Pelican (train)

Pelican

Southern's advertisement touting the Pelican service
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Last service	1970
Former operator(s)	Southern Railway
Route
Start	New York, New York
End	New Orleans, Louisiana

The Pelican was a named train of the Southern Railway which ran from New York City to New Orleans and back until 1970.

Operations

The Pelican (Train #41/42) departed New York's Pennsylvania Station going south via the Pennsylvania Railroad to Washington, DC, then on Southern's line to Lynchburg, Virginia, then to Bristol, Virginia via the Norfolk and Western Railroad. From Bristol to New Orleans, the Pelican ran on Southern's line with major station stops in Knoxville, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama and Meridian, Mississippi.

Train Number 42, the northbound The Pelican reversed the route.

In 1957, The Pelican carried:^[1]

• A New York to New Orleans 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom sleeping car;
• A New York to Knoxville, Tennessee 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom car;
• A Washington, D.C. to Shreveport, Louisiana 8-section-5-double-bedroom car (handled by Illinois Central Railroad between Meridian, Mississippi and Shreveport);
• A New York to Knoxville, Tennessee 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom car;
• A New York to Bristol 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom car;
• A Washington, D.C. to Williamson, West Virginia 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom car (handled by Norfolk and Western Railway's The Cavalier) between Roanoke, Virginia and Williamson;
• A Petersburg, Virginia to Bristol 10-section-1-compartment-2-double-bedroom car (handled by Norfolk and Western Railway's The Cavalier between Petersburg and Roanoke;
• A Roanoke to Birmingham, Alabama dining car;
• Washington to New Orleans coaches.

History

With passenger traffic declining, the Pelican was combined with the Birmingham Special in 1970.^[2]

References

1. Norfolk and Western Railway, October 27, 1957 time table p. 5
2. Harris, C. Nelson (2009). Norfolk and Western Railway Stations and Depots. Arcadia.,