I’m modeling the Front Royal, Virginia area in the mid-1950s. It was really served by both the N&W and SRR. I’m thinking I want to assemble a version of the Southern Crescent. I know it didn’t stop in Front Royal, but as everyone keeps saying, it is my railroad.
Can anyone give me an idea of what locomotives would have the typically pulled the Crescent in the 1950s?
tcf511,
The Southern Crescent was re-equipped with the stainless steel Pullman- Standard cars in 1948, and the publicity photos show it being hauled by EMD E-7 units (one A unit and one B unit) in the Southern green colour scheme. By 1955 the E-8 units would have been available as well, so you could take your choice. By 1970 the units were in the the black “Tuxedo” scheme, but I think that green units would still be used in 1955.
Peter
Thanks very much.
One clarification: In the mid 1950s the name of the train in question was the “Crescent.” It wasn’t called the “Southern Crescent” until it was combined with the “Southerner” in the late 1960s. In fact, since the 1920s the “Crescent” had operated on Southern Ry. rails only between Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Ga. Between Atlanta and Montgomery, Ala., it was operated by the Atlanta & West Point, with West Point Route locomotives, and between Montgomery and New Orleans it ran on the Louisville & Nashville, behind L&N power.
So long,
Andy
The Crescent was also all pullman at that time between New York and Atlanta. At that time in the mid 1950’s the Crescent operated with coaches and pullmans between Atlanta and New Orleans only. The train was one of the finest in the south during this period and between New York and New Orleans it was the equal of the winter only ACL Florida Special.
Thanks very much. It sounds as if I’m going to have to take a little modelling leeway because I wanted to run the Southern green passenger cars. We’re there any other SRR passenger trains that would have still been running in green in the mid-50s?