The ''Ann Rutledge'' was a

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 p ...

service 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. ...

running between St. Louis, Missouri, and

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

, as part of the ''Missouri Services'' brand. In 2009 Amtrak consolidated the ''Ann Rutledge'', ''Kansas City Mule'', and the ''St. Louis Mule'' under the new name ''

Missouri River Runner The ''Missouri River Runner'' is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak between Gateway Transportation Center in St. Louis and Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The eastern half of the route runs largely along the right bank of the ...

''.

History

Pre-Amtrak

The

Alton Railroad The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 a ...

inaugurated the ''Ann Rutledge'' in 1937 as a companion to the ''

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

'' over the St. Louis–Chicago route. The Alton named the train after

Ann Rutledge Ann Mayes Rutledge (January 7, 1813 – August 25, 1835) was allegedly Abraham Lincoln's first love. Early life Born near Henderson, Kentucky, Ann Mayes Rutledge was the third of 10 children born to Mary Ann Miller Rutledge and James Rutledge ...

, a woman from New Salem, Illinois, who may have been the first love of U.S. President

. The ''Ann Rutledge'' used the ''Lincolns original lightweight equipment set, while the ''Lincoln'' received a matching set originally used by the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

's (B&O) ''

Royal Blue Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by clothiers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of whom won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. Brightness The '' Oxford E ...

''. The

Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Chicago, Illinois. From its two p ...

(GM&O) continued the ''Ann Rutledge'' upon its merger with the Alton in 1947. The GM&O ended the ''Ann Rutledge'' on April 27, 1958.

Amtrak

Amtrak revived the name ''Ann Rutledge'' on February 15, 1976, for an

Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Metroliner electric multiple unit. An in ...

-equipped train on the St. Louis-Chicago route, replacing a ''

Turboliner The Turboliners were a family of gas turbine trainsets built for Amtrak in the 1970s. They were among the first new equipment purchased by Amtrak to update its fleet with faster, more modern trains. The first batch, known as RTG, were built by ...

'' frequency. The revival proved short-lived: on October 31 Amtrak extended the Laredo-

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 ...

'' Inter-American'' through to Chicago, replacing the ''Ann Rutledge.'' In a reversal of the situation with the Alton in the 1930s, Amtrak used the ''Ann Rutledges Amfleet coaches to re-equip a revived ''Abraham Lincoln.'' Amtrak revived the ''Ann Rutledge'' again on October 30, 1977, replacing the ''Abraham Lincoln.'' From its revival in 1977 until October 30, 2006, the ''Ann Rutledge'' operated as trains 303/304 along a route between Chicago and Kansas City via St. Louis, serving as part of both the '' Illinois Service'' and ''

Missouri Service The ''Missouri River Runner'' is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak between Gateway Transportation Center in St. Louis and Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The eastern half of the route runs largely along the right bank of ...

''. On October 30, 2006, the Chicago-St. Louis '' State House'' was replaced with the ''

Lincoln Service The ''Lincoln Service'' is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the '' Illinois Service'' and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Tra ...

'', and the ''Ann Rutledge'' was cut back to a St. Louis-Kansas City service. It operated as trains 313/314, connecting to ''Lincoln Service'' trains 303/304 at St. Louis. In 2009, Amtrak consolidated the ''Ann Rutledge'', '' Kansas City Mule'', and the '' St. Louis Mule'' under the new name ''

''. In May of 2022, Amtrak quietly returned the Chicago-Kansas City via St Louis route under the name ''Lincoln Service Missouri River Runner'', a combination of the names of the two services.

References

External links

Amtrak - ''Illinois Service''Amtrak - ''Missouri Routes''
{{GM&O named trains Former Amtrak routes Passenger rail transportation in Missouri Passenger trains of the Alton Railroad Passenger trains of the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad Railway services introduced in 1937 Railway services discontinued in 2009