Powered by an EMD E3 locomotive, Kansas City Southern Railway train No. 1, the Southern Belle, passes through Kansas City, Missouri on August 17, 1940.

"Drumhead" logos such as these often adorned the ends of observation cars on the Southern Belle.

The Southern Belle was a named passenger train service offered by Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) from the 1940s through the 1960s, running between Kansas City, Missouri and New Orleans, Louisiana. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Kansas City Southern Railroad E3 #3 at Kansas City, Missouri, 1940. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 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. ... The following is a list of named passenger trains and some summary information about them. ... The Kansas City Southern Railway (AAR reporting mark KCS) is a United States-based Class I railroad operating over 3,130 track miles in 10 central and southeastern states. ... Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ... NOLA redirects here. ...

The service was inaugurated on September 2, 1940. To promote the new train, KCS held a beauty contest to find "Miss Southern Belle," a young woman whose image would be used in advertising materials systemwide. Local competitions were held before the train's launch in all of the cities that the KCS served. The ultimate winner of the competition, Margaret Landry Moore, was the winner of the local competition in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was selected as "Miss Southern Belle" at the final competition in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 24, 1940. is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Canadian restaurant, see Baton Rouge (restaurant). ... NOLA redirects here. ... is the 236th day of the year (237th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The last run of the Southern Belle was on November 2, 1969. is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

Equipment used

Just before inauguration, Pullman-Standard delivered three new lightweight passenger car sets to the KCS for use on the Southern Belle. Each set consisted of a combination baggage-RPO-dormitory (car numbers 64, 65 and 66), a 74-seat coach chair car (cars 234, Pittsburg; 235, Joplin; and 236, Texarkana), and a dining-observation car (car numbers 54, Kansas City; 55, Shreveport; and 56, New Orleans). The Pullman Palace Car Company, owned by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid to late 1800s through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. ... Restored passenger cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, WI. A passenger car is a piece of railroad rolling stock that is designed to carry passengers. ... Categories: Stub | Passenger equipment ... A restored CN baggage car in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ... CBQ 1926, an RPO preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum. ... An interior view of a modern Finnish bilevel intercity coach. ... Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad lightweight dining car Silver Grill passes through Denver, Colorado on October 24, 1936. ... 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 KCS rebuilt five heavyweight Pullman sleepers for use on the Southern Belle, making them look like their lightweight counterparts and increasing the number of double bedrooms in each. Cars Siloam Springs (formerly McBurney) and Sulphur Springs (formerly McLarty) were rebuilt in time for the train's inauguration. Initially, Pullman service was only offered between New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1941, car Barksdale (formerly McAllisterville) was added to the train's operation when Pullman service was extended from Shreveport to Kansas City. The first two rebuilt cars were joined a few months later by rebuilt cars State Capital (formerly McElheran) and Mena (formerly McKullo) on the southern leg of the train's schedule. The streamlined Pullman observation-lounge car Coconino, coupled to a heavyweight sleeper painted in two-tone Pullman grey, brings up the rear of the Santa Fe Railways Chief at La Junta, Colorado on February 27, 1938. ... The interior of a Pullman car on the Chicago and Alton Railroad circa 1900. ... : Port City , River City , Ratchet City : The Next Great City of the South United States Louisiana Caddo 117. ...

After World War II, the train was re-equipped with some new cars built in 1948 by American Car and Foundry (ACF), and by rebuilding some of the original Pullman-Standard cars. Two of the diner-observation cars were rebuilt into tavern-observation cars; car 54, Kansas City (renamed to Good Cheer), and 55, Shreveport (renamed Hospitality), remained in Southern Belle service. The new cars built by ACF equipped two new consists. Each of the new consists included: Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... American Car and Foundry (often abbreviated as ACF) is a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. ...

• one combination baggage-RPO-dormitory (car #67 and #68)
• one 62-seat coach chair car (car #239, Kansas City; and #240, Texarkana)
• two 60-seat coach chair cars (car #241, Shreveport; #242, Alexandria; #243, Baton Rouge; and #244, New Orleans)
• one 36-seat diner (car #57, Old Plantation; and #58, Mountain Home)
• four 14-roomette, 4-double bedroom sleepers (cars Arthur Stilwell, Colonel Fordyce, Harvey Couch, Job Edson, Leonor Loree, Stuart Knott, William Buchanan and William Edenborn)

The previously-mentioned tavern-observation cars rounded out the ends of the two consists. Between 1962 and 1964, these cars were renumbered and the car names were dropped. The train's consists remained relatively unchanged between 1948 and the train's discontinuance in 1969. The Good Cheer is presently on display at the Gulf Coast Chapter NRHS, AKA The Houston Railroad Museum.

References

• Trains News Wire (April 27, 2005), "Miss Southern Belle" dies. Retrieved May 4, 2005.
• Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972). Car Names, Numbers and Consists. Wayner Publications, New York, NY.