Amtrak's City of New Orleans stops at the Memphis, Tennessee station in 2005.

The City of New Orleans is a 926-mile (1490-km) nightly passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. Before Amtrak's formation in 1971, the train was operated by the Illinois Central Railroad along the same route (though changes have been made since then). The trip is currently scheduled to be completed in 19½ hours. The line within Illinois is also served by a daily morning train, the Saluki, and a daily afternoon train, the Illini. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 728 KB)The City of New Orleans in the Memphis, Tennessee train station. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 728 KB)The City of New Orleans in the Memphis, Tennessee train station. ... Acela Express in West Windsor, NJ Amtrak Cascades service with tilting Talgo trainsets in Seattle, Washington Amtrak train in downtown Orlando, Florida For other uses, see Amtrak (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... This article is about trains in rail transport. ... Acela Express in West Windsor, NJ Amtrak Cascades service with tilting Talgo trainsets in Seattle, Washington Amtrak train in downtown Orlando, Florida For other uses, see Amtrak (disambiguation). ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Nickname: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, NOLA (acronym for New Orleans, LA) Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718  - Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area    - City  350. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... The Illinois Central (AAR reporting mark IC), sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad carrier in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... The Saluki is a 310-mile (499 km) passenger train operated by Amtrak that will run between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois, starting October 30, 2006. ... The Illini is a 310-mile (499 km) passenger train operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. ...

History

Powered by a trio of EMD E7 locomotives, Illinois Central train No. 2, the City of New Orleans, speeds through Wickliffe, Kentucky on June 24, 1951.

"Drumhead" logos such as this often adorned the end of the observation car on the Illinois Central's City of New Orleans.

The City of New Orleans began life as the daytime companion train to the all-Pullman car Panama Limited that also traveled the IC's mailine from New Orleans, Louisiana to Chicago, Illinois. The daytime train was significantly cheaper. This train was a major part of the large migration of African Americans from the U.S. South during the early 20th century, as it was one of the cheaper transportation options available. Image File history File links OP-12365. ... Image File history File links OP-12365. ... Southern Pacific Railroad E7 ABA set for hauling the Golden State Limited, 1947. ... Wickliffe is a city located in Ballard County, Kentucky. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Image File history File links IC_City_of_New_Orleans. ... Image File history File links IC_City_of_New_Orleans. ... The term drumhead refers to a type of removable lighted sign that was prevalent on American railroads of the first half of the 20th century. ... When passenger trains were still the preferred mode of intercity transportation in America, observations often were used by those campaigning for public office, especially for the Presidency of the United States. ... The sleeping car is a railroad car on a train with sleeping facilities. ... The Panama Limited was a premier all-Pullman car service between Chicago, IL-St. ... Nickname: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, NOLA (acronym for New Orleans, LA) Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718  - Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area    - City  350. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... The U.S. Southern states or The South, known during the American Civil War era as Dixie, is a distinctive region of the United States with its own unique historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

On September 10, 1995 the train was rerouted between Memphis and Jackson due to the Illinois Central Railroad's desire to abandon the original route (the Grenada District) in favor of the newer and flatter Yazoo District. The old route had been the Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad from Memphis to Grenada and the Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad from Grenada to Jackson. Station stops were at Batesville, Mississippi, Grenada, Mississippi, Winona, Mississippi, Durant, Mississippi and Canton, Mississippi. September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... Nickname: The Best of the New South; The Bold, New City Coordinates: Country United States State Mississippi County Hinds Founded 1822 Mayor Frank Melton Area    - City 276. ... The Illinois Central (AAR reporting mark IC), sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad carrier in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. ... Batesville is a city located in Panola County, Mississippi. ... Grenada is a city located in Grenada County, Mississippi. ... Winona is a city located in Montgomery County, Mississippi. ... Durant is a city located in Holmes County, Mississippi. ... Canton is a city located in Madison County, Mississippi. ...

