On the subject of old train names....I know that most of us here know that Amtrak inherited a lot of old train names from the past.
I discovered something I had forgotten completely until last night while browsing through old equipment books, etc. There had been an Illnois Central train called the "Kentucky Cardinal"(stopped running early 50's). It went from Louisville to Memphis. There connecting with the route of today's "City of New Orleans". Some through Louisivlle to New Orleans equipment actually operated at one time.
Had forgotten all about that.
It was not a "major name train" by any definition.
I am quite sure that Amtrak's naming of the late Kentucky Cardinal was purely based on its relationship to the Cardinal itself and that it was a branch off to Kentucky. I doubt many people at Amtrak today had any memory of the relatively obscure original Kentucky Cardinal.
Just thought that was an interesting bit of trivia. That name, of course, does not compare with well known names like Empire Builder, CZ, Silver Meteor, Sunset limited, etc.
I discovered something I had forgotten completely until last night while browsing through old equipment books, etc. There had been an Illnois Central train called the "Kentucky Cardinal"(stopped running early 50's). It went from Louisville to Memphis. There connecting with the route of today's "City of New Orleans". Some through Louisivlle to New Orleans equipment actually operated at one time.
Had forgotten all about that.
It was not a "major name train" by any definition.
I am quite sure that Amtrak's naming of the late Kentucky Cardinal was purely based on its relationship to the Cardinal itself and that it was a branch off to Kentucky. I doubt many people at Amtrak today had any memory of the relatively obscure original Kentucky Cardinal.
Just thought that was an interesting bit of trivia. That name, of course, does not compare with well known names like Empire Builder, CZ, Silver Meteor, Sunset limited, etc.
