Great video, enjoyed it very much as I’m a regular Amtrak rider on the Pacific Surfliners between San Diego, Los Angeles & Oxnard, CA. I rode on Amtrak a total of 57 times since 1/31/1974 to the present. I rode on the Crescent from New Orleans on 9/19-20,2012 from New Orleans to Wilmington, DE. I enjoyed the ride very much. Train travel is my number 1 choice of travel when I travel long distance, & when I’m home in the San Diego area.
I was a fireman on the Southern Crescent, Train #1 and #2, from Meridian, Ms., to New Orleans, La, in the 70’s before AMTRAC took over passenger trains. You could set your watch by the Crescent when Southern ran it, always on time. I have a set of highball glasses from the lounge car, never been used, with the E8 engines on the side and gold rim.
why did the bushwhackers in the few years preceding the civil war hate the trains so much? did they hate that it made it easier for carpetbagging yankees to do business in their towns?
When I did my own research, I also found out the Santa Fe considered keeping it's own trains too. From what someone who worked for the railroad said, their accounting department made them join Amtrak. The Rock Island was also an interesting mess. Can't wait to see how you cover it. People get pissy about them.
Seaboard Coast Line, like Santa Fe, also considered staying out of Amtrak. But the cost to buy new passenger cars and locomotives sealed the deal to join Amtrak.
Also I don't want to get the hopes of Rock Island fans up, it's not in this series since it's final trains were a state subsidized super-commuter service. Although a later train is also sort of state subsidized so maybe I should have. Perhaps an epilogue video may exist that touches the random trains floating around that didn't make the series.
2 f40ph Mhc Baggage Baggage Crew sleeper 10/6 sleeper 10/6 sleeper Diner Lounge Coach Coach Coach Coach Coach Mhc Mhc This the crescent that I miss from 95/96
I bought one of the old SR sleeper cars from Amtrak, SR 2023 Warrior River, in 1982. If you ask me, I stole it, too! Operated it on Amtrak for many years before replacing it with ATSF Vista Canyon.
The Crescent was one of the last passenger trains with real dish’s and silverware. The sleeping quarters and dining cars were the best. It came through Greensboro in the night. It was powered by E8 locomotives, built by EMD.
Rode the Southern's version to Charlottesville, VA. twice - 1973 and '74. What a fine train and what a memory. Stopped at Charlottesville in the dead of night. That big rail station had not changed since the 40s. Echoes all over the place inside. It sat at a junction - C & O/ SR. Freights sped past us through the night. Their cab crew always waved at us. The lead engine was green. It's three trailing units were still painted in standard SR black, white with gold striping. No doubt, it was superior to the motley, wobbling Amtrak trains of that era. Was a 15- car consist - a big passenger train.
I know that the Central of Georgia was purchased by Southern Railways in 1963, and was subsequentially purchased by Norfolk Southern in 1982. The Central of Georgia was made up of several old roads at the turn of the century, like the Savannah & Atlanta and the Western and Atlantic railroads (think the great locomotive chase between the Texas and General engines that belonged to the Confederacy during the Civil War). I have a 12 inch section of Central of Georgia mainline rail (120 lb.) I use as an anvil. Cheers - TN
I model the Central of Georgia in HO gauge 'cause I used to live in Jonesboro, GA, and my wife even remembers riding on the famous "Nancy Hanks II" and the "Man O War". I've got several Southern Crescent Limited coaches that I pull with the famous #4501 Southern Crescent Limited which is the last of the MS class Mikados (2-8-2). The #4501 has been repainted black and is located at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. I've been there several times before the restoration of the 4501 and can't wait to get back there to take a ride on the 4501. I've seen a photo of Johnny Cash waving out the window of the 4501 on the engineers side. Cheers from eastern TN
Rode the Crescent under Southern twice, Hattiesburg to DC in a sleeper, great diner, and NYC to Alexandria, VA, a shortie! Miss the train. Great video!
Nicely presented story on the fate of the Southern Crescent. Thanks for sharing! I bet the Rock Island Lines with be next in the "Last Train in America" series.
I rode it in late March of 1979, from Atlanta to Baltimore, and then, a few days later, from Baltimore to Atlanta. On the initial trip, it was Southern Railway. On the return trip, it was Amtrak.
