The ''Aiken-Augusta Special'' was a named night train of the '' Southern Railway'' between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

. Different from other long distance Southern Railway lines which tended to briefly go through the northwestern edge of South Carolina, this route went through the interior of the state. Its route marked the last directly north-south route between

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, and

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, and it marked one of the last long distance trains into

History

The train began as the ''Augusta Special'' on October 24, 1915.American Rails, 'The Augusta Special' https://www.american-rails.com/augusta-special.html Beginning in 1928 the train had a section that split from the main route at

Trenton, South Carolina Trenton is a town in Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 196 at the 2010 census, down from 226 in 2000. History Bettis Academy and Junior College and Marshfield, a historic plantation house with outbuilding and ...

, and went to

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the most populous city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. According to 2020 census, the population was 32,025, making it the 15th-most populous city in South Carolina, and one of the two largest ci ...

, and so the train took the name, ''Aiken-Augusta Special.'' The train was carried over

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

tracks from New York City to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and in an unusual arrangement the coach cars were on a different train (No. 153 the ''Congressional'' southbound; No. 112 unnamed, northbound) from the

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

s between New York and Washington, and upon reaching the latter city the itinerary became merged. With dwindling traffic in the 1950s, the Aiken spur route was eliminated in 1953, and the train reverted to the ''Augusta Special.'' Beginning on June 29, 1956, the ''Augusta Special'' was combined with the ''

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

'' north of Charlotte. In October 1966, the ''Augusta Special'' was cut back from both ends, running only between Warrenville and

Fort Mill Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 24,521. Some businesses and residents in the ...

within South Carolina. That stub train ran until October 14, 1967.

''Asheville Special''

The train had the ''Asheville Special'' (#15 south/#16 north; begun in 1930), which split from the main route in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, (Salisbury until 1949) and continued west from Greensboro, to

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

and then to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. Through sleeping cars ran between New York City and Asheville, but the coaches and diner only ran between Asheville and Greensboro.Southern Railway July 1952 timetable, Table J1 http://streamlinermemories.info/South/SOU52TT.pdf The southbound Asheville sleeper shifted to the '' Southerner'' in 1955, though coach passengers continued to use the ''Augusta Limited''. After the ''Augusta Limited'' was cut in 1966, the ''Asheville Special'' continued to be combined with the ''Southerner'' southbound and the ''Crescent'' northbound. It lost its name on February 1, 1970, and its through sleeper on February 15. On July 22, 1970, it was truncated to a tri-weekly Asheville-Salisbury train, which connected with the ''

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

'' at Salisbury. It was finally discontinued on August 8, 1975.

Major stations

*New York, New York *Newark, New Jersey *North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *Philadelphia *Wilmington, Delaware *Baltimore, Maryland *Washington, D.C. *Charlottesville, Virginia *Lynchburg *Danville *Greensboro, North Carolina *High Point *Concord *Charlotte *Rock Hill, South Carolina *Columbia *Augusta, Georgia

Notes