Wikipedia

Panama Limited

ThePanama Limitedwas apassenger trainoperated from 1911 to 1971 betweenChicago, Illinois,andNew Orleans, Louisiana.The flagship train of theIllinois Central Railroad,it took its name from thePanama Canal,which in 1911 was three years from completion. For most of its career, the train was "all-Pullman",carryingsleeping carsonly. ThePanama Limitedwas one of many trains discontinued whenAmtrakbegan operations in 1971, though Amtrak revived the name later that year and continued it until 1981.

Panama Limited
Postcard depiction of the train,c. 1917.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
Statusdiscontinued
LocaleCentral United States
First serviceFebruary 4, 1911 (IC)
November 14, 1971 (Amtrak)
Last serviceApril 30, 1971 (IC)
February 1, 1981 (Amtrak)
SuccessorCity of New Orleans
Former operator(s)Illinois Central Railroad(1911–1971)
Amtrak(1971–1981)
Route
Termini
Stops
  • 19 (Chicago - New Orleans)
  • 20 (New Orleans - Chicago)
  • 17 (St. Louis - New Orleans)
Average journey time
  • 16 hours 30 minutes (Chicago - New Orleans)
  • 14 hours 15 minutes (St. Louis - New Orleans)
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)
  • 5 (Chicago - New Orleans)
  • 6 (New Orleans - Chicago)
  • 105-5 (St. Louis - New Orleans)
  • 6-16 (New Orleans - St. Louis)
On-board services
Seating arrangementsNo coaches
Sleeping arrangementsSections,roomettes,double bedrooms, drawing room, compartment
Catering facilitiesDining car
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm(4 ft8+1⁄2in)
Operating speed
  • 55.8 mph (Chicago - New Orleans)
  • 49.8 mph (St. Louis - New Orleans)
  • 48.1 mph (New Orleans - St. Louis)
Track owner(s)Illinois Central Railroad

Since 1981, overnight service between Chicago and New Orleans is provided by Amtrak'sCity of New Orleans,another former Illinois Central train that before Amtrak was the daytime counterpart of thePanama Limited.

History

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Interior of the club car on thePanama Limited,c. 1917.

In the early 1900s, the Illinois Central's premier train on the Chicago-New Orleans route was theChicago and New Orleans Limited.On February4, 1911, the Illinois Central renamed this train thePanama Limited,in honor of the anticipated opening of thePanama Canal.The train included aSt. Louis, Missouri,section that connected atCarbondale, Illinois.The train was first-class only north ofMemphis, Tennessee.It carriedthrough sleepersforHot Springs, Arkansas,andSan Antonio, Texas.It made the journey in 25 hours.[1]

In 1912, the train was replaced with an all-steel, all-electric consist. The Illinois Central relaunched the train on November15, 1916, with new equipment and a new schedule: 23 hours from Chicago to New Orleans, all-Pullman. Its old equipment and schedule became a new train, theLouisiane.[2]

TheGreat Depressionled the Illinois Central to discontinue the luxuriousPanama Limitedbetween May28, 1932, and December2, 1934. When it returned, it had new air-conditioned equipment and a faster, 20-hour schedule between Chicago and New Orleans.[3][4]

Streamliner

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The streamlinedPanama Limited,c. 1940s or 1950s

ThePanama Limitedwas dieselized andstreamlinedin 1942, duringWorld War II.The Illinois Central had ordered two lightweight sets of equipment before theattack on Pearl Harbor;after an appeal, theWar Production Boardallowed their delivery. The first diesel/electric-powered streamlined run of thePanama Limitedwas on May3, 1942, on an 18-hour schedule.[5][6]On hand for the first run was Janie Jones, the widow of famed engineerCasey Jones.[7]ThePanama Limitedcarried a new orange-and-brown paint scheme that later became standard on Illinois Central passenger trains.[8]Today,Metra,Chicago's commuter rail system, honors this scheme by identifying theMetra Electric District,the Illinois Central's former commuter service to the southern suburbs, as "Panama Orange" on system maps and timetables.

