The ''Ann Rutledge'' was a

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

service operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

running between

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, 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''.

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 an ...

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

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

'' over the St. Louis–Chicago route. The Alton named the train after Ann Rutledge, a woman from New Salem, Illinois, who may have been the first love of

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. The ''Ann Rutledge'' used the ''Lincolns original lightweight equipment set, while the ''Lincoln'' received a matching set originally used by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's (B&O) ''

Royal Blue Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by a consortium of mills in Rode, Wiltshire (in Somerset as of 1937), which won a competition to make a robe for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. I ...

''. The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (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 car (rail), 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 Budd Metroliner, Me ...

-equipped train on the St. Louis-Chicago route, replacing a '' Turboliner'' frequency. The revival proved short-lived: on October 31 Amtrak extended the Laredo- St. Louis '' 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''. On October 30, 2006, the Chicago-St. Louis '' State House'' was replaced with the '' Lincoln Service'', 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 '' Missouri River Runner''. In May 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