Royal Street
(cross-posted to Pontchartrain RR)
L&N “Royal Street” observation car.
Royal Street
I caught the Louisville and Nashville observation car, Royal Street, out at the KCS yard in Metairie, LA, yesterday. This corrugated observation car was one of eight built by Pullman Standard and delivered in February-Marcy, 1950. Four of the cars ran on Southern Railway’s Royal Palm, and two were delivered to L&N. They ran on the Crescent and other L&N name trains.
Royal Street was part of an upgrade of the Crescent in 1950. In 1950, the train, which was operated for the most part by Southern Railway, traveled from New York to Washington, DC, on the Pensylvania RR. In DC, it took Southern’s tracks to Atlanta. From Atlanta, on the Atlanta and West Point RR, to West Point, GA. From West Point to Montgomery, AL, on the Western Railway. The Crescent ran on L&N tracks from Montgomery into New Orleans.
New Orleans
L&N Station, New Orleans
Since the Crescent used L&N tracks to come into New Orleans, it arrived and departed from the L&N station at Canal Street and the river. Other Southern trains, including the Southerner, the other New Orleans to NYC train, arrived and departed from Terminal Station at Canal and Basin Streets. After 1954, The Southerner and the Crescent both moved to Union Passenger Terminal, as the Canal Street stations were demolished.
Amtrak
Southern continued to operate the Crescent until 1974, when it turned the route over to Amtrak. So, the Amtrak Crescent continues daily service. Train #20 departs in the morning from New Orleans (NOL), and #19 from Penn Station (NYP) in New York.
Modeling Royal Street
Will this kit become “Royal Street”?
While the N-Scale Pontchartrain RR plans to model Royal Street, we haven’t found the right kit just yet. We also plan to model the New York Central’s Bonnie Brook car. It is often at the KCS yard. This kit doesn’t match either prototype, so we’re looking for a closer match. This particular kit might become a Pontchartrain RR-liver car.
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