The Consists of 1978-1979

[wayman]

My feeble 64 year old brain was remembering the broad picture but skimming on the particularities. It is still my understanding, in addition to he increased history you have shown us, that the mayor of NOL did insist on the name change from PL to CONO in 1980 or so

Totally possible - I really don't know anything about that beyond what I've read on wikipedia and sites like that of questionable trustworthiness. They all talk about an Arlo Guthrie song being the impetus, which surely would have been a minor consideration if anything.

"City of New Orleans" was a song written by Steve Goodman around 1972 and offered to Arlo Guthrie to record. It was a smash hit for both of them (but most people mistakenly think Guthrie wrote it), but the song gained new heights of popularity in 1984 when Willie Nelson's recording won the Grammy for Best Country Song. Perhaps it was in response to the 1984 Grammys that the Mayor of New Orleans requested the change?

 

[George Harris]

What we are looking at here was the period when Amtrak was converting from steam heat to electric heat and the sleepers were all "heritage" cars. Therefore, there was a while that there were not enough electric heat equipped sleepers to go around, so a train that was famed for being all-Pullman became all coach for a while. If the Illinois Central management of the time had any concern at all for their heritage, they would have yanked the permission to use the name.

The story about the train (each train has a story in this book, not just a consist) does say that all-electric sleepers are promised "as soon as possible". So you're right about that.

It does also say, though, that the train Amtrak took over was down to just one first class car and was "anything but posh". It had apparently been past its glory days already at that point.

Also, the train was originally called the CONO in Amtrak service, but was renamed after a derailment in which 11 were killed.

When Amtrak first took over the ICRR trains, IC was running both the City of New Orleans and the Panama Limited-Magnolia Star. Amtrak dropped the Panama and attempted to run the City of New Orleans daytime schedule. Given the deteriorated conditon of the ICRR, end point arrivals instead of being around midnight were normally around 3 am to daylight. After deciding that the day schedule was no longer possible, they changed to time to a somewhat slower Panama Limited schedule. For the early years Memphis was served late night northbound and about 3 am southbound, although I met it going south a few times along Riverside drive at about 7:30 am in the 1978 to 80 time frame. The change to an overnight Chi to Mem and daylight to New Orleans, a la the Louisiane is more recent. Don't remember when.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

What we are looking at here was the period when Amtrak was converting from steam heat to electric heat and the sleepers were all "heritage" cars. Therefore, there was a while that there were not enough electric heat equipped sleepers to go around, so a train that was famed for being all-Pullman became all coach for a while. If the Illinois Central management of the time had any concern at all for their heritage, they would have yanked the permission to use the name.

The story about the train (each train has a story in this book, not just a consist) does say that all-electric sleepers are promised "as soon as possible". So you're right about that.

It does also say, though, that the train Amtrak took over was down to just one first class car and was "anything but posh". It had apparently been past its glory days already at that point.

Also, the train was originally called the CONO in Amtrak service, but was renamed after a derailment in which 11 were killed.

Yes, many trains took a sharp decline before Amtrak came around. Things were pitiful, thus the need for a new national system. Trains which had been, say, 15 cars long were running with two cars, etc,ec. The Panama was no exception, great and grand though it had been for decades even before the streamliner/diesel era.

I do remember the very bad wreck, much has been written about it. However, it did not result in any name change. I have the original Amtrak timetables from 1971 and most forward and they all call it the Panama Limited. The last one to do so is a summer 1980 timetable. I do not have all my timetables in order but I see one April 26 through Aug 1, 1981 which shows the name changed to City of New Orleans.

So the name change from Panama Limited to City of New Orleans happened sometime between late 1980 and early 1981.

I can see you surrendered, so I won't push that point,

But the name change came out only indirectly with that derailment. It was actually because the track was heavily de-rated for speed, and as a result, the CONO could not make its day schedule. As a result, it became an overnight train, and Amtrak insulted the IC by calling it the Panama Limited. By the way, from 71 until about 76 or 77 it did have sleepers. It wasn't until it got Amfleets that it lost it for a while.

Another thing you guys may not know is the origin of the word "posh". Its actually an acronym, and stands for "Port Out Starboard Home" and refers to cabins on ships requested by wealthy customers so as to remain in the shade.

 

[spacecadet]

Another thing you guys may not know is the origin of the word "posh". Its actually an acronym, and stands for "Port Out Starboard Home" and refers to cabins on ships requested by wealthy customers so as to remain in the shade.

http://tafkac.org/language/etymology/posh_etymology_of.html

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Bah.