Spirit of St. Louis (train)

Passenger train operated by Penn Central and Amtrak

Spirit of St. Louis

The Spirit of St. Louis at Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1970

Overview
Service type| Inter-city rail
Status| Discontinued
Locale| Eastern United States
Predecessor| New Yorker (eastbound)
St. Louisian (westbound)
First service| June 15, 1927
Last service| July 1971
Successor| National Limited
Former operator(s)| Pennsylvania Railroad (1927–1968)
Penn Central (1968–1971)
Amtrak (1971)
Route
Termini| New York City
St. Louis, Missouri
Distance travelled| 1,050.6 miles (1,690.8 km)
Service frequency| Daily
Train number(s)| 30 (St. Louis to New York)
31 (New York to St. Louis)
Line(s) used| Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad)
On-board services
Seating arrangements| Reclining seat coaches
Sleeping arrangements| Roomettes, double bedrooms (1964)
Catering facilities| Dining car
Observation facilities| Lounge car
Technical
Timetable number(s)| 30 (eastbound); 31 (westbound)
| Route map

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Legend

|  |  |

|  | St. Louis

|
|
|
|

|  |

|  |

| Missouri

Illinois

|  |

|  | East St. Louis
|  |

|  | Effingham
|  |

|  |

| Illinois

Indiana

|  |

|  | Terre Haute
|  |

|  | Indianapolis
|  |

|  | Richmond
|  |

|  |

| Indiana

Ohio

|  |

|  | Dayton
|  |

|  | Columbus
|  |

|  | Newark
|  |

|  |

| Ohio

Pennsylvania

|  |

|  | Pittsburgh
|  |

|  | Altoona
|  |

|  | Harrisburg
|  |

|  | Lancaster
|  |

|  | Paoli
|  |

|  | North Philadelphia
|  |

|  |

| Pennsylvania

New Jersey

|  |

|  | Newark
|  |

|  |

| New Jersey

New York

|  |

|  | New York
|  |  |  |  |  |

The Spirit of St. Louis was a named passenger train on the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successors Penn Central and Amtrak between New York and St. Louis, Missouri. The Pennsylvania introduced the Spirit of St. Louis on June 15, 1927, replacing the New Yorker (eastbound) and St. Louisian (westbound); that September, its running time was 24 hours and 50 minutes each way.

The name honored the airplane Spirit of St. Louis, flown the month before by Charles Lindbergh from New York to Paris.[1] The train competed with the New York Central's Southwestern Limited and the Baltimore & Ohio's National Limited, both of which connected St. Louis to the New York area.

Amtrak took over the Spirit of St. Louis in 1971, renaming it National Limited after the B&O train that the new company decided to cancel.[2]. Amtrak extended the train's service to Kansas City, Missouri, along the Missouri Pacific Railroad main line, and added a branch from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C., via York, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Schafer & Solomon 1997, p. 75
2. ^ Sanders 2003, p. 118

## Further reading

[edit]

* Sanders, Craig (2003). Limiteds, Locals, and Expresses in Indiana, 1838–1971. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34216-4.
* Sanders, Craig (2008). Mattoon and Charleston Area Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5228-6.
* Schafer, Mike; Solomon, Brian (1997). Pennsylvania Railroad. Osceola, WI: MotorBooks International. ISBN 978-0-7603-0379-5. OCLC 36676055.
* Schwieterman, Joseph P. (2001). When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment, Eastern United States. Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University Press. ISBN 978-0-943549-97-2.
* Welsh, Joe (2006). Pennsylvania Railroad's Broadway Limited. Saint Paul, MN: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2302-1. OL 8011594M.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Spirit of St. Louis (train) at Wikimedia Commons

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Named trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad

Named trains|

* Admiral
* Advance General
* Aiken-Augusta Special
* Akronite
* American
* Afternoon Steeler
* Birmingham Special
* Broadway Limited
* Buckeye
* Buffalo Day Express
* Bullet
* Cavalier
* Cincinnati Limited
* Clevelander
* Colonial
* Del-Mar-Va Express
* Dominion Express
* Duquesne
* East Wind
* Federal
* Florida Arrow
* General
* Indianapolis Limited
* Jeffersonian
* Juniata
* Kentuckian
* Keystone
* Liberty Limited
* Manhattan Limited
* Metropolitan
* Northern Express / Southern Express
* Morning Steeler
* Northern Arrow
* Patriot
* Penn Texas
* Pennsylvania Limited
* Pittsburgher
* Red Arrow
* Senator
* South Wind
* Southland
* Spirit of St. Louis
* St. Louisan
* Steeler
* Sunshine Special
* Trail Blazer
* Union
* Valpo Local

Rolling stock|

* View series

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Named trains of Penn Central

* Admiral
* Birmingham Special
* Broadway Limited
* Champion
* Cincinnati Limited
* Colonial
* Duquesne
* Federal
* James Whitcomb Riley
* Juniata
* Manhattan Limited
* Merchants Limited
* Patriot
* Pelican
* Penn Texas
* Pennsylvania Limited
* Pilgrim
* Senator
* Silver Meteor
* Silver Star
* South Wind
* Spirit of St. Louis

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Former Amtrak routes

Long
distance|

| West|

* Chief
* City of San Francisco
* Denver Zephyr
* Desert Wind
* El Capitan
* Inter-American
* Lone Star
* North Coast Hiawatha
* Pioneer
* San Francisco Zephyr
* Super Chief
* Texas Chief

|

East|

* Broadway Limited
* Capitol Limited
* Champion
* Floridian
* Hilltopper
* James Whitcomb Riley
* Mountaineer
* National Limited
* Lake Shore
* Panama Limited
* River Cities
* Silver Palm (1996–2002)
* Silver Star
* South Wind
* Spirit of St. Louis
* Three Rivers
* Vacationer (seasonal)

Corridor|

| West|

* Coast Daylight
* Expo '74
* Las Vegas Limited
* Orange County Commuter
* Pacific International
* San Diegan
* Spirit of California
* Willamette Valley

|

Midwest|

* Abraham Lincoln
* Ann Rutledge
* Arrowhead
* Black Hawk
* Blue Ridge
* Calumet
* Campus
* Hoosier State
* Indiana Connection
* International
* Kansas City Mule
* Kentucky Cardinal
* Lake Cities
* Lake Country Limited
* Limited
* Loop
* Michigan Executive
* North Star
* Prairie Marksman
* Shawnee
* St. Louis Mule
* State House
* Turboliner
* Twilight Limited
* Twin Cities Hiawatha

East|

* George Washington
* Gulf Breeze
* Gulf Coast Limited
* Montrealer
* Shenandoah
* Silver Palm (1982–1985)
* West Virginian

| Northeast Corridor|

* Atlantic City Express
* Bankers
* Beacon Hill
* Cape Codder (seasonal)
* Chesapeake
* Clamdigger
* Clocker
* Colonial
* Connecticut Yankee
* Fast Mail
* Merchants Limited
* Metroliner
* Night Owl
* Twilight Shoreliner

|

Empire Corridor|

* Empire State Express
* Niagara Rainbow

Keystone Corridor|

* Atlantic City Express
* Fort Pitt

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