The ''Ponce de Leon'' was a named train of the Southern Railway which ran from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, to

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, from 1924 to the mid-1960s.

Operations

The ''Ponce de Leon'' (Train #4) departed Jacksonville at midday going north via subsidiary Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad to Macon and

Atlanta, Georgia 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 ...

, then on Southern's former

East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad (ETV&G) was a rail transport system that operated in the southeastern United States during the late 19th century. Created with the consolidation of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad and the ...

line to

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, traveling overnight to Cincinnati via Southern subsidiary

Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (abbreviated: CNO&TP; ) is a railroad that owns the Cincinnati Southern Railway from Cincinnati, Ohio, south to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and leases it to the Norfolk Southern Railway system. T ...

. The train provided connections with the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

at Cincinnati for passengers headed to Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo. The ''Royal Palm'' alternated with the ''Ponce de Leon'' on a reverse schedule between Cincinnati and Jacksonville, operating during daylight hours south from Cincinnati and then overnight between Atlanta and Jacksonville. In the latter city there were connections with

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...

for an east coast trip to Miami, and

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

trains to Miami on an interior route to Tampa. Sleepers were discontinued on the train in November 1959 and it ran as a coach-only consist until the end of operation. In 1964, Southern Railway dropped the Atlanta - Jacksonville leg of the ''Ponce's'' operation. By the time Southern Railway filed to discontinue the train on January 22, 1968 it was unnamed, operating as Numbers 1 and 2, but only between Cincinnati and Atlanta. The train finally disappeared from the timetable in March 1968.

Train accident

The ''Ponce de Leon'' and ''Royal Palm'' collided on December 23, 1926 in

Rockmart, Georgia Rockmart is a town in Polk County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 4,732 at the 2020 census. It developed as a railroad depot town when the Southern Railway built a station in the area. The community was incorporated in 1872, and ...

. The northbound ''Ponce de Leon'' struck the ''Royal Palm'' with the result that 19 people were killed and 113 were injured, most on the ''Ponce de Leon''. The accident was also the subject of a song: "The Wreck of the Royal Palm" by

Vernon Dalhart Marion Try Slaughter (April 6, 1883 – September 14, 1948), better known by his stage name Vernon Dalhart, was an American country music singer and songwriter. His recording of the classic ballad " Wreck of the Old 97" was the first country son ...

References

Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Southern Railway (U.S.) Passenger rail transportation in Florida Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state) Passenger rail transportation in Kentucky Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Passenger rail transportation in Tennessee Railway services introduced in 1924 Railway services discontinued in 1967 {{US-train-stub

Operations

Train accident

See also

References