Dixie Flyer and Dixie Limited timetables 1930

The ''Dixie Flyer'' was a premier named

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

that operated from 1892 to 1965 via the "Dixie Route" from Chicago and St. Louis via Evansville, Nashville, and Atlanta to Florida. However, the train persisted to 1969 as an Atlanta to Florida operation, solely run by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and its successor. The ''Flyer's'' route varied in early years, but by about 1920 was set as follows: *

Chicago and Eastern Illinois The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two Wor ...

(C&EI),

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(

Dearborn Station Dearborn Station (also referred to as Polk Street Depot) was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at ...

) to

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in S ...

( Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station), ''or'' *

Louisville and Nashville The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

(L&N),

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

to Evansville section * Louisville and Nashville, Evansville to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

( Nashville Union Station) *

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville on December 11, 1845, ...

(NC&StL), Nashville to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

( Atlanta Union Station) *

Central of Georgia The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

(CofG), Atlanta to Albany (

Albany Union Station Union Station, also known as Albany Union Station, is a building in Albany, New York, Albany, New York (state), New York on the corner of Broadway and Steuben Street. Built during 1899–1900, it served originally as the city's railroad station but ...

), via Macon * Atlantic Coast Line (ACL), Albany to

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Florida East Coast The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the United States, U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, th ...

(FEC), Jacksonville to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, ''or'' * Atlantic Coast Line, Jacksonville to

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

and

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, and Jacksonville to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

sections

History

After the NC&StL acquired the lease of the

Western and Atlantic Railroad The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was fo ...

in 1890, it began promoting its passenger business from northern connections through Tennessee, and in early 1892 christened its existing trains 1 and 2 from Nashville to Atlanta as the ''Dixie Flyer'', with through Pullman Palace sleeping cars from Nashville to Jacksonville; these at first were routed south of Atlanta via the

East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad (ETV&G) was a rail transport system that operated in the southeastern United States during the late 19th century. Created with the consolidation of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad and the ...

(controlled by the Southern Railway), and later rerouted via the CofG and ACL. In 1899, the NC&StL made an agreement with the

Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

(IC) to handle passengers via the IC from Chicago and from St. Louis, via

Fulton, Kentucky Fulton is a home rule-class city in Fulton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,357 at the 2020 census, down from 2,445 at the 2010 census. It was once known as the "Banana Capital of the World", because 70% of imported banana ...

and

Martin, Tennessee Martin is a city in Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 11,473 according to the 2010 census. The city is the home of the University of Tennessee at Martin. History Martin is named for Captain William Martin. William ...

on the ''Dixie Flyer'' with limited stops and a fast schedule. In 1908, the Chicago traffic was rerouted via the CE&I from Chicago to Evansville, and the L&N from Evansville to Nashville; during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the L&N also took over the traffic from St. Louis to Evansville. Soon after the war ended, the route south of Atlanta to Jacksonville was settled on the CofG to Macon and Albany, and from there via the ACL via Tifton and Waycross. In Jacksonville, through Pullmans were handed over to the FEC for Miami or to other ACL trains for Tampa and other west coast (Gulf of Mexico) points. At the height of the

Florida land boom The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...

in 1925, the popular ''Dixie Flyer'' was split into three sections: the all-Pullman ''Dixie Flyer'' from Chicago/St. Louis to Florida; the coaches and Atlanta and Augusta sleepers were carried on the second section, named the ''Dixie Express''; mail and

express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

went by the third section, the ''Dixie Mail''. Following the collapse of the Florida boom and the effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, services were cut back in the 1930s, with the ''Flyer'' handling both coaches and Pullmans. A short-lived Jacksonville-

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

Pullman route was created in the summer of 1925, carrying a sleeper via the ''Dixie Flyer'' to St. Louis, via the Wabash to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, and via the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

West Yellowstone West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana, United States, adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. The population was 1,272 at the 2020 census. West Yellowstone is served by Yellowstone Airport. It is part of the Bozeman, MT Micropoli ...

. By the postwar 1940s, the Florida East Coast Railway route along the coast was carried by the Atlantic Coast Line's ''Miamian.'' The other sections to St. Petersburg, Tampa and Sarasota were covered by ACL local trains. By the mid-1950s, the Atlantic Coast Line terminated the route at Jacksonville, including the sleeping cars. Passengers wishing to continue on the traditional Florida East Coast route to Miami would need to transfer to the ACL's '' East Coast Champion.'' The ''Dixie Flyer'' was discontinued north of Atlanta by December 1965, From 1965 the Atlantic Coast Line RR (and then its successor, the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

) kept the train running on the route from Atlanta Union Station south to Jacksonville, on an overnight schedule, but without sleeping cars. The train was finally discontinued by December 1969. Like many other passenger trains a victim of plummeting ridership in the face of airline and highway competition.

Major stops

The following were major stops. Precise stops are in the diagram map at the right. *Chicago *St. Louis (the Chicago and St. Louis branches converged in Evansville) *Terre Haute *Evansville *Nashville *Tullahoma *Chattanooga *Dalton *Atlanta *Albany *Jacksonville *West Palm Beach *Fort Lauderdale *Miami Separate connecting Atlantic Coast Line branches from Jacksonville served Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Ft. Myers.

Dixie Route trains

Other trains from the Midwest to Florida using the Dixie Route included: * ''

Dixie Flagler The ''Dixie Flagler'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. It began in 1939 as the ''Henry M. Flagler'', a regional service between Miami and Jacksonville, ...

'' (

streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating wikt:streamline, streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "High-speed rail, bullet trai ...

) * '' Dixiana'' * ''Dixie Limited'' * ''Dixieland'' * ''Dixie Express'' * ''Dixie Mail'' * ''

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

'' (diverged from the ''Dixie Flyer'' route at Albany, Georgia, where it followed the

Perry Cutoff The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Perry Cutoff (which was part of the company's Thomasville—Dunnellon Line) was a historic rail line in northern Florida running from Monticello southeast to Perry. The line provided a shortcut for rail traffic ...

to reach Tampa and St. Petersburg)

References

External links

"Dixie Flyer,"
NC&StL Preservation Society, accessed 23 August 2014. Includes photos, time tables, and newspaper accounts of the train's discontinuance. {{SCL named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Passenger trains of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Passenger trains of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Passenger trains of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Passenger trains of the Florida East Coast Railway Passenger trains of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Passenger rail transportation in Florida Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state) Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Indiana Passenger rail transportation in Missouri Passenger rail transportation in Tennessee Railway services introduced in 1892 Railway services discontinued in 1969