The Name Palmetto

[capltd29]

Is the NAme "Palmetto" refering to the Bug or the Sawtooth palmetto plant?

I know it's a dumb question but I am bored.

 

[Amfleet]

The bug.

 

[engine999]

Although the trains have and probably still have the palmettobugs on them, I would suspect it is named after the tree. Alot of towns and even the bug are named after the palmetto tree. The bug is supposed to lives in the trees, along with everything else.

 

[PRR 60]

If it were named for the insect, then it would truly carry "Roach Coaches". Any Yankee who has had the misfortune of an encounter with a Palmetto Bug would not soon board a train named after one.

 

[battalion51]

"The Palmetto bug" is an inside joke between myself and an Engineer in Massachusetts. When he worked in Vermont on the Vermonter it was dubbed "The Vermonter bug." He transferred to Jacksonville and began calling the Palmetto "The Palmetto bug." So ever since then we have been calling it "The Palmetto bug" in everyday life.

As far as real terms are concerned it was dubbed the Palmetto because it's the state tree of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina (maybe Virginia) if I'm not mistaken. I know it is in Georgia and South Carolina.

 

[railman]

The Palmetto tree is the state tree for both South Carolina and Florida. That is why the train was dubbed "The Palmetto". The name hails from the days when this train served Jacksonville, FL.

I guess even though it will only go as far south as Savannah, the name could still be construed as appropriate since the trains does continue to serve a number of high-profile South Carolina areas.

 

[Guest]

Actually, it was originally to have been called the "Walnetto" but somebody misunderstood and wrote down "Palmetto".

 

[WICT106]

I thought that "Palmetto" was some sort of derivative from the name "Silver Palm." The reason that the name was changed was the elimination of sleepers from that specific train.

 

[AlanB]

I thought that "Palmetto" was some sort of derivative from the name "Silver Palm." The reason that the name was changed was the elimination of sleepers from that specific train.

Well it was indeed the loss of the sleeper and the diner that triggered the name change in the first place. Amtrak needed to make a distinction between the rest of the Silver Service that still did have sleepers and diners.

However the fact that Palmetto was a derivative of Palm, was probably not as big a factor in that name being choosen.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

I thought that "Palmetto" was some sort of derivative from the name "Silver Palm." The reason that the name was changed was the elimination of sleepers from that specific train.

The name "Palmetto" was given to that original train which ran on the same (similar) schedule as it will after Nov 1. It comes from exactly as railman specified! It was still named the "Palmetto" even after it was extended to TPA before it was cut a few months later and TPA was shut down as a crewbase. And from what I understand the train was brought back in order to return daylight service back to the Carolinas. The name was changed to