Very well done video! Although this series focuses on some of the last long distance passenger trains in the U.S. past Amtrak, I'm more of a fan of smaller passenger services such as the Asheville Special with short consists. One should never forget the smaller commuter and branch line services of a railroad which connect the small towns of the U.S. with the main lines of famous class Is. Fun Fact: the last scheduled passenger train to run in the U.S. which was not owned by Amtrak was Soo Line mixed freight service in 1987 for 2 AM caboose runs with a capacity of only one person. Will you be covering this unique Soo Line "mixed train" service as well?
1979 was the year Amtrak picked up the Southern Crescent, dropped 6 other trains that October, then began Ogden-Las Vegas-Los Angeles service akin to the Salt Lake City-Seattle Pioneer, the Desert Wind.
My dad was SR conductor in the summer to get a break from freight trains he would take crew work on passenger trains usually about 2 weeks, while the old guys took off sometime he took me might have been 6 or 7 old had run of train even loco once, put me on in Rome Ga, remember it like yesterday, I’m now 70 years, he ran Atl to Chattanooga gotta go now a little terry.
Hoping to encounter a true collector of Southern Crescent memorabilia. I have one of the best original paintings ever done (by a listed artist) depicting this classic green and gold beauty "coming around the bend", back from the days it was active and operating. In fact this large painting was actually displayed prominently in one of the observation cars for many years. Any serious train enthusiasts out there?
it's almost as if there is something worng with your mouth or something else with the ways you talk - as if something is making it hard for you to talk or even breathe. it is a bit hard to hear you and also to understand you. I came here wanting to know why some southerner absolutely hated the trains - was it because of imminent domain, did it interfere with cattle grazing, did it spread diseases by allowing sick people from the coasts to spread contagions in the middle and upper south?
I don't understand amtrak , they have 5 east coast true long distance trains the lakeshore , silver meteor , silver star , the crescent , and the cardinal , a few years ago amtrak took delivery of 25 new viewliner dining cars and a few more sleeping cars the next thing you know they came out with some bull about how people didn't want to eat together anymore and stopped serving pretty good food and started serving air line type food even removed the dinning car from the crescent which was one of the highlights of its long run from ny and nola then changed the schedule to what seems like a local north of wdc , I don't know about anyone else but that doesn't look like they're trying to improve east coast long distance service to me
Mostly accurate. It even says it in a newspaper clipping shown briefly, that Mr. Claytor (and he was ALWAYS Mr. Claytor to those of us who worked on Amtrak) was President Carter's Secretary of the Navy (having been a Naval Captain in WWII), not Sec. of Transportation. He went on to become President of Amtrak in the early 1980s and is credited with helping save Amtrak from Ronald Reagan's budget ax in the mid-1980s. He retired as Amtrak President in 1993 and died of brain cancer in 1994. Besides that, he is best known for starting the Southern Ry. steam excursion program that was continued into the 1990s by his brother Robert Claytor, as chairman of the merged Norfolk Southern Ry. Both of them were qualified locomotive engineers who could sometimes be found at the throttle of one of their excursion locomotives.
"This isn't normal Railroad president stuff, this is foamer shit"
He probably wouldn't disagree cause that's the best descriptor haha
Nice to see you here.
I worked on the Southern Crescent until the Amtrak takeover. It was an awesome, beautiful train!
Could the name also be a reference to new orleans, the crescent city?
Great video, enjoyed it very much as I’m a regular Amtrak rider on the Pacific Surfliners between San Diego, Los Angeles & Oxnard, CA. I rode on Amtrak a total of 57 times since 1/31/1974 to the present. I rode on the Crescent from New Orleans on 9/19-20,2012 from New Orleans to Wilmington, DE. I enjoyed the ride very much. Train travel is my number 1 choice of travel when I travel long distance, & when I’m home in the San Diego area.
New Orleans is called the Crescent City, due to a bend the Mississippi.
Damn a new amazing channel found. Can’t believe I’ve never heard of this. Time to binge!
