterall....I should have looked further at the old timetables....just tried to recall from memory....

thanks for the corrections....


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