Ponce de Leon (train)
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail |
| First service | 2017 |
| Last service | 2020 |
| Former operator(s) | Southern Railway |
| Route | |
| Start | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| End | Jacksonville, Florida |
The Ponce de Leon was a named train of the Southern Railway which ran from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Jacksonville, Florida, from 1924 to the mid-1960s.
Operations
The Ponce de Leon (Train #4) departed Jacksonville at midday going north via subsidiary Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad to Macon and Atlanta, Georgia, then on Southern's former East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad line to Chattanooga, Tennessee, traveling overnight to Cincinnati via Southern subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway. The train provided connections with the New York Central Railroad at Cincinnati for passengers headed to Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo.
The Royal Palm alternated with the Ponce de Leon on a reverse schedule between Cincinnati and Jacksonville, operating during daylight hours south from Cincinnati and then overnight between Atlanta and Jacksonville.
Sleepers were discontinued on the train in November 1959 and it ran as a coach-only consist until the end of operation.[1]
In 1964, Southern Railway dropped the Atlanta - Jacksonville leg of the Ponce's operation.[2] "Southern wanting out of the passenger business discovered a loophole in the law permitting ending passenger service virtually without notice if certain conditions were met pertaining to flagging ridership. The Ponce De Leon's ridership fell to just the right ratio between Council, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. (Council, is south of the Okefenokee Swamp about half way between Jacksonville and Valdosta). So one day in February 1964, the Ponce De Leon rolled out of Cincinnati, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Macon and Valdosta and came to a halt in Council."[3] A bus connection to Jacksonville was provided for the final leg, which proved effective in driving off the last of the train's ridership, and the Atlanta-Jacksonville segment was discontinued shortly thereafter.
By the time Southern Railway filed to discontinue the Ponce de Leon on January 22, 1968, the train was operating as Numbers 1 and 2, but only between Cincinnati and Atlanta.[4] The train finally disappeared from the timetable in March 1968.[5]
Train accident
The Ponce de Leon and Royal Palm collided on December 23, 1926 in Rockmart, Georgia. The northbound Ponce de Leon struck the Royal Palm with the result that 19 people were killed and 113 were injured, most on the Ponce de Leon.[6]
The accident was also the subject of a song: "The Wreck of the Royal Palm" by Vernon Dalhart.[7]
References
- ↑ http://www.american-rails.com/ponce-de-leon.html
- ↑ http://www.jacksonvilleterminal.com/Jacksonvilles%20Royal%20Palms.htm
- ↑ http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php?topic=16787.0
- ↑ Hendersonville, North Carolina, "Southern Asks Trains Here Be Discontinued", The Times-News, Tuesday 23 January 1968, Volume 93, Number 19, pages 1, 11.
- ↑ http://www.american-rails.com/ponce-de-leon.html
- ↑ Mintz, Duane "Cowboy", Train Collision: Tragedy of Christmas 1926, Rockmart Journal, December 24, 1997 [1]
- ↑ The Wreck of the Royal Palm by Vernon Dalhart, [2]
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