Palmetto (ACL train)

The Palmetto was a night train between New York, New York and two different Georgia destinations, Augusta and Savannah. It was operated by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, with the cooperation of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad. During its final year it was operated by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (the post-merger successor of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad).[1]

Palmetto

Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Northeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic (United States) & Southeast United States
Predecessor	Palmetto Limited
First service	1944
Last service	1968
Successor	Palmetto (Amtrak train)
Former operator(s)	Pennsylvania Railroad Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Seaboard Coast Line (1967-1968)
Route
Start	New York City
End	Augusta, Georgia and Savannah, Georgia; additional section to Wilmington, North Carolina
Distance travelled	805 miles (1,296 km) (New York - Augusta)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	Southbound: 77 Northbound: 78
On-board services
Seating arrangements	Reclining seat coaches (1955)
Sleeping arrangements	Roomettes, double bedrooms and drawing rooms; Open sections, compartments & drawing room (Washington-Savannah) (1955)
Catering facilities	Cafe car: New York-Washington; dining car: Washington-Savannah; cafe-lounge: Florence-Augusta & Rocky Mount-Wilmington (1955)
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

Train origins

The 1939 timetable for the predecessor Palmetto Limited.

The train began in 1944. It had its origins in the ACL's Palmetto Limited (initiated in 1910). In addition to its main terminal points in Augusta and Savannah, the Palmetto had a branch that went to Wilmington, North Carolina's Union Station. At Augusta Union Station the train had a connection to Georgia Railroad's train from Augusta to Atlanta's Union Station.[2][3]

Decline

In the 1960s the ACL and SCL cut some of the Palmetto's services. By 1963 the ACL trimmed its south of Richmond meal services to a cafe-lounge between Florence and Augusta, leaving the Savannah and Wilmington branches without food catering.[4] By 1965, the Savannah branch was dropped and Wilmington-bound riders had to change to another train at Rocky Mount.[5] Between December 1967 and 1968, the train was dropped from the SCL's timetables. Its Wilmington branch was the last train to service Wilmington and its Union Station.[6][7]

Later, in the Amtrak era, the Palmetto was refashioned into a namesake New York-Florida train in 1976, and in 2004 was shortened to Savannah.

References

1. American Rails, 'Palmetto' https://www.american-rails.com/plmto.html
2. American Rails, 'Palmetto' https://www.american-rails.com/plmto.html
3. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad timetable, June 12, 1955, Tables D, 6
4. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad timetable, December 13, 1963, Tables 4, 11
5. 'Official Guide of the Railways,' July 1965, Atlantic Coast Line section, Tables 1, 7
6. Seaboard Coast Line timetable, December 15, 1967, Table 11
7. Seaboard Coast Line timetable, December 13, 1968