Louisville and Nashville Railroad E6A 751 with Train 4, The Georgian, ready to depart Union Station, Atlanta, GA on November 25, 1967. Click to enlarge.
(Photo by Roger Puta courtesy Marty Bernard, railfan 44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
GEORGIAN
The Georgian was a long-distance passenger train operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in conjunction with the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad. It operated between St. Louis Union Station and Atlanta's Union Station with a section operated by the C&EI from Evansville to Chicago's Dearborn Station. From Nashville to Atlanta it operated over the tracks of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. The introduction of this train made the C&EI's Chicago-Evansville Whippoorwill train superfluous.
It was begun in 1946 as a streamliner. As a night train, it offered sleeping car and dining car services. In 1968 the L&N Railroad discontinued the Georgian. In its place was an unnamed St. Louis-Evansville train, and an unnamed Evansville-Atlanta train. (The Chicago branch from Evansville eliminated, passengers seeking an L&N route would need to wait several hours at Nashville for a connection to the South Wind.) The St. Louis-Evansville and the Evansville-Atlanta trains were among the trains that Amtrak chose not to pick up when it assumed long-distance operations on May 1, 1971. Since that time Atlanta has had no service heading directly north to Tennessee.
L&N Train 80 - 84 the Georgian at Atlanta, Georgia Union Station on April 15, 1963. Click to enlarge.
(Photo by Roger Puta courtesy Marty Bernard, railfan 44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Important station stops
- Chicago
- Danville
- Terre Haute
- Vincennes
- Evansville
- Nashville
- Chattanooga
- Dalton
- Marietta
- Atlanta
Louisville & Nashville E8A 788 (ex-SLSF 2014) with Train 5, the Georgian, on December 14, 1970. Click to enlarge.
(Photo by Roger Puta courtesy Marty Bernard, railfan 44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Important stops on St. Louis section
- St. Louis
- Evansville
Georgian Overview
Service type: Inter-city rail
Status: Discontinued
Locale: Midwestern United States/Southeastern United States
First service: 1946
Last service: 1968
Former operators: Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, Louisville and Nashville Railroad and Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway
Route Termini: Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri / Atlanta, Georgia
Distance traveled: 731 miles (1,176 km) (Chicago - Atlanta)
Service frequency: Daily
Train numbers: 53, 54, 93, 94
On-board services
Seating arrangements: coach
Sleeping arrangements: sections, roomettes, double bedrooms and a compartment
Catering facilities: dining cars and tavern-lounge cars