The ''Piedmont Limited'' was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. For most of its life it was a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

—

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

train, operating over the same route as the more famous '' Crescent Limited''. The Southern Railway introduced the train on March 12, 1899, and it was known as th
crack train
of the route until the introduction of the ''Crescent'' in 1925. The Southern Railway discontinued the ''Piedmont Limited'' in 1967.

Route details

In its prime the ''Piedmont Limited'' operated over the following roads: *

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 ...

: New York— Washington, D.C. * Southern Railway: Washington—

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

* West Point Route: Atlanta—

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama, Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the Gulf Coastal Plain, coas ...

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 t ...

: Montgomery—New Orleans

Major cities served

Aside from the above cited cities, the train served Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Greensboro, Charlotte, Spartanburg, Greenville, Gainesville, Mobile and Gulfport. A spur branch served

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 We ...

, but this was eliminated by 1964. By the end of that year, the southbound itinerary of the route was cut from running from New York to New Orleans to having

Kings Mountain, North Carolina Kings Mountain is a small suburban city within the Charlotte metropolitan area in Cleveland and Gaston counties, North Carolina, United States. Most of the city is in Cleveland County, with a small eastern portion in Gaston County. The popul ...

, south of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

as the southern terminus of the route. By late 1966, the train was running from Washington, D.C. to

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...

in both directions. Amid the postwar decline in passenger rail service, the train was eliminated in 1967. Beginning in 1970 the ''Piedmont'' train served as a Atlanta-Washington daytime service, supplementing the then-''Southern Crescent'' along its middle leg. In 1975, its southern terminus was truncated to

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. This train was discontinued in 1976; by then its southern terminus had been cut back to

References

External links

1973 timetable
{{LN named trains Railway services introduced in 1899 Passenger trains of the Southern Railway (U.S.) Passenger trains of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services discontinued in 1976 Passenger rail transportation in Alabama Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state) Passenger rail transportation in Louisiana Passenger rail transportation in Mississippi Passenger rail transportation in North Carolina Passenger rail transportation in South Carolina Passenger rail transportation in Virginia Transportation in New Orleans