The ''Aiken-Augusta Special'' was a named night train of the '' Southern Railway'' between New York City and Augusta, Georgia. Different from other long distance Southern Railway lines which tended to briefly go through the northwestern edge of South Carolina, this route went through the interior of the state. Its route marked the last directly north-south route between Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina, and it marked one of the last long distance trains into Augusta, Georgia. The train began as the ''Augusta Special'' on October 24, 1915. Beginning in 1928 the train had a section that split from the main route at Trenton, South Carolina and went to Aiken, South Carolina, and so the train took the name, ''Aiken-Augusta Special.'' The train was carried over

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

tracks from New York City to Washington, D.C. and in an unusual arrangement the coach cars were on a different train (#153 the ''Congressional'' southbound; #112 unnamed, northbound) from the

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. ...

s between New York and Washington, and upon reaching the latter city the itinerary became merged.

Major stations on main Augusta route

*New York, NY *Newark, NJ *North Philadelphia, PA *Philadelphia *Wilmington, DE *Baltimore, MD *Washington, D.C. *Charlottesville, VA *Lynchburg *Danville *Greensboro, NC *High Point *Concord *Charlotte *Rock Hill, SC *Columbia *Augusta, GA

''Asheville Special''

The train had the ''Asheville Special'' (#15 south/#16 north; begun in 1930), which split from the main route in Greensboro, North Carolina and continued west from Greensboro, to Winston-Salem and then to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. The sleeping cars were continuous from New York City to Asheville; but the coaches and the diner were strictly Asheville to Greensboro cars. The remainder of the trip, Greensboro to New York was on ''Aiken-Augusta Special'' equipment. Southern Railway FP7 6142 in August 1971 (26577895004)

Southern Railway FP7 6142 in August 1971 (26577895004)

For four years (1966-1970) after the termination of the ''Augusta Special,'' the ''Asheville Special'' was tacked onto the '' Crescent'' from Greensboro to New York. However, southbound, the sleeping car was handled by the '' Southerner'' from New York to Greensboro. Major stops on the Asheville-Greensboro route: *Asheville *Biltmore *Marion *Morganton *Hickory *Newton *Statesville *Winston-Salem *Greensboro In 1970 the Asheville Special was truncated to an Asheville-Salisbury train. It was finally discontinued in 1975.

''Augusta Special'' and demise

With dwindling traffic in the 1950s, the Aiken spur route was eliminated and in 1953 the train reverted to the ''Augusta Special.'' Sleeper service was eliminated on October 27, 1962. Its final run as a named train between Charlotte and Augusta was on October 22, 1966.American Rails, 'The Augusta Special' https://www.american-rails.com/augusta-special.html

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