3Cs Model Railroad Passenger Trains
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3Cs Passenger Trains
In the late 1950s, Johnson City’s Union Station witnessed a parade of passenger trains on the CC&C, Southern, and the ET&WNC. In the 2000s, Amtrak still ran several trains a day including the AutoTrain. Below are the Johnson City Union Station Train Bulletins from several eras which provide the operational basis for my n-scale layout.
The1950s/60s portrays two passenger partnerships at Union Station:
- Southern, Norfolk & Western, Pennsylvania, Cotton Belt
- CC&C, Chesapeake & Ohio, Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, Baltimore & Ohio, and Florida East Coast
The Primary daily trains included:
- CC&C/ACL/FEC: Paradise Breeze: Chicago to Miami
- CC&C/C&O/ACL/FEC: Florida Breeze: Chicago/Detroit to Miami
- CC&C/B&O/ACL/FEC Florida Limited: Kansas City/St. Louis to Miami
- CC&C/SAL Atlanta Local: Kingsport to Atlanta
- CC&C Cincinnati Local: Johnson City to Cincinnati
- Southern’s Birmingham Special: Birmingham to New York City
- Southern’s Pelican: New Orleans to New York City
- Southern’s Texan Tennessean: Dallas/Memphis to New York City
- Southern’s Music City Express: Washington to Nashville
- Southern’s Atlanta Local: Bristol to Atlanta
1950s/1960s Johnson City Union Station Train Bulletin
Easy connections included:
- New York City/Washington to Nashville/St. Louis (Birmingham Special and Music City Express)
- From Bristol to Florida (Southern Local to Florida Breeze)
- From Bristol to Cincinnati (Southern Local to CC&C Local)
| Train | No. | City | Arrival | Train | No. | Departure |
| Southern Birmingham Special | From: New York City, Washington, Roanoke, Bristol To: Knoxville, Chattanooga, Birmingham | 135AM | 1:40AM | |||
| Southern Birmingham Special | From: Birmingham, Chattanooga, Knoxville To: Bristol, Roanoke, Washington, New York | 149AM | 1:54AM | |||
| Southern Music City Express | From: Washington, Roanoke, Bristol To: Knoxville, Nashville, St. Louis | 4:55AM | 5:00 AM | |||
| CC&C/SAL Local | From: Kingsport To: Spartanburg, Athens, Atlanta | 6:40 AM | 6:45 AM | |||
| Southern Local | From: Bristol To: Knoxville, Chattanooga, Atlanta | 6:50AM | 6:55AM | |||
| CC&C/C&O/ACL/FEC Florida Breeze | From: Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Cincinnati, Ashland To: Spartanburg, Jacksonville, Miami | 7:05AM | 7:10AM | |||
| CC&C Local | To: Kingsport, Ashland, Cincinnati | 8:30AM | ||||
| Southern Texan Tennessean | From: Dallas, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville To: Roanoke, Washington, New York | 9:14AM | 9:19AM | |||
| CC&C/B&O/ACL/FEC Florida Limited | From: St. Louis, Cincinnati, Ashland To: Spartanburg, Jacksonville, Miami | 9:55AM | 10:00AM | |||
| Southern Pelican | From: New York City, Washington, Roanoke, Bristol To: Knoxville, Chattanooga, Birmingham, New Orleans | 11:00AM | 11:05AM | |||
| CC&C/C&O/ACL/FEC Florida Breeze | From: Miami, Jacksonville, Spartanburg To: Kingsport, Ashland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Chicago | 11:40AM | 1145AM | |||
| CC&C/ACL/FEC Paradise Breeze | From: Chicago, Cincinnati, Ashland To: Spartanburg, Jacksonville, Miami | 1:55PM | 2:00PM | |||
| CC&C/B&O/ACL/FEC Florida Limited | From: Miami, Jacksonville, Spartanburg To: Ashland, Cincinnati, St. Louis | 4:10PM | 4:15PM | |||
| CC&C/ACL/FEC Paradise Breeze | From: Miami, Jacksonville, Spartanburg To: Ashland, Cincinnati, Chicago | 4:40PM | 4:45PM | |||
| CC&C Local | From Cincinnati | 6:00PM | ||||
| Southern Texan Tennessean | From: New York, Washington, Roanoke Bristol To: Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Dallas | 6:10PM | 6:15PM | |||
| Southern Pelican | From: New Orleans, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Knoxville To: Roanoke, Washington DC, New York | 6:25PM | 6:30PM | |||
| Southern Music City Express | From: St. Louis, Nashville, Knoxville To: Roanoke, Washington, New York | 9:55PM | 10:00PM | |||
| Southern Local | From: Atlanta, Chattanooga, Knoxville To: Bristol | 11:20PM | 11:25PM | |||
| CC&C/SAL Local | From: Atlanta, Athens, Spartanburg To: Kingsport | 11:45PM | 11:50PM |
For More Information – Sources and Resources
The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the history and operation of the Appalachian Railroads. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Appalachian-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.
- Association: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society
- Association: Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society
- Association: Carolina Clinchfield Chapter National Railway Historical Society
- Association: ET&WNC Railroad Historical Society and their Facebook Page
- Association: George L. Carter Railroad Historical Society
- Association: Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society
- Association: Norfolk & Western Historical Society
- Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
- Association: Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society
- Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps, timetables, and track charts
- Archives of Appalachia: ETSU, Johnson City TN
- Book – Castner, Flanary & Dorin: Louisville & Nashville Railroad, The Old Reliable
- Book – Drury. The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
- Book – Flanary: The Louisville & Nashville Cumberland Valley Division
- Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi. The Southern Railway
- Book – Flanary, Oroszi & McKee: ‘The Louisville & Nashville in the Appalachians’
- Books – Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield‘ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield‘
- Book – Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City‘
- Book – Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter‘
- Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
- Book – King: ‘Clinchfield Country‘
- Book – Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color‘
- Book – Oroszi & Flanary: ‘Dixie Lines, The Louisville & Nashville Railroad’
- Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina‘
- Book – Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century‘
- Book – Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine‘
- Book – Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains‘
- Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
- Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
- Magazines/Online: ‘Trains‘, ‘Classic Trains‘
- Newspaper Articles: Newspapers.com
- Online Article: Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘; Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
- Online Videos: Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1 | Video #2:
- Website: Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website: HawkinsRails.net
- Website: StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot
- Website: RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City and for Erwin
- Website: SteamLocomotive.com
- Website: VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
- Website: WvncRails.org – North Carolina and West Virginia Railroads
Contact Us
Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the railroads or model railroading.
3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
