Southern Crescent 1978 transfer to Amtrak

[joelkfla]

Happened to find this short but interesting news piece about the Souther Crescent's impending transfer to Amtrak in 1978. (The hole in the paywall will close 14 days from this posting.)
https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/06/...sI9h14jVlESl5WxtmnyTxmsoeV4Lp4&smid=url-share

 

[west point]

The reason IMO that Amtrak was reluctant to accept the SOU equipment was it was all Steam line cars and locos. No HEP. Actually, Amtrak had to keep a small portion of E-60s with steam boilers to handle the SOU equipment WAS <> NYP. As well Amtrak had a couple converted cars with steam boilers in WAS in case the SOU Crescent was very late into WAS.
Believe that only a couple SOU Dining cars had HEP conversion. However, Amtrak restored daily ATL <> NOL service.

 

[Maverickstation]

I remember 2 of the former Southern E-60's becoming property of NJ DOT Rail Operations (for forerunner of NJ Transit), and were used for
commuter service. The Southern Crescent logo on the engines was somewhat rubbed off, before they were repainted.

Ken

 

[jphjaxfl]

I made several trips on the Southern's passenger trains after 1971 before Amtrak took over the Southern Crescent in 1979. It didn't seem like the passengers were dwindling. I rode the Southern Crescent from Washington to Greensboro in October, 1977 and had a very fine dinner in the Dining car which was still using silver utensils.

 

[BlackDiamond]

In March 1972 I traveled to Hattiesburg MS to see the Crescent pass through. It had a dome car on the rear. Too bad that has disappeared from our trains (except for the SSL)

 

[CTANut]

Happened to find this short but interesting news piece about the Souther Crescent's impending transfer to Amtrak in 1978. (The hole in the paywall will close 14 days from this posting.)
https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/06/...sI9h14jVlESl5WxtmnyTxmsoeV4Lp4&smid=url-share

Easy fix:
https://web.archive.org/web/2022020...sI9h14jVlESl5WxtmnyTxmsoeV4Lp4&smid=url-shareI just added it to the Internet Archive.

 

[TheCrescent]

I took the Southern Crescent as a child in the 1970s, regularly watched it roll through upstate SC in the 1970s, and take the Amtrak version every now and then.

The current version leaves a lot to be desired (no dining car, no first-class lounge, aging equipment, Flexible Dining) but was the 1970s version THAT great, other than a fancier dining car and attractive locomotives?

 

[Bob Dylan]

I took the Southern Crescent as a child in the 1970s, regularly watched it roll through upstate SC in the 1970s, and take the Amtrak version every now and then.

The current version leaves a lot to be desired (no dining car, no first-class lounge, aging equipment, Flexible Dining) but was the 1970s version THAT great, other than a fancier dining car and attractive locomotives?

I regularly rode on the Crescent back in the day and never had a bad trip in the hundred or so trips I took on the Southern!

As was said, the Diners were Special!!!

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

“Few rail experts would argue that Amtrak can operate the line more efficiently than Southern.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same…


Great article by the way!

 

[joelkfla]

The reason IMO that Amtrak was reluctant to accept the SOU equipment was it was all Steam line cars and locos. No HEP. Actually, Amtrak had to keep a small portion of E-60s with steam boilers to handle the SOU equipment WAS <> NYP. As well Amtrak had a couple converted cars with steam boilers in WASH in case the Southern Crescent was very late into WAS.
Believe that only a couple SOU Dinning cars had HEP conversion. However, Amtrak restored daily ATL <> NOL service.

What about the thru cars to Sunset Limited? Was SL all steam cars at that point? Or did the E60's provide both steam & HEP?

 

[jis]

I believe Sunset Limited became HEP only when it got Superliners sometime in 1980/81, about the same time Amtrak converted the Crescent to HEP. So there may at most have been a short time of potential mismatch.

