Tennessean (train)

American intercity passenger train

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Tennessean

Overview
Service type| Inter-city rail
Status| Discontinued
Locale| Southeastern United States
First service| May 17, 1941
Last service| March 30, 1968
Former operator(s)| Southern Railway via Norfolk and Western Railway
Route
Termini| Washington, DC
Memphis, Tennessee
Distance travelled| 1,155.1 miles (1,859.0 km)
Average journey time| 23 hours, 50 minutes
Service frequency| Daily
Train number(s)| 45 (southbound), 46 (northbound)
On-board services
Class(es)| Deluxe Coach Train, Through Sleeper service available
Seating arrangements| Reclining seat coach, Tavern-lounge coach
Sleeping arrangements| Open sections, roomettes, double bedrooms and compartments
Catering facilities| Onboard dining car
Entertainment facilities| Radio
Technical
Rolling stock| Air conditioned cars built by the Pullman Company
Track owner(s)| Southern Railway
| Route map

Legend

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| 0 mi

0 km

Washington, D.C.
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|  |

| DC

border

|  |

| 8 mi

13 km

Alexandria
|  |

| 112 mi

180 km

Charlottesville
|  |

| 173 mi

278 km

Lynchburg
|  |

| 225 mi

362 km

Roanoke
|  |

| 258 mi

415 km

Christiansburg
|  |

| 376 mi

605 km

Bristol
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|  |

| VA

border

|  |

| 401 mi

645 km

Johnson City
|  |

| 433 mi

697 km

Greeneville
|  |

| 465 mi

748 km

Morristown
|  |

| 507 mi

816 km

Knoxville
|  |

| 589 mi

948 km

Cleveland
|  |

| 618 mi

995 km

Chattanooga
|  |

|  |

| TN

border

|  |

| 715 mi

1151 km

Huntsville
|  |

| 740 mi

1191 km

Decatur
|  |

| 784 mi

1262 km

Sheffield-Tuscumbia
|  |

|  |

| AL

border

|  |

| 835 mi

1344 km

Corinth
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|  |

| MS

border

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| 876 mi

1410 km

Grand Junction
|  |

| 923 mi

1485 km

Buntyn
|  |

| 929 mi

1495 km

Memphis
|  |  |  |  |  |

This diagram:

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The Tennessean was a named passenger train jointly operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) and the Southern Railway (SOU). Inaugurated on May 17, 1941, its route ran from Washington, DC, to Lynchburg, Virginia, on the SOU, then on to Bristol, Virginia, on the N&W, terminating at Memphis Union Station via the SOU. The St. Louis Southwestern Railway inaugurated a new passenger train, the Morning Star from Memphis to Dallas, specifically to provide close connections with the Tennessean at Memphis.

Intended to replace the Memphis Special as the preeminent carrier on the Washington-Memphis run, one of its critical duties was the transportation of mail for the Railway Mail Service division of the Post Office Department. The train's almost immediate success was further bolstered by a sharp rise in passenger traffic during World War II. The Tennessean carried a Bristol-Nashville sleeping car, a Chattanooga-Memphis sleeper, and a New York-Memphis sleeper.[1] The heavyweight Pullman sleeping cars were painted silver to help them blend in with the train's stainless-steel, streamlined baggage cars, dining cars, coaches, and observation cars. Following World War II, streamlined sleeping cars replaced the heavyweight sleepers on the Tennessean.

The amenities provided on the Tennessean were gradually curtailed as Southern Railway attempted to reduce operating losses. By the early 1960s, the train carried only coaches and a single Pullman sleeper, in addition to the railway post office car and express and mail cars. Due to a decline in overall ridership, and Southern Railway's determination to escape the expensive burden of operating Memphis Union Station, the Tennessean was discontinued on March 30, 1968. This discontinuance ended all Southern Railway passenger train service to Memphis, allowing abandonment of Memphis Union Station.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Schafer, Mike; Welsh, Joe (1997). Classic American Streamliners. Osceola, Wisconsin: MotorBooks International. p. 106\. ISBN 978-0-7603-0377-1.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Stout, Greg (2005). Southern Railway Through Passenger Service in Color (1st ed.). Morning Sun Books. ISBN 1-58248-166-0.

## External links

[edit]

* Southern Railway Tennessean
* Memphis Union Station
* December 1952 schedule at Streamliner Schedules

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Named trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway

* Banner Blue
* Birmingham Special
* Blue Bird
* Cavalier
* City of Kansas City
* City of St. Louis
* Pelican
* Pocahontas
* Powhatan Arrow
* Tennessean
* Wabash Cannon Ball

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* e

Named trains of the Southern Railway

* Aiken-Augusta Special
* Airline Belle
* Asheville Special
* Augusta Special
* Birmingham Special
* Carolina Special
* Crescent
* Crescent Limited
* Fast Mail "Old 97"
* Florida Sunbeam
* Goldenrod
* Kansas City-Florida Special
* Land of the Sky Special
* Memphis Special
* New Yorker
* Peach Queen
* Pelican
* Piedmont
* Piedmont Limited
* Ponce de Leon
* Queen and Crescent
* Royal Palm
* Skyland Special
* Southern Crescent
* Southerner
* Sunnyland
* Tennessean

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