For the duration of WWII, the Illinois Central dropped the extra fare. In June 1946, the schedule dropped to 17hours. Later, the extra fare was reinstated, and the schedule was reduced to 16hours, 30minutes. In 1947, the Illinois Central introduced theCity of New Orleansas a daytime, all-coach companion to thePanama Limitedalong the same route. This created the longest daylight run in the United States.

ThePanama Limitedmaintained a high level of service for most of its existence. It was noted for its dining car service, with a first-rate culinary staff andcreolefare in theVieux Carre-themed dining cars, a service which the Illinois Central marketed heavily. A well-known multi-course meal on thePanama Limitedwas the Kings Dinner, for about $10; other deluxe, complete meals such as steak or lobster, including wine or cocktail, were priced around $4 to $5. In 1952, the Illinois Central acquired several 2-unit 175-foot (53 m) dining cars from theChesapeake and Ohio Railwaywhich it used on thePanama.With the Pennsylvania'sBroadway Limitedit was one of the last two "all-Pullman" trains in the United States.

On October29, 1967, the Illinois Central added coaches to thePanama Limitedfor the first time in half a century, although it attempted to save face by designating the coaches theMagnolia Star.The Illinois Central dropped this separate designation on December13, 1968. The Illinois Central petitioned theInterstate Commerce Commissionto end the train altogether on November23, 1970, but the ICC deferred the request with Amtrak due to launch the following spring.[9]

The interior of the Panama Limited in 1964

Amtrak service

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The Illinois Central Railroad last ran thePanama Limitedon April30, 1971. On May1,Amtraktook over, dropping thePanama Limitedin favor of its former daytime counterpart, theCity of New Orleans.This train made no connections in either New Orleans or Chicago, so Amtrak moved the train to an overnight schedule on November14, 1971, and revived thePanama Limitedname.[10]

Amtrak restored theCity of New Orleansname, while retaining the overnight schedule, on February1, 1981. Amtrak hoped to capitalize on the popularity of the eponymoussongwritten bySteve Goodmanand recorded in 1972 byArlo Guthrie.[11]

The Panama Limited in song

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In 1923Esther Bigeourecorded as song she is credited as composing, "The Panama Limited Blues".

A different song of the same name was composed byRichard M. Jones.Jones recorded his "Panama Limited Blues" with singerBertha "Chippie" Hillin 1926. The same year it was covered byAda Brown.It was later covered byGeorgia Whitein 1940.

Another blues song "The Panama Limited" is credited toblues singerBukka White,who recorded it in the 1930.[12]"The Panama Limited" was popularized byfolk singerTom Rushon his self-titled debut album in 1965[13]and was recorded later by folk musiciansMike CrossandDoug MacLeod.[14]

A British band of the late 1960s and early 1970s called itself Panama Limited Jug Band, later shortened to Panama Limited.

The song "Railroad Lady" was said to have been written by Jerry Jeff Walker and Jimmy Buffett on the final run of the Panama Limited, from New Orleans to Nashville.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Dubin 1963,pp. 18–19
  2. ^Dubin 1963,p. 22
  3. ^Dubin 1963,p. 22
  4. ^Sanders 2008,p. 48
  5. ^Schafer & Welsh 1997,p. 114
  6. ^Dubin 1963,p. 26
  7. ^Downey 2007,p. 31
  8. ^Wegman 2008,p. 103
  9. ^Sanders 2006,p. 93
  10. ^Sanders 2006,p. 94
  11. ^Sanders 2006,p. 96
  12. ^Ward, Thomas."Bukka White:The Panama Limited".Allmusic.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
  13. ^Eder, Bruce."Tom Rush:Tom Rush".Allmusic.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.
  14. ^"The Panama Limited".Allmusic.Archived fromthe originalon April 17, 2012.RetrievedNovember 6,2011.

References

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