I'm posting in a new thread so as not to again hijack GP-35's thread on what KCS can and cannot do in regards to where Amtrak makes a passenger stop.
The coaches used on the 'Piedmont' (trains 73 and 74) between Raleigh and Charlotte where built new for the Kansas City Southern in, I believe, 1965. They logged maybe three years service for their original owner. They spent some time after that in commuter service for the Chicago and Northwestern but went into storage again when Metra began purchasing bi-level coaches for Chicago area commuters.
The KCS coaches are the traditional 50'/60's style coaches with HUGE windows and they provide a tremendous ride. In fact, with their mid-1990's refurbishing by the North Carolina DOT, they are probably a little more posh than they ever were before. They are owned by the NCDOT and, at this point, are used exclusively on trains 73 and 74. That's because when the NCDOT first approached Amtrak about a second daily Charlotte-Raleigh train Amtrak said they could do so only if NCDOT provided the consist. The barely used 25 year old KCS coaches were the best value in secondhand rail passenger equipment at the time. Typical consist is a locomotive, a lounge car, and two or three coaches.
The website www.bytrain.org is a good source for information on rail travel within North Carolina. As the 'Piedmont' doesn't exactly connect very well you're looking at either an overnight stay in North Carolina or waiting half the night in the Greensboro station for the northbound 'Crecent' back to DC in order to ride it.
I'd suggest that you would be interested in taking the train to Salisbury, NC and catching the weekdays only city bus out to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in nearby Spencer......once the site of Southern Railway's largest steam locomotive repair facility.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Allow me to follow suit with this material originally posted at Mr. GP-35's topic.
KCS passenger service was also victim of the TRAINS "hex".
During 1967, TRAINS prepared an article in which a KCS official proudly proclaimed "we have no intention of getting out of the passenger business'.
At the time, especially considering the purchase of the new equipment noted by Mr. Presley, this statement seemed quite believable. KCS had two trains per day over their KC-NO route. While their interior appointments could at best be called 'spartan', they offered dining service (nothing fancy), sleepers, and one train even had round end obs assigned to it. There was not very much in the way of alternate transpoortation along the route. Lastly, they also held a contract with the POD (that was USPS prior to its 1971 creation) to handle First Class mail .
Well, TRAINS moved forth with the production of their article, which was published in the October 1967 issue. At the same time, the POD was moving forth to divert that mail to trucks.
Ironically, my issue of TRAINS showed up the very day that the Wall Street Journal carried an article saying the KCS was throwing in the towel. I could not help but note the quotation mentioned above on TRAINS cover, and the Journal for that day. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Very interesting and thanks for the additional insight Mr. Norman. I would have liked the opportunity to have ridden the KCS 'Southern Belle' but I was not yet old enough to explore on my own when it expired. (I was fortunate to experience the final remnants of Southern's 'Carolina Special' as well as the four Southern Railway trains which were not conveyed to Amtrak in 1971......but that's another story.)
From what I have read regarding KCS passenger service in the 1960's, the observation cars were second-hand from the New York Central and they were noted for their innovative 'lunch counter' meal service. They were able to provide hot meals at lower prices and with a smaller crew than the more costly full dining cars. Perhaps the current generation of Amtrak bean counters would be advised to study the KCS model.....oh, and from photographs it is clear that the KCS had a very attractive color scheme for their passenger trains.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Thanks for the info, Notelvis. Ill try to make it down to NC this summer for a ride on the piedmont!
Posts: 416 | From: St. Albans, Vermont | Registered: Feb 2003
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