On March 15, 1999 the City of New Orleans collided with a flat-bed semi-trailer near Bourbonnais. Of the 217 people aboard the train, eleven people were killed in the Bourbonnais train accident. The fourth car, where the fatalities occurred, was engulfed in flames following the collision at the crossing. March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Bourbonnais is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. ... The Bourbonnais train accident occurred March 15, 1999 at 9:47pm Central (local) time in Bourbonnais, Illinois in the United States. ...

On April 6, 2004 the City of New Orleans derailed near Flora, Mississippi, approximately 15 miles north of Jackson, while enroute to Chicago. The train was traveling at 78 miles per hour when it derailed, and resulted in one fatality, Clara Downs, of Chicago, 3 serious injuries, and 43 minor injuries. A subsequent National Transportation Safety Board investigation determined that deterioration of the track due to poor maintenance caused the accident ^{http://rrpicturearchives.net/locThumbs.aspx?id=77221}. April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is a U.S. government independent organization responsible for investigation of accidents involving aviation, highway, marine, pipelines and railroads in the United States. ...

Because of damage to the states of Mississippi and Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina, Amtrak was forced in late August 2005 to cancel service south of Memphis, Tennessee.(It canceled services a month earlier when two freight trains collided into each other between Bentonia and Anding, Mississippi.) Service was first restored as far south as Hammond, Louisiana, and on October 8, 2005, Amtrak resumed service to New Orleans.^[1] This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city Baton Rouge [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W... Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in August August 31: Michael Sheard August 26: Lord Fitt August 24: Jack Slipper August 24: Maurice Cowling August 24: Dr. Tom Pashby August 23: Brock Peters August 22: Lord Lane August 21: Robert Moog August... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... Bentonia is a town located in Yazoo County, Mississippi. ... Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (282nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, NOLA (acronym for New Orleans, LA) Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718  - Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area    - City  350. ...

Route details

The tracks used were once part of the Illinois Central Railroad system, and are now owned by the CN. The following lines are used: The Illinois Central (AAR reporting mark IC), sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad carrier in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. ... The Canadian National Railway (CN; AAR reporting marks CN, CNA, CNIS), known as Canadian National Railways (CNR) between 1918 and 1960, and Canadian National/Canadien National (CN) from 1960 to present, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian National Railway Company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...

• St. Charles Air Line Railroad (IC), Chicago Union Station to the shore of Lake Michigan, now CN
• Illinois Central Railroad Chicago Branch and main line, Chicago to Cairo, Illinois, now CN
• Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad (IC), Cairo to Fulton, Kentucky, now CN
• Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad (IC), Fulton to Memphis, Tennessee, now CN
• Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (IC), Memphis to Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, now CN
• Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (IC) branch, Lake Cormorant to Lambert, Mississippi, now CN
• Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (IC) branch, Lambert to Swan Lake, Mississippi, now CN
• Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (IC) branch, Swan Lake to Black Bayou, Mississippi, now CN
• Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (IC) branch, Black Bayou to Greenwood, Mississippi, now CN
• Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (IC) Yazoo Branch, Greenwood to Jackson, Mississippi, now CN
• Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad (IC), Jackson to New Orleans, Louisiana, now CN

Now the City Of New Orleans has the honor of having the best on-time performance in the entire Amtrak System at 93% and a good part of the time the train is up to 45 minutes early.^{[citation needed]} The St. ... The Great Hall of Chicago Union Station, Daniel Burnham, architect Union Station is a Chicago, Illinois train station which was built 1913–1925, during the time when Chicago reigned as the undisputed railroad center of the United States. ... Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one in the group located entirely within the United States. ... The Illinois Central (AAR reporting mark IC), sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad carrier in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. ... Cairo is a city in Alexander County, Illinois in the United States. ... Fulton is a city in Fulton County, Kentucky, United States. ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... Lambert is a town located in Quitman County, Mississippi. ... Greenwood is situated in Leflore County, Mississippi at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta, approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. ... Nickname: The Best of the New South; The Bold, New City Coordinates: Country United States State Mississippi County Hinds Founded 1822 Mayor Frank Melton Area    - City 276. ... Nickname: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, NOLA (acronym for New Orleans, LA) Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718  - Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area    - City  350. ...

