The ''Inter-American'' was a passenger train operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

between

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

and

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of th ...

. Its route changed over time and was eventually replaced by the ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...

''.

History

The ''Inter-American'' was established on January 27, 1973, with thrice-weekly service between Laredo and Fort Worth. At Fort Worth, travelers could connect with the ''

Texas Chief The ''Texas Chief'' was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and Galveston, Texas. It was the first Santa Fe "Chief" outside the Chicago–Los Angeles routes. The Santa Fe conveyed the ...

'', but doing so required an overnight layover. At Laredo, it was possible to cross the border to

Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Lar ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and connect with

Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (better known as N de M and especially in its final years as FNM) was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 (dating from the regime of Porfirio Díaz), a major railroad con ...

(''"N de M"'') trains to points in Mexico. In March 1974, the train was extended from Fort Worth to

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 ...

via

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, following the route of the former

Missouri Pacific The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

''. From St. Louis, passengers could connect to Chicago. In October 1976, Amtrak extended the ''Inter-American'' to Chicago. It operated daily between Chicago and St. Louis, but continued as thrice-weekly between St. Louis and Laredo. On October 31, 1978, a St. Louis–Chicago ''Inter-American'' became the last train to serve

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

in St. Louis. In October 1979, budget cuts forced Amtrak to combine the ''Inter-American'' with the Chicago-

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

'' Lone Star'' (formerly the ''Texas Chief''). The merged train retained the ''Inter-American'' name, changed from thrice-weekly to daily, and added a Houston section which split in

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. On October 1, 1981, Amtrak, once again forced to make service cuts, truncated the ''Inter-American'' to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and eliminated the Houston section. The new service was named the ''Eagle'', and still runs today as the ''

''.

References

External links

Photos of the Inter-American1981 timetable
{{Former Amtrak routes Railway services introduced in 1973 Former Amtrak routes Passenger rail transportation in Arkansas Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Missouri Passenger rail transportation in Texas Railway services discontinued in 1981 Former long distance Amtrak routes

History

See also

References

External links