The ''Pan-American'' was a

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

operated by 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 ...

(L&N) between

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana. It operated from 1921 until 1971. From 1921 to 1965 a section served

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

via

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

. The ''Pan-American'' was the L&N's flagship train until the introduction of the '' Humming Bird'' in 1946. Its name honored the substantial traffic the L&N carried to and from the

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

s on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. The ''Pan-American'' was one of many trains discontinued when Amtrak began operations in 1971.

History

The L&N introduced the ''Pan-American'' on December 5, 1921. A section of the train diverged at

to serve

. At the outset the train carried both sleepers and coaches, and was noteworthy for its all-steel construction in an era when wood heavyweight coaches were still common. The name honored the substantial traffic the L&N carried to and from the

s on the

. It covered the from Cincinnati to New Orleans in 26 hours, soon shortened to exactly 24 hours. The train proved popular with the traveling public, and in 1925 was re-equipped as an "All- Pullman" (no coaches) train. Its popularity contributed to businesses named after it; the Pan-American Lunch Room operated in Nashville, Tennessee in the 1920s.https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2469/13399408?pid=1373584605&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D2469%26h%3D1373584605%26tid%3D82991240%26pid%3D382070537565%26hid%3D1041385891937%26usePUB%3Dtrue%26_phsrc%3DIAO2307%26_phstart%3Ddefault%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue&treeid=82991240&personid=382070537565&hintid=1041385891937&usePUB=true&_phsrc=IAO2307&_phstart=default&usePUBJs=true Pan-American Lunch Room, 2620 Jefferson, Nashville, TN City Directory, 1929 The economic pressures of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

forced the ''Pan-American'' to start carrying coaches again in 1933. Like many L&N trains, the ''Pan-American'' experienced a surge in ridership during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, carrying four times its normal traffic. The ''Pan-American'' lost its title as the L&N's flagship train in 1946 with the introduction of faster '' Humming Bird'' over the same route. Although never fully

streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...

, the ''Pan-American'' began receiving streamlined equipment in 1949. The southbound ''Pan-American'' carried through sleepers for

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

and Memphis from New York City conveyed by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as 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. At its ...

in Cincinnati. Further south in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

it received New York-New Orleans and Washington-New Orleans sleepers from the Southern Railway's '' Piedmont Limited''. In 1953 the ''Pan-American'' was one of several L&N trains to receive new lightweight "Pine"-series

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 main American innovator and owner of sl ...

s from

Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

. Throughout the 1960s, the decline of passenger railroading in the United States took its toll on ridership and amenities. A counter-lounge replaced the diner-lounge in 1965. The ''Pan-American'' began handling some of the ''

South Wind The south wind is the wind that originates from the south and blows north. South Wind may also refer to: * ''South Wind'' (film), 2018 Serbian film * ''South Wind'' (TV series), 2020 Serbian TV series * , 2021 Serbian film * , 2022 Serbian TV s ...

s through traffic in 1970 after the

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

withdrew from joint operation. By 1970 the train's consist had shrunk dramatically: between Cincinnati and Louisville it might carry only a

baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (American English), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (British English and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (Indian English) is a railroad car that is designed to c ...

, coach, and

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

, with a sleeper for New Orleans added in Louisville. Amtrak did not retain service over the L&N route, and the ''Pan-American'' ended on April 30, 1971.

Cultural influence

In the words of Kincaid Herr, official historian of the L&N, the ''Pan-American'' "came to be the symbol of the L&N's passenger service." The train was made famous by WSM Radio's nightly broadcast of the passing train's whistle. Some ''Pan-American'' passengers were lucky enough to sit in comfortable lounge chairs and hear the sound of their own train's whistle from a wood-cabinet table radio tuned to WSM in the

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad Passenger car (rail), passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a plat ...

. The broadcasts began on August 15, 1933. The ''Pan-American'' inspired several songs: * "Pan-American Blues" (1926) by DeFord Bailey * "Pan-American" (1948) by

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

* "Pan-American Boogie" (1949) by the Delmore Brothers "Pan-American Blues" was one of two railroad songs recorded by DeFord Bailey (the other being " Dixie Flyer Blues", so named for another L&N train. Bailey saw the ''Pan-American'' frequently at Nashville's

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

in the 1920s, but the inspiration for name came from one of his foster sisters, who noted that "it was the fastest around." Bailey, with his harmonica, imitated the sound of the ''Pan-Americans whistle and it quickly became one of his most-requested performances at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

and elsewhere.

References

External links

The Pan-American - January 1927 - Streamliner Schedules

{{LN named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Transportation in New Orleans Passenger rail transportation in Cincinnati History of Cincinnati Railway services introduced in 1921 Railway services discontinued in 1971 Passenger rail transportation in Alabama Passenger rail transportation in Kentucky Passenger rail transportation in Louisiana Passenger rail transportation in Mississippi Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Passenger rail transportation in Tennessee