The Kansas City–Florida Special was a pooled night train and the premier train of the

Frisco Railroad Frisco may refer to: Places in the United States *Frisco, Alabama, an unincorporated community *San Francisco, California, as a nickname *Frisco, Colorado, a home rule municipality **Frisco Historic Park – see Frisco Schoolhouse * Frisco, Idaho ...

and the Southern Railway. Operating from

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, it was unique as being one of very few long distance passenger train to traverse the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

south of

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

and north of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Additionally, it contrasted with trains of the

Illinois Central Railroad 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 ...

and the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad 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 ...

which offered Great Lakes Mid-West to Florida service, and the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

and

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 ...

which offered New York to Florida service. A running advertisement read, "Only the Kansas City–Florida Special offers through train service between Kansas City and the East Coast of Florida

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

convenient one-change connections at Kansas City and Pacific Coast points. This popular through train has modern roomette and bedroom sleeping cars between Kansas City and Miami - section, double bedroom and compartment sleeping cars and luxury reclining-seat coaches between Kansas City, Birmingham, Atlanta, and Jacksonville - lounge and dining car facilities." (Generally, the service to Miami required a transfer in Jacksonville.)American Rails, 'Kansas City-Florida Special' https://www.american-rails.com/kansas-city-florida-special.html Frisco lounge car with fireplace

The train was inaugurated on November 26, 1911. Sleeping cars were dropped from the train by the train's last year of operation and service was terminated in 1965. The Frisco's ''Sunnyland'' ran generally parallel with this route as a local train, first starting from

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 ...

, then joining Frisco's eastern mainline at

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

to Birmingham. By the mid-1940s, the ''Sunnyland'' route began in Kansas City instead, with a sleeper partnership with the Southern Railway continuing beyond Birmingham to Atlanta. The ''Sunnyland'' had the eastern variant of second section veering south from Amory to Pensacola. The ''Sunnyland'' had the western variant, the ''Sunnyland-Will Rogers:'' a section originating in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

and connecting with the ''Sunnyland'' in Springfield, Missouri. In final years, the ''Kansas City-Florida Special'' and the ''Sunnyland'' lost their sleepers. Also, the ''Sunnyland'' was reduced to a strictly Kansas City - Birmingham route.

Brief successor train

The ''Kansas City-Florida Special'' and the ''Sunnyland'' were succeeded from 1965 to 1967 by the Frisco's ''Southland,'' running from Kansas City to Birmingham, with a lounge buffet car operating between Kansas City and Memphis. This last train had its final run on December 9, 1967. With the termination of the ''Southland'' came the end of the Frisco's passenger train operations. Cox, Jim. ''Rails Across Dixie,'' McFarland and Col., Inc., 2011, p. 166. .

Major station stops

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 ...

* Springfield, Missouri * Jonesboro, Arkansas *

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo () is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North M ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

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 ...

* Macon *

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 ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kansas City-Florida Special Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Southern Railway (U.S.) Passenger trains of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Passenger rail transportation in Alabama Passenger rail transportation in Florida Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state) Passenger rail transportation in Mississippi Passenger rail transportation in Missouri Passenger rail transportation in Tennessee Railway services introduced in 1911 Railway services discontinued in 1965