I was a fireman on the Southern Crescent, Train #1 and #2, from Meridian, Ms., to New Orleans, La, in the 70’s before AMTRAC took over passenger trains. You could set your watch by the Crescent when Southern ran it, always on time. I have a set of highball glasses from the lounge car, never been used, with the E8 engines on the side and gold rim.
why did the bushwhackers in the few years preceding the civil war hate the trains so much? did they hate that it made it easier for carpetbagging yankees to do business in their towns?
Whoo! I loved the props and aesthetic!
When I did my own research, I also found out the Santa Fe considered keeping it's own trains too. From what someone who worked for the railroad said, their accounting department made them join Amtrak. The Rock Island was also an interesting mess. Can't wait to see how you cover it. People get pissy about them.
Seaboard Coast Line, like Santa Fe, also considered staying out of Amtrak. But the cost to buy new passenger cars and locomotives sealed the deal to join Amtrak.
Yay you got your voice back🙂
Hi all, the maps that I showed in the video are uploaded here: www.patreon.com/posts/58352780
Also I don't want to get the hopes of Rock Island fans up, it's not in this series since it's final trains were a state subsidized super-commuter service.
Although a later train is also sort of state subsidized so maybe I should have. Perhaps an epilogue video may exist that touches the random trains floating around that didn't make the series.
2 f40ph
Mhc
Baggage
Baggage
Crew sleeper
10/6 sleeper
10/6 sleeper
Diner
Lounge
Coach
Coach
Coach
Coach
Coach
Mhc
Mhc
This the crescent that I miss from 95/96
I bought one of the old SR sleeper cars from Amtrak, SR 2023 Warrior River, in 1982. If you ask me, I stole it, too! Operated it on Amtrak for many years before replacing it with ATSF Vista Canyon.
The Crescent was one of the last passenger trains with real dish’s and silverware. The sleeping quarters and dining cars were the best. It came through Greensboro in the night. It was powered by E8 locomotives, built by EMD.
The last privately owned intercity train was the Denver Zephyr which was discontinued in 1983. It was a great train. beautiful in fact.
Rode the Southern's version to Charlottesville, VA. twice - 1973 and '74. What a fine train and what a memory.
Stopped at Charlottesville in the dead of night. That big rail station had not changed since the 40s. Echoes all over the place inside. It sat at a junction - C & O/ SR. Freights sped past us through the night. Their cab crew always waved at us.
The lead engine was green. It's three trailing units were still painted in standard SR black, white with gold striping. No doubt, it was superior to the motley, wobbling Amtrak trains of that era. Was a 15- car consist - a big passenger train.
I know that the Central of Georgia was purchased by Southern Railways in 1963, and was subsequentially purchased by Norfolk Southern in 1982. The Central of Georgia was made up of several old roads at the turn of the century, like the Savannah & Atlanta and the Western and Atlantic railroads (think the great locomotive chase between the Texas and General engines that belonged to the Confederacy during the Civil War). I have a 12 inch section of Central of Georgia mainline rail (120 lb.) I use as an anvil. Cheers - TN
I model the Central of Georgia in HO gauge 'cause I used to live in Jonesboro, GA, and my wife even remembers riding on the famous "Nancy Hanks II" and the "Man O War". I've got several Southern Crescent Limited coaches that I pull with the famous #4501 Southern Crescent Limited which is the last of the MS class Mikados (2-8-2). The #4501 has been repainted black and is located at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. I've been there several times before the restoration of the 4501 and can't wait to get back there to take a ride on the 4501. I've seen a photo of Johnny Cash waving out the window of the 4501 on the engineers side. Cheers from eastern TN
Rode the Crescent under Southern twice, Hattiesburg to DC in a sleeper, great diner, and NYC to Alexandria, VA, a shortie! Miss the train. Great video!
Nicely presented story on the fate of the Southern Crescent. Thanks for sharing! I bet the Rock Island Lines with be next in the "Last Train in America" series.
Last one will be the RGZ.
I rode it in late March of 1979, from Atlanta to Baltimore, and then, a few days later, from Baltimore to Atlanta. On the initial trip, it was Southern Railway. On the return trip, it was Amtrak.
