The Abraham Lincoln was a named passenger train operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1935 into the 1960s. The Abe Lincoln ran between Chicago and St. Louis on the B&O's subsidiary Alton Railroad. The train later passed to the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and then finally to Amtrak, which retained the name until 1978. Service between Chicago and St. Louis is now known by the umbrella term Lincoln Service. This train was the first streamlined passenger service to travel the 284 miles between Chicago and St. Louis, with Joliet, Bloomington-Normal, Springfield and Alton in between. Passengers can get a glimpse of the Mississippi River between Alton and St. Louis.
The original streamlined Abe Lincoln was one of two non-articulated, streamlined trains built with government assisted funding in 1935. The locomotive, B&O No. 50, was powered by an 1800-hp box-cab diesel made by EMC. After delivery, No. 50 was retrofitted with a quasi-streamlined, sloped front end. The Abraham Lincoln continued to operate following the Alton Railroad's merger with the GM&O in 1947, and one of the streamliner trainsets survived into the 1960s.[1]: 19–20 [2]: 58–59
Amtrakedit
The Abraham Lincoln at Lincoln in 1972
Following its takeover of most passenger rail service in the United States on May 1, 1971, Amtrak retained the Abraham Lincoln as a daily Chicago–St. Louis service, operating in tandem with the GM&O's old Limited. In November of that year Amtrak extended both the Abraham Lincoln and the Limited (now known as the Prairie State) through Chicago to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In October 1973, Amtrak replaced the rolling stock with the new French-built Turboliner; as part of this change the trains were re-branded as Turboliners and truncated to Chicago. In February 1976 Amtrak returned conventional rolling stock to the route and revived the Abraham Lincoln name along with the Ann Rutledge. Amtrak added the State House to the Chicago–St. Louis corridor in 1977. Also in 1977, Amtrak extended the Abraham Lincoln to Kansas City and renamed it the Ann Rutledge — a name that had briefly disappeared from the timetable in 1976–77 when Amtrak extended the Inter-American to Chicago. Today service between Chicago and St. Louis is handled by the Lincoln Service.[3]: 75–76
American Car and Foundry (ACF) constructed two lightweight trainsets for the B&O, one for the Abraham Lincoln and one for the Royal Blue, which ran between New York City and Washington, D. C. Each trainset consisted of eight cars: a baggage/mail car, three coaches, a lunch counter/diner, two parlor cars, and a parlor-observation car.[1]: 19 The B&O rebuilt both baggage/mail cars in 1936: the Abraham Lincolns became a baggage/buffet car with seating for 24, while the Royal Blue's became a baggage/chair car with seating for 44.
On July 26, 1937, the Abraham Lincoln received the Royal Blue's equipment, while the Abraham Lincoln's original equipment was assigned to the Ann Rutledge. This consist included a 60-seat chair car (#5806) that the B&O had built in its own shops in 1936. Both of the consists had the first 64-seat chair car rebuilt into a buffet-lounge, while the lunch counter/diners became full dining cars.[4]: 50–51
The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio ordered additional chair and parlor cars from ACF in 1947 but otherwise made few changes to the trains' equipment. The new cars seated 68 and 31, respectively.[4]: 93
^Goldberg, Bruce (1981). Amtrak--the first decade. Silver Spring, MD: Alan Books. OCLC 7925036.
^ abcWayner, Robert J., ed. (1972). Car Names, Numbers and Consists. New York: Wayner Publications. OCLC 8848690.
