Prior to the establishment of the Gulf Wind the New Orleans-Florida Express had a counterpart train, the New Orleans-Florida Limited, which left Jacksonville in the morning.[3] For much of the twentieth century, one or two other passenger trains, numbered but unnamed, also plied this route daily; these were much-slower local trains, stopping at each small town along the route, and were labeled simply as "passenger, mail, and express" in timetables. The Express, contrary to its name, made stops at small towns; while the Gulf Wind made fewer stops, mainly in larger towns and cities.[4][5]
With a schedule designed for passengers changing to or from the Seaboard's Silver Meteor at Jacksonville, the Gulf Wind originally departed both endpoints at 5 p.m. daily for the overnight run across the Florida Panhandle and along the Gulf Coast, arriving in the morning at the other end of the line.[2] The name was likely inspired by the success of another train carried partly over L&N rails, the Chicago-Miami South Wind.
Louisville & Nashville 1954 timetable, showing Gulf Wind running in tandem with the Pan-American, as one of five trains traveling daily west from Mobile to New Orleans
Heading westbound, the Gulf Wind joined onto Louisville & Nashville's Pan-American at Flomaton, Alabama. On the eastbound trip, the Gulf Wind ran from New Orleans to Flomaton along with the Southern Railway's Piedmont Limited, and at Flomaton departed as its own train.[6] After the Southern Railway discontinued the Piedmont Limited, the Pan-American carried the Gulf Wind in both directions from New Orleans to Flomaton.[7]
Equipment
The consist of the Gulf Wind included baggage cars, coaches, and Pullman sleepers with a mix of rooms and traditional open sections, as well as an L&N diner between New Orleans and Mobile, and an SAL diner between Chattahoochee and Jacksonville. By 1955 modern roomettes were added to the consist.[8][9][10] A round-ended observation car was also a regular part of the Gulf Wind consist.
In December 1967, the first winter season of the merged Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, the train was the last, along with the company's Silver Star, to have open section sleepers, along with roomettes and other rooms.[11] By the December 1968 schedule, the L&N and the SCL had dropped sleepers from the Gulf Wind altogether.[12]
History
Passenger service existed on this route from its construction in 1882 by the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad, at times with three or four daily trains in each direction. In 1949, the L&N and the SAL had a local train that arrived at its destinations in the early evening.[13] This local train had no diner or lounge; besides coaches, it carried just baggage and mail cars. (The local train's predecessor, the New Orleans-Florida Express, had a dining car and sleeping cars.)[14] The local was eliminated in 1966.[15][16] In the train's final year, from 1970 to April 1971, the L&N and Seaboard Coast Line made the Gulf Wind a three departures a week train.[17][18]
The last run of the Gulf Wind occurred on April 30, 1971. Amtrak, which took over nearly all passenger train operations in the United States on the following day, elected not to continue running the Gulf Wind, which despite good equipment and service was not a profitable train at that point in time.[2]
The western portion of the Gulf Wind route from Mobile to New Orleans was briefly served by Amtrak's Gulf Coast Limited from 1984 to 1985, and again from 1996 to 1997.
The Gulf Wind route had no scheduled passenger train service between Jacksonville and Flomaton until the revived and extended tri-weekly Sunset Limited was inaugurated by Amtrak in 1993. The service was again suspended in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina did extensive damage to the Gulf Coast. Passenger service had not resumed as of 2016[ref].[19] In 2016 and 2017 Gulf Coast regional officials agitated for restoration of daily train service between New Orleans and Florida.[20]
^"Seaboard Air Line Railroad, Table 6". Seaboard Air Line Railroad timetables, effective December 16, 1966. Seaboard Air Line Railroad. December 16, 1966.
^Seaboard Coast Line Railroad timetable, December 15, 1967, Tables 5, 18
^Seaboard Coast Line Railroad timetable, December 13, 1968, Table 11
^'Official Guide of the Railways,' August 1949, Seaboard Air Line section, Condensed Tables and Table 11
^Seaboard Air Line Railroad timetable, June 15, 1948, Table 8
^'Official Guide of the Railways,' January 1966, Seaboard Air Line section, Table 8
^'Official Guide of the Railways,' December 1966, Seaboard Air Line section, eliminated from Table 8
^Official Guide of the Railways May 1970, Seaboard Coast Line section, indicated as daily train
^Seaboard Coast Line timetable, December 11, 1970, Table 11, indicated as tri-weekly
^Laing, Keith (January 26, 2016). "Amtrak to test restoration of rail service lost since Katrina". The Hill.