Station stops

In 1995 the City of New Orleans shifted from the Grenada District (blue) to the Yazoo District (red) in northern Mississippi.

The City of New Orleans runs daily, northbound as train #58 and southbound as #59. It runs overnight, making the following station stops from north to south: Image File history File links City_of_New_Orleans_shift_map. ... Image File history File links City_of_New_Orleans_shift_map. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Illinois

• Chicago
• Homewood
• Kankakee
• Champaign-Urbana
• Mattoon
• Effingham
• Centralia
• Carbondale

Kentucky

• Fulton

Tennessee

• Newbern-Dyersburg
• Memphis

Mississippi

• Greenwood
• Yazoo City
• Jackson
• Hazlehurst
• Brookhaven
• McComb

Louisiana

• Hammond
• New Orleans

Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... In the waiting room of the Union Station, January 1943 Union Station is a Chicago, Illinois train station that opened in 1925, replacing an earlier 1881 station, and is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago. ... This article is about the intermodal passenger station in Champaign, Illinois. ... Other service Twin Transit Parking Free Other information Passengers (2006) 18,783 1. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... The Fulton (Amtrak station) is located in Fulton, Kentucky at 21 Newton Road. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... Central Station Memphis Central Station, referred to as Grand Central Station prior to 1944, is located at 545 South Main Street, on the corner of Main and Calhoun Streets (now renamed Patterson Boulevard) just south of the downtown business district. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... There are more than one Amtrak stations named Jackson: Jackson, Michigan (station code JXN) Jackson, Mississippi (station code JAN) Category: ... Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city Baton Rouge [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W... Location in the state of Indiana Coordinates: County Lake  - Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr. ... New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT) is the main train station in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

Folk song

"City of New Orleans" is a folk music song written and first performed by Steve Goodman and subsequently recorded by Arlo Guthrie and many other artists, notably Johnny Cash, John Denver (with slightly different lyrics) and Willie Nelson. The song lyrics trace the trail of the train route (above) in celebrating the "...disappearin' railroad blues...." Interestingly enough, Tom Rush wrote a folk song about the Panama Limited, the overnight trail along the same route as the City of New Orleans. City of New Orleans is a folk song written by Steve Goodman. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and for the common people. ... Steve Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was a Chicago folk music singer and songwriter. ... A press photo of Arlo Guthrie. ... Johnny Cash (born J. R. Cash, February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an influential American country and rock and roll singer and songwriter. ... John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. ... Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American entertainer and songwriter, born and raised in Abbott, Texas. ... Tom Rush (February 8, 1941-) was a popular folk and blues musician in the early 1960s. ... The Panama Limited was a premier all-Pullman car service between Chicago, IL-St. ...

References

• Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, Trains June 1991
• Bob Johnston, Exiled to the Delta, Trains January 1996

1. ^ "City of New Orleans rolls into Big Easy", Associated Press, reprinted by MSNBC, 2005-10-08. Retrieved on 2006-10-09.

Trains is a monthly magazine dedicated to trains and railroading and is the flagship publication of Kalmbach Publishing. ... Trains is a monthly magazine dedicated to trains and railroading and is the flagship publication of Kalmbach Publishing. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (282nd in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Passenger train service on the Illinois Central Railroad

The Illinois Central (AAR reporting mark IC), sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad carrier in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. ...

External links

• Photos of the modern City of New Orleans in Memphis
• Amtrak - City of New Orleans
• Champaign-Urbana MTD - History of Illinois Central Railroad
• Lyrics to Steve Goodman's song "City of New Orleans"
• The City Of New Orleans and other named trains in the Memphis Area
• Amtrak's City of New Orleans (and its predecessor, The Panama Limited.) in Memphis