Pelican (train)


The Pelican was a named train of the Southern Railway which ran from New York City to New Orleans and back until 1970.

Operations

The Pelican departed New York's Pennsylvania Station going south via the Pennsylvania Railroad to Washington, DC, then on Southern's line to Lynchburg, Virginia, then to Bristol, Virginia via the Norfolk and Western Railroad with a major stop in Roanoke, Virginia and several stops toward Bristol. From Bristol to New Orleans, the Pelican ran on Southern's line with major station stops in Knoxville, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama and Meridian, Mississippi. South of Birmingham it made more local stops than other Southern Railway trains on the Birmingham-New Orleans route, such as the Southerner.
Train Number 42, the northbound The Pelican reversed the route.
In 1957, The Pelican carried:
Into the 1950s, the train carried through sleeping cars which would split from the main route at Meridian and continue on the Illinois Central Railroad's Southwestern Limited'' into central Mississippi and central Louisiana to Shreveport, Louisiana. Timetables referred to section, compartment and drawing room accommodations carrying from New York to Shreveport

History

With passenger traffic declining, the Pelican was combined with the Birmingham Special in 1970.