^Hampton, Paul (July 19, 2017). "Gulf Coast leaders push to restore passenger train service with two New Orleans routes". The New Orleans Advocate.
External links
Running The Coast, The Joint Seaboard/L&N, Gulf Wind
The Gulf Wind's timetable and consist, November, 1949
The Gulf Wind's final timetable and consist, January - April, 1971
Pictures of the restored L&N observation car Royal Street, used on the Gulf Wind until 1970
March 04, 2023
gulf, wind, streamlined, passenger, train, inaugurated, july, 1949, joint, operation, louisville, nashville, railroad, seaboard, line, railroad, seaboard, coast, line, after, merger, with, atlantic, coast, line, july, 1967, replaced, heavyweight, orleans, flor. The Gulf Wind was a streamlined passenger train inaugurated on July 31 1949 as a joint operation by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Seaboard Coast Line after merger with the Atlantic Coast Line on July 1 1967 2 The Gulf Wind replaced the heavyweight New Orleans Florida Express on this routing The Gulf Wind was a limited stops train and offered amenities such as dining cars and Pullman service The train left Jacksonville at night and arrived in New Orleans in the evening as the Express had done Gulf WindOverviewService typeInter city railStatusDiscontinuedLocaleUnited States Gulf CoastPredecessorNew Orleans Florida ExpressFirst serviceJuly 31 1949Last serviceApril 30 1971Former operator s Louisville and Nashville Railroad Seaboard Air Line RailroadSeaboard Coast Line Railroad 1967 1971 RouteTerminiJacksonville FloridaNew Orleans LouisianaService frequencyDailyTrain number s 38 SAL 98 L amp N eastbound 39 SAL 99 L amp N westboundOn board servicesSeating arrangementsReclining seat coachSleeping arrangementssections and double bedroomsCatering facilitiesdining carsTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm Route mapvteLegend1949 1971 1 Distance Station0 Jacksonville43 7 km27 2 mi Macclenny94 6 km58 8 mi Lake City130 3 km81 mi Live Oak176 1 km109 4 mi Madison265 5 km165 mi Tallahassee304 1 km189 mi Quincy334 1 km207 6 mi ChattahoocheeApalachicola River375 9 km233 6 mi Marianna512 6 km318 5 mi CrestviewEscambia Bay593 2 km368 6 mi PensacolaFloridaAlabama664 km413 mi FlomatonMobile River744 4 km462 5 mi MobileAlabamaMississippi815 9 km507 mi PascagoulaPascagoula River848 1 km527 mi Biloxi878 7 km546 mi Edgewater ParkBiloxi Bay869 km540 mi GulfportSt Louis Bay894 1 km555 6 mi Bay St LouisMississippiLouisiana985 9 km612 6 mi New OrleansPrior to the establishment of the Gulf Wind the New Orleans Florida Express had a counterpart train the New Orleans Florida Limited which left Jacksonville in the morning 3 For much of the twentieth century one or two other passenger trains numbered but unnamed also plied this route daily these were much slower local trains stopping at each small town along the route and were labeled simply as passenger mail and express in timetables The Express contrary to its name made stops at small towns while the Gulf Wind made fewer stops mainly in larger towns and cities 4 5 Contents 1 Route 2 Equipment 3 History 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksRoute EditThe train s 617 mile route ran from Jacksonville Florida via Tallahassee Chattahoochee Pensacola Flomaton Mobile and Biloxi to New Orleans Locomotives were changed at Chattahoochee where the SAL rails met those of the L amp N With a schedule designed for passengers changing to or from the Seaboard s Silver Meteor at Jacksonville the Gulf Wind originally departed both endpoints at 5 p m daily for the overnight run across the Florida Panhandle and along the Gulf Coast arriving in the morning at the other end of the line 2 The name was likely inspired by the success of another train carried partly over L amp N rails the Chicago Miami South Wind Louisville amp Nashville 1954 timetable showing Gulf Wind running in tandem with the Pan American as one of five trains traveling daily west from Mobile to New Orleans Heading westbound the Gulf Wind joined onto Louisville amp Nashville s Pan American at Flomaton Alabama On the eastbound trip the Gulf Wind ran from New Orleans to Flomaton along with the Southern Railway s Piedmont Limited and at Flomaton departed as its own train 6 After the Southern Railway discontinued the Piedmont Limited the Pan American carried the Gulf Wind in both directions from New Orleans to Flomaton 7 Equipment EditThe consist of the Gulf Wind included baggage cars coaches and Pullman sleepers with a mix of rooms and traditional open sections as well as