External linksedit
Media related to Abraham Lincoln (train) at Wikimedia Commons
November 23, 2023
abraham, lincoln, train, confused, with, abraham, lincoln, pullman, abraham, lincoln, named, passenger, train, operated, baltimore, ohio, railroad, from, 1935, into, 1960s, lincoln, between, chicago, louis, subsidiary, alton, railroad, train, later, passed, gu. Not to be confused with Abraham Lincoln Pullman car The Abraham Lincoln was a named passenger train operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1935 into the 1960s The Abe Lincoln ran between Chicago and St Louis on the B amp O s subsidiary Alton Railroad The train later passed to the Gulf Mobile and Ohio Railroad and then finally to Amtrak which retained the name until 1978 Service between Chicago and St Louis is now known by the umbrella term Lincoln Service This train was the first streamlined passenger service to travel the 284 miles between Chicago and St Louis with Joliet Bloomington Normal Springfield and Alton in between Passengers can get a glimpse of the Mississippi River between Alton and St Louis Abraham LincolnPostcard depiction of the streamlined train OverviewService typeInter city railStatusDiscontinuedLocaleIllinois and MissouriFirst service1935Last service1977SuccessorState HouseFormer operator s B amp O Alton Railroad 1935 1947 GM amp O 1947 1971 Amtrak 1971 1977 RouteTerminiChicago IllinoisSt Louis MissouriDistance travelled284 mi 457 km Amtrak TechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm Route mapLegend0 mi Chicago37 mi60 km Joliet124 km77 mi Normal185 mi298 km Springfield257 mi414 km AltonILMO Mississippi River284 mi457 km St Louis Union StationThe route after its revival in 1976 This diagram viewtalkedit Contents 1 Pre Amtrak 2 Amtrak 3 Equipment 4 Stations 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPre Amtrak editThe original streamlined Abe Lincoln was one of two non articulated streamlined trains built with government assisted funding in 1935 The locomotive B amp O No 50 was powered by an 1800 hp box cab diesel made by EMC After delivery No 50 was retrofitted with a quasi streamlined sloped front end The Abraham Lincoln continued to operate following the Alton Railroad s merger with the GM amp O in 1947 and one of the streamliner trainsets survived into the 1960s 1 19 20 2 58 59 Amtrak edit nbsp The Abraham Lincoln at Lincoln in 1972Following its takeover of most passenger rail service in the United States on May 1 1971 Amtrak retained the Abraham Lincoln as a daily Chicago St Louis service operating in tandem with the GM amp O s old Limited In November of that year Amtrak extended both the Abraham Lincoln and the Limited now known as the Prairie State through Chicago to Milwaukee Wisconsin In October 1973 Amtrak replaced the rolling stock with the new French built Turboliner as part of this change the trains were re branded as Turboliners and truncated to Chicago In February 1976 Amtrak returned conventional rolling stock to the route and revived the Abraham Lincoln name along with the Ann Rutledge Amtrak added the State House to the Chicago St Louis corridor in 1977 Also in 1977 Amtrak extended the Abraham Lincoln to Kansas City and renamed it the Ann Rutledge a name that had briefly disappeared from the timetable in 1976 77 when Amtrak extended the Inter American to Chicago Today service between Chicago and St Louis is handled by the Lincoln Service 3 75 76 Equipment edit nbsp Gulf Mobile and Ohio s Abraham Lincoln ca 1970Sample consistOriginal 1935 consist 5751 baggage mail car 5803 chair car 64 seats 5804 chair car 64 seats 5805 chair car 64 seats 5701 lunch counter diner 5932 parlor car 24 seats 5933 parlor car 24 seats 5999 parlor observation car 4 50 51 American Car and Foundry ACF constructed two lightweight trainsets for the B amp O one for the Abraham Lincoln and one for the Royal Blue which ran between New York City and Washington D C Each trainset consisted of eight cars a baggage mail car three coaches a lunch counter diner two parlor cars and a parlor observation car 1 19 The B amp O rebuilt both baggage mail cars in 1936 the Abraham Lincolns became a baggage buffet car with seating for 24 while the Royal Blue s became a baggage chair car with seating for 44 On July 26 1937 the Abraham Lincoln received the Royal Blue s equipment while the Abraham Lincoln s original equipment was assigned to the Ann Rutledge This consist included a 60 seat chair car 5806 that the B amp O had built in its own shops in 1936 Both of the consists had the first 64 seat chair car rebuilt into a buffet lounge while the lunch counter diners became full dining cars 4 50 51 The Gulf Mobile and Ohio ordered additional chair and parlor cars from ACF in 1947 but otherwise made few changes to the trains equipment The new cars seated 68 and 31 respectively 4 93 Stations editStation StateGrand Central Station Chicago 1935 1947 Chicago Union Station 1947 1977 IllinoisJolietNormalSpringfieldAltonSt Louis MissouriSee also editAnn Rutledge Lincoln Service Royal BlueReferences edit a b Schafer Mike Welsh Joe 1997 Classic American Streamliners Osceola Wisconsin MotorBooks International ISBN 978 0 7603 0377 1 Schafer Mike 2000 More Classic American Railroads Osceola WI MBI Publishing Co ISBN 978 0 7603 0758 8 OCLC 44089438 Goldberg Bruce 1981 Amtrak the first decade Silver Spring MD Alan Books OCLC 7925036 a b c Wayner Robert J ed 1972 Car Names Numbers and Consists New York Wayner Publications OCLC 8848690 External links edit nbsp Media related to Abraham Lincoln train at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Abraham Lincoln train amp oldid 1159040714, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