The Southern Serves the South
The Birmingham Special being one engine and car in a freight train has evil energy
Getting some railfan x gothic novel vibes from this and it slaps
All I know is that there will be trains and I love that
I love trains! Especially when a beautiful and elegant lady from the 19th century explains them to me! ❤️
Welcome back! Cool concept & aesthetic
Very well done video! Although this series focuses on some of the last long distance passenger trains in the U.S. past Amtrak, I'm more of a fan of smaller passenger services such as the Asheville Special with short consists. One should never forget the smaller commuter and branch line services of a railroad which connect the small towns of the U.S. with the main lines of famous class Is. Fun Fact: the last scheduled passenger train to run in the U.S. which was not owned by Amtrak was Soo Line mixed freight service in 1987 for 2 AM caboose runs with a capacity of only one person. Will you be covering this unique Soo Line "mixed train" service as well?
the very last private streamliner in the country was the rio Grande zephyr which finally ended operations in 1983
1979 was the year Amtrak picked up the Southern Crescent, dropped 6 other trains that October, then began Ogden-Las Vegas-Los Angeles service akin to the Salt Lake City-Seattle Pioneer, the Desert Wind.
omgg going so hard with ur return. love this!!
My dad was SR conductor in the summer to get a break from freight trains he would take crew work on passenger trains usually about 2 weeks, while the old guys took off sometime he took me might have been 6 or 7 old had run of train even loco once, put me on in Rome Ga, remember it like yesterday, I’m now 70 years, he ran Atl to Chattanooga gotta go now a little terry.
You missed one Rock Island Railroad operated the twin cities rocket and the Peoria rocket. They should be first
Hoping to encounter a true collector of Southern Crescent memorabilia. I have one of the best original paintings ever done (by a listed artist) depicting this classic green and gold beauty "coming around the bend", back from the days it was active and operating. In fact this large painting was actually displayed prominently in one of the observation cars for many years. Any serious train enthusiasts out there?
Southern, Rio Grande and Rock Island stayed out of Amtrak.
it's almost as if there is something worng with your mouth or something else with the ways you talk - as if something is making it hard for you to talk or even breathe. it is a bit hard to hear you and also to understand you. I came here wanting to know why some southerner absolutely hated the trains - was it because of imminent domain, did it interfere with cattle grazing, did it spread diseases by allowing sick people from the coasts to spread contagions in the middle and upper south?
I have six gold rimmed bourbon glasses with the crescent passenger train logo on them. Brand new, still in the box, never been used.
A female railfan. How rare.
I don't understand amtrak , they have 5 east coast true long distance trains the lakeshore , silver meteor , silver star , the crescent , and the cardinal , a few years ago amtrak took delivery of 25 new viewliner dining cars and a few more sleeping cars the next thing you know they came out with some bull about how people didn't want to eat together anymore and stopped serving pretty good food and started serving air line type food even removed the dinning car from the crescent which was one of the highlights of its long run from ny and nola then changed the schedule to what seems like a local north of wdc , I don't know about anyone else but that doesn't look like they're trying to improve east coast long distance service to me
Mostly accurate. It even says it in a newspaper clipping shown briefly, that Mr. Claytor (and he was ALWAYS Mr. Claytor to those of us who worked on Amtrak) was President Carter's Secretary of the Navy (having been a Naval Captain in WWII), not Sec. of Transportation. He went on to become President of Amtrak in the early 1980s and is credited with helping save Amtrak from Ronald Reagan's budget ax in the mid-1980s. He retired as Amtrak President in 1993 and died of brain cancer in 1994. Besides that, he is best known for starting the Southern Ry. steam excursion program that was continued into the 1990s by his brother Robert Claytor, as chairman of the merged Norfolk Southern Ry. Both of them were qualified locomotive engineers who could sometimes be found at the throttle of one of their excursion locomotives.
W Graham Claytor Jr did start the Southern Steam Program
trains are good, yes.
Wrong title for sure.
let's fucking gooooooooooo
Fucking finally
Horrible.
Last privately owned U.S. passenger train, the Rio Grande Zephyr, joined Amtrak mid 1983. The Crescent gave up in 1979.
nice video.
Thumbs up.
Can't wait for the next one!!
Legendary vid!!!
Facts, not much in way of images. Like a college lecture.
As amtrak continues to decline, this I hope is the end of it. Passenger travel is a thing of the past. The tax payers will love it.