Kansas City–Florida Special

The Kansas City-Florida Special was a pooled night train and the premier train of the Frisco Railroad and the Southern Railway. Operating from Kansas City, Missouri to Jacksonville, Florida, it was unique as the only long distance passenger train to traverse the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, Missouri and north of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Kansas City-Florida
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleSoutheastern United States
First serviceNovember 26, 1911 (1911-11-26)
Last service1964 (1964)
Former operator(s)Frisco Railroad
Southern Railway
Route
StartKansas City, Missouri
EndJacksonville, Florida (1959)
Distance travelled1,229.5 miles (1,978.7 km) (1959)
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)105 (eastbound), 106 (westbound)
On-board services
Seating arrangementsReclining seat coaches
Sleeping arrangementsSections, roomettes, double bedrooms, and a compartment (1959)
Catering facilitiesDining car

Additionally, it contrasted with trains of the Illinois Central Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad which offered Great Lakes Mid-West to Florida service, and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Seaboard Coast Line Railroad which offered New York to Florida service. A running advertisement read, "Only the Kansas City-Florida Special offers through train service between Kansas City and the East Coast of Florida [with] convenient one-change connections at Kansas City and Pacific Coast points. This popular through train has modern roomette and bedroom sleeping cars between Kansas City and Miami - section, double bedroom and compartment sleeping cars and luxury reclining-seat coaches between Kansas City, Birmingham, Atlanta, and Jacksonville - lounge and dining car facilities." (Generally, the service to Miami required a transfer in Jacksonville.)[1]

The lounge car interior of the Kansas City-Florida Special, ca. 1930s

The train was inaugurated on November 26, 1911. Sleeping cars were dropped from the train by the train's last year of operation and service was terminated in 1964. The Frisco's Sunnyland ran parallel with this route, as a local train from Memphis to Atlanta.[1][2][3][4]

Major station stops

Notes
  1. American Rails, 'Kansas City-Florida Special' https://www.american-rails.com/kansas-city-florida-special.html
  2. Frisco Railroad timetable, 1959, Table 4 and 7 http://streamlinermemories.info/South/Frisco59TT.pdf
  3. Frisco Railroad timetable, 1964, Table 4 http://streamlinermemories.info/South/Frisco64TT.pdf
  4. 1964 Southern Railway timetable, Table O, https://streamlinermemories.info/South/SRR64-4TT.pdf
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