 

[Maglev]

My father grew up in a railroad family in Corbin, Kentucky, and considered the Southern Crescent to be the epitome of luxury travel. When I rode on Amtrak's Crescent, the Viewliner I's were new (there was still a TV screen), and the food was good--in those days, we expected (and received) decent food on Amtrak's long-distance trains. From what I have heard, the food was not as good as what Southern served. But I think the Viewliners are more comfortable than Heritage sleepers, and so Amtrak at one time might have been better than Southern.

 

[TheCrescent]

My father grew up in a railroad family in Corbin, Kentucky, and considered the Southern Crescent to be the epitome of luxury travel. When I rode on Amtrak's Crescent, the Viewliner I's were new (there was still a TV screen), and the food was good--in those days, we expected (and received) decent food on Amtrak's long-distance trains. From what I have heard, the food was not as good as what Southern served. But I think the Viewliners are more comfortable than Heritage sleepers, and so Amtrak at one time might have been better than Southern.

Southern Railway coaches were-like other non-Amtrak streamlined coaches that I’ve ridden on-relatively spartan by comparison to Amtrak; they lacked carpeting and the seats weren’t plush.

So I give Amtrak a win in terms of coach-class comfort, too.

 

[toddinde]

I remember 2 of the former Southern E-60's becoming property of NJ DOT Rail Operations (for forerunner of NJ Transit), and were used for
commuter service. The Southern Crescent logo on the engines was somewhat rubbed off, before they were repainted.

Ken

I think you mean E-8’s.

 

[toddinde]

What about the thru cars to Sunset Limited? Was SL all steam cars at that point? Or did the E60's provide both steam & HEP?

The Sunset Limited didn’t become HEP until the early ‘80s, so there was never an issue with the thru sleeper. The Southern E-8s (E-60s we’re an Amtrak electric locomotive in the NEC) only had steam generators.

 

[Seaboard92]

A decent amount of the Budd Southern Railway cars ended up either preserved or with VIA Rail in Canada.

 

[Seaboard92]

I think you mean E-8’s.

Of the E8s quite a few of those were preserved too.

No. 6900 operates at the North Carolina Transportation Museum-Spencer, NC
No. 6901 is on display at the Southeastern Railway Museum-Duluth, GA. However Norfolk Southern paid for it to have a full operational restoration done at their shops in 2016
No. 6913 is being restored at the Southern Appalachia Railroad Museum-Oak Ridge, TN
No. 6914 is operable at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum-Chattanooga, TN

That's not bad considering it's a fleet of 16 engines. So 25 percent managed to survive, and of that 25 percent 75 percent are operable. And I wouldn't be surprised if they make 6913 operable as well. That's a good bunch of guys at Oak Ridge.

 

[west point]

I have had difficulty of 6900 - 6905 what their original numbers were. Originally 6900 - 6905 were Alco PA assigned to SOU RR's Tennessean Bristol <> Memphis. Once N&W went diesel (JAN 1st 1957) with thru SOU diesels then the Alcoa were retired to Pegram shops in Atlanta.
Earlier EAs were numbered 2900-2929 and EBs 2950-2953. So, the 6 6900 - 6905 EAs came from the 2900 but what numbers?

 

[Seaboard92]

No. 6900 was 2923 it suffered a pretty good wreck before that new number.
No. 6901 was 2924
No. 6902 was 2925
No. 6903 was 2926
No. 6904 was 2927
No. 6905 was 2928
No. 6916 was 2929

The units that were renumbered were technically the Cincinnati, New Orleans, Texas & Pacific Railway which is owned by the City of Cincinnati. And the city still owns Cincinnati, OH to Chattanooga, TN.

The rest of the E units belonged to the Alabama Great Southern subsidiary.

 

[SwedeC]

I remember an early evening at the depot in Manassas VA. Crescent came in with four beautiful E-8s and a long string of cars. It made a double-stop at the station. Then those E-8s wound up and away she went.