an L amp N diner between New Orleans and Mobile and an SAL diner between Chattahoochee and Jacksonville By 1955 modern roomettes were added to the consist 8 9 10 A round ended observation car was also a regular part of the Gulf Wind consist In December 1967 the first winter season of the merged Seaboard Coast Line Railroad the train was the last along with the company s Silver Star to have open section sleepers along with roomettes and other rooms 11 By the December 1968 schedule the L amp N and the SCL had dropped sleepers from the Gulf Wind altogether 12 History EditPassenger service existed on this route from its construction in 1882 by the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad at times with three or four daily trains in each direction In 1949 the L amp N and the SAL had a local train that arrived at its destinations in the early evening 13 This local train had no diner or lounge besides coaches it carried just baggage and mail cars The local train s predecessor the New Orleans Florida Express had a dining car and sleeping cars 14 The local was eliminated in 1966 15 16 In the train s final year from 1970 to April 1971 the L amp N and Seaboard Coast Line made the Gulf Wind a three departures a week train 17 18 The last run of the Gulf Wind occurred on April 30 1971 Amtrak which took over nearly all passenger train operations in the United States on the following day elected not to continue running the Gulf Wind which despite good equipment and service was not a profitable train at that point in time 2 The western portion of the Gulf Wind route from Mobile to New Orleans was briefly served by Amtrak s Gulf Coast Limited from 1984 to 1985 and again from 1996 to 1997 The Gulf Wind route had no scheduled passenger train service between Jacksonville and Flomaton until the revived and extended tri weekly Sunset Limited was inaugurated by Amtrak in 1993 The service was again suspended in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina did extensive damage to the Gulf Coast Passenger service had not resumed as of 2016 ref 19 In 2016 and 2017 Gulf Coast regional officials agitated for restoration of daily train service between New Orleans and Florida 20 See also EditPensacola and Atlantic Railroad predecessor of the L amp NReferences Edit Seaboard Air Line Railroad Table 6 Seaboard Air Line Railroad timetables effective December 16 1966 Seaboard Air Line Railroad December 16 1966 a b c Gulf Wind Greenspun com unreliable source Seaboard Air Line June 15 1948 timetable Table 8 Seaboard Air Line June 15 1948 timetable Table 8 Official Guide of the Railways August 1949 Seaboard Air Line section Condensed Tables and Table 11 Louisville amp Nashville Railroad timetable 1954 Tables 1 2 Louisville amp Nashville Railroad Table 3 Official Guide of the Railways National Railway Publication Company 101 1 June 1968 Seaboard Air Line Railroad timetable September 24 1950 Table 8 Seaboard Air Line Railroad condensed timetable April 24 1955 9 Seaboard schedule for October 25 1959 geocities Archived from the original on 2009 10 25 unreliable source Seaboard Coast Line Railroad timetable December 15 1967 Tables 5 18 Seaboard Coast Line Railroad timetable December 13 1968 Table 11 Official Guide of the Railways August 1949 Seaboard Air Line section Condensed Tables and Table 11 Seaboard Air Line Railroad timetable June 15 1948 Table 8 Official Guide of the Railways January 1966 Seaboard Air Line section Table 8 Official Guide of the Railways December 1966 Seaboard Air Line section eliminated from Table 8 Official Guide of the Railways May 1970 Seaboard Coast Line section indicated as daily train Seaboard Coast Line timetable December 11 1970 Table 11 indicated as tri weekly Laing Keith January 26 2016 Amtrak to test restoration of rail service lost since Katrina The Hill Hampton Paul July 19 2017 Gulf Coast leaders push to restore passenger train service with two New Orleans routes The New Orleans Advocate External links EditRunning The Coast The Joint Seaboard L amp N Gulf Wind The Gulf Wind s timetable and consist November 1949 The Gulf Wind s final timetable and consist January April 1971 West Florida Railroad Museum Milton Fla Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida Valparaiso Fla Pictures of the restored L amp N observation car Royal Street used on the Gulf Wind until 1970 More pictures of the Royal Street now in private hands Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gulf Wind amp oldid 1119530177, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
