The Palmetto was a night train between

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

and two different Georgia destinations, Augusta and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. It was operated by the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

, with the cooperation of the

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad co ...

and the

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 ...

. During its final year it was operated by the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

(the post-merger successor of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad).

Train origins

The train began in 1944. It had its origins in the ACL's ''Palmetto Limited'' (initiated in 1910). In addition to its main terminal points in Augusta and Savannah, the ''Palmetto'' had a branch that went to

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

. At

Augusta Union Station Augusta Union Station was a train depot in Augusta, Georgia at 525 8th Street, serving trains from its opening in 1903 to its closing in 1968. The Spanish Renaissance styled building was in central Augusta at Barrett Square, five blocks from th ...

the train had a connection to

Georgia Railroad Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of peo ...

's train from Augusta to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Decline

In the 1960s the ACL and SCL cut some of the ''Palmetto''s services. By 1963 the ACL trimmed its south of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

meal services to a cafe-lounge between

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and Augusta, leaving the Savannah and Wilmington branches without food catering. By 1965, the Savannah branch was dropped and Wilmington-bound riders had to change to another train at Rocky Mount. Between December 1967 and 1968, the train was dropped from the SCL's timetables. Its Wilmington branch was the last train to serve Wilmington and its Union Station.Seaboard Coast Line timetable, December 13, 1968 In 1976,

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 ...

resurrected the name for a New York–Florida train; that train's route was shortened to end at Savannah in 2004.

References

{{SCL named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger rail transportation in Delaware Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state) Passenger rail transportation in Maryland Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transportation in North Carolina Passenger rail transportation in South Carolina Passenger trains of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Passenger trains of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Railway services introduced in 1944 Railway services discontinued in 1968