The ''Kentucky Cardinal'' was a nightly

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 ...

operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

from 1999 to 2003 between

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

, and

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, via

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. On the three days that the ''

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

'' ran, the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' operated as a section, splitting at Indianapolis. On the other four days, it ran on its own to Chicago.

History

Hi-Level coach and express boxcar on the Kentucky Cardinal at Jeffersonville, August 2001

Kentucky Cardinal at Louisville, May 2002

Between May 1971 and August 1974 Amtrak's '' Floridian'' ran from Chicago to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

via Indianapolis and Louisville. Due to deteriorating

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...

track in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, the train was rerouted to the west north of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. In April 1975 the train was routed back east over the former

Monon Railroad The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Ra ...

, again serving Louisville, but bypassing Indianapolis to the west. The ''Floridian'' served Louisville until its discontinuance in October 1979. On December 17, 1999, the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' started running as a rebranding and extension of the ''

Hoosier State Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

'', which ran four days a week between Chicago and Indianapolis (filling in the gaps in the ''Cardinal'' schedule). The ''Kentucky Cardinal'' ran as trains 850 southbound and 851 northbound, the same numbers as the ''Hoosier State.'' The train ran along former

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 ...

/Penn Central trackage that had been used by the ''Floridian.'' It was an attempt to attract express business from

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...

, which maintains its air-express hub at

Louisville International Airport Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport , formerly known as simply Louisville International Airport, is a civil-military airport in Louisville in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The airport covers and has three runways. Its IATA airport code ...

. At first the train only ran from Indianapolis south to

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...

, a Louisville suburb, where a new

Amtrak Mail and Express Amtrak Express is Amtrak's freight and shipping service. It handles small package express service, heavy freight shipments and city-to-city freight shipping by private and commercial customers. Boxes up to 36" x 36" x 36" (maximum 50 pounds), sui ...

facility was built. The city of Louisville spent $370,000 in 2001 to renovate

Louisville Union Station The Union Station of Louisville, Kentucky is a historic railroad station that serves as offices for the Transit Authority of River City (TARC), as it has since mid-April 1980 after receiving a year-long restoration costing approximately $2 milli ...

for the service, and on December 4 the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' started to use a new track on the west side of the Union Station

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

, marking Amtrak's return to Louisville after a 20-year absence. Unlike its predecessor, the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' was a full-fledged daily train. On the days the ''Cardinal'' operated, the southbound ''Kentucky Cardinal'' split from the eastbound ''Cardinal'' (train 50) at Indianapolis and continued to Louisville, while the northbound ''Kentucky Cardinal'' combined with the westbound ''Cardinal'' (train 51) in Indianapolis for the journey to Chicago. On the remaining four days of the week, the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' ran independently from Louisville to Chicago. 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) ...

'' operates in a similar manner, running as a section of the ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...

'' on the three days that the latter train operates. The train was handicapped by inconvenient departure and arrival times, as it ran on the same schedule as the Indianapolis-Chicago leg of the ''Cardinal.'' It was also plagued by slow travel times, especially on the segment from Indianapolis south to Louisville. This segment was operated over the

Louisville and Indiana Railroad The Louisville and Indiana Railroad is a Class III railroad that operates freight service between Indianapolis, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, with a major yard and maintenance shop in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is owned by Anacostia Rail Ho ...

, which had purchased the line from

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

in 1994, and had a speed limit of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) over most of the route due to its

jointed rail A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

. This made travel on the southern leg of the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' slower than

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

traffic on the parallel

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...

. With the opening in 1999,

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

began running

Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, tran ...

bus connections from Jeffersonville south to

, with stops at Elizabethtown and

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...

. Though rail passenger advocates tried to get the train's route extended to Nashville in an effort to increase ridership, Amtrak lost its mail contract, and the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' last ran July 4, 2003, restoring the old ''Hoosier State'' on July 6 (the ''Cardinal'' ran both ways on July 5).

Route details

The tracks used were originally part of the

system, and are now owned by the

. The following lines were used: *

Louisville Bridge and Terminal Railway Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

(PRR),

, to

Clarksville, Indiana Clarksville is a town in Clark County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River and is a part of the Louisville Metropolitan area. The population was 22,333 at the 2020 census. The town was founded in 1783 by early resident George Rogers Cla ...

, now L&I *

Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad The Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad (JM&I) was formed in 1866 as a merger between the Indianapolis and Madison Railroad and the Jeffersonville Railroad. Genealogy The JM&I predecessors were as follows: *Jeffersonville, Madison ...

(PRR), Clarksville to

, now L&I

Notes

References

*Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, ''

Trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

'' June 1991 *Scanner, ''

'' February 2000 *''Kentucky Cardinal'' fulfills its name, ''

'' March 2002 *''Kentucky Cardinal'' wings clipped, ''

'' June 2003 *Status quo is not a substitute for growth, ''

'' October 2003 *

External links

Amtrak - ''Kentucky Cardinal''
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Transportation in Louisville, Kentucky Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Indiana Passenger rail transportation in Kentucky Railway services introduced in 1999 Railway services discontinued in 2003