The ''Royal Palm'' was a named train of the Southern Railway that 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 ...

, and then on the

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 ...

's '' East Coast Champion'' to

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. The train was discontinued in 1970.

Operations

The ''Royal Palm'' 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, Cleveland and St. Louis. 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 ...

from Cincinnati provided a connection to Chicago. A through sleeper and coach between Miami and Detroit operated until 1957. The

operated the Jacksonville to Miami section of the route, on the FEC's #5 train south and #6 train north. From Jacksonville to St. Petersburg the

Seaboard Air Line 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 ...

operated that alternate section of the train on the SAL's ''

Silver Meteor The ''Silver Meteor'' is a Long-distance Amtrak routes, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was t ...

.'' The ''Royal Palm'' operated overnight between

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 ...

and Jacksonville and during daylight hours to the north to Cincinnati. The ''

Ponce de Leon Ponce may refer to: *Ponce (surname) *Ponce (streamer) (born 1991), French streamer *Ponce, Puerto Rico, a city in Puerto Rico ** Ponce High School ** Ponce massacre, 1937 * USS ''Ponce'', several ships of the US Navy *Manuel Ponce, a Mexican comp ...

'' alternated with the ''Royal Palm'' on a reverse schedule between Cincinnati and Jacksonville, and the heavyweight companion was actually just as fast as the ''Palm'' during the 1950s and 1960s. The ''Royal Palm'' (Train #3) departed from Cincinnati going south via the

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 ...

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 ...

, then on Southern's former East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia main on to

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 ...

, and

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

, then via the

Georgia Southern & Florida The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway , also known as the ''Suwanee River Route'' from its crossing of the Suwanee River, was founded in 1885 as the Georgia Southern and Florida ''Railroad'' and began operations between Macon, GA and Valdosta ...

to Jacksonville, Florida.

History

Train accident

The ''Ponce de Leon'' and ''Royal Palm'' collided on December 23, 1926, in Rockmart, Georgia. The northbound ''

'' struck the ''Royal Palm'', killing 19 people and injuring 133 others, most on the Ponce de Leon. The collision was the subject of the song "The Wreck of the Royal Palm", which was written by Andrew Jenkins and recorded 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 ...

in 1927.

Post-war winter schedule

In 1949, an order for twelve

EMD E7 The E7 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. 428 cab versions, or E7As, were built from February 1945 to April 1949; 82 booster E7Bs were built from March 1945 t ...

s was delivered to Southern Railway for use on its passenger trains. On December 15, 1949, the New York Central, Southern and Florida East Coast began operation of the streamlined ''New Royal Palm'' winter-only train that replaced the ''Florida Sunbeam'', which had run down Southern's (GS&F) Palatka branch to Hampton, where it connected to the Seaboard to Miami. The ''New Royal Palm'' was a Detroit-Miami

streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor " bullet trains". Less commonly, the term i ...

which carried through-sleepers for Chicago, Cleveland and Buffalo. Each train carried up to 20 cars, including a

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a passenger railroad car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. These cars provide the highest level of service of any rai ...

and tavern-

lounge car A lounge car (sometimes referred to as a buffet lounge, buffet car, club car or grill car) is a type of passenger car on a train, in which riders can purchase food and drinks. The car may feature large windows and comfortable train seats to creat ...

. In the off-season, the equipment was used on the ''Royal Palm'', where it was permanently assigned after the ''New Royal Palm'' ceased to operate in April 1955. Stylish coaches provided by Southern and Florida East Coast featured spacious men's and women's smoking lounges and large color photo murals of Florida scenery on both bulkheads. Both trains carried an elegant Pullman-built split-level observation lounge car (with tall rear windows) for sleeping car passengers until 1957. (Click on Royal Street link below). Coach passengers could socialize and relax in an intimate little bar-lounge next to the diner. Until 1957 African-Americans were carried in the "colored" coach (RP-1), a combination baggage-coach behind the diesels. The dining car was segregated, and the coach-lounge was strictly off-limits to black passengers. The train ceased operating south of Jacksonville in 1958, as reflected in the FEC and Southern timetables that year. The amenities provided on the ''Royal Palm'' were gradually curtailed as Southern Railway attempted to reduce operating losses. The train was discontinued in segments - first between Jacksonville and

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

, in 1966 when the diner and sleeper were dropped - but the ''Palm'' carried its coach-lounge right up to the end of its long career. However, passengers wishing to travel south of Valdosta could switch at Atlanta to take 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 ...

's (and from 1967 to 1969, 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 ...

's) '' Dixie Flyer'' to continue the trip to Jacksonville, as the SCL advertised on its timetable connections to the Southern's #3/#4 (The ''Royal Palm''). Ironically, the ''Royal Palm'' name was kept even though the train no longer served Florida, where

royal palm ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the royal palm, Cuban royal palm, or Florida royal palm, is a species of Arecaceae, palm native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of Central America. A large and attractive palm, it has been plan ...

s thrived on the lower East Coast. In the summer of 1967, the two-car remnant of the once-proud sunliner was discontinued south of Atlanta,''Official Guide of the Railways,'' September 1967, Southern Railway section, Table 5 then the section between Somerset, Kentucky, and Dalton, Georgia, was cut, leaving two disconnected trains, which were finally discontinued in 1970. The Southern Railway did not join Amtrak in 1971, at which time it had only four remaining passenger trains. These were the '' Southern Crescent'', the ''

Piedmont Limited The ''Piedmont Limited'' was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the southern United States. For most of its life it was a New York—New Orleans train, operating over the same route as the more famous '' Crescent L ...

'', and two unnamed runs, one each in North Carolina and Virginia; the latter three were dropped in 1975. The Southern Railway finally ended passenger operations on January 31, 1979, and joined Amtrak, with its only remaining train being the ''Crescent''.

External links

Streamliners to the Palms

Royal Street

* ttp://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track2/newroyalpalm195103.html Timetable and consist of the ''New Royal Palm'', 1951

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Palm (Train) Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Southern Railway (U.S.) Passenger trains of the Florida East Coast Railway Night trains of the United States 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 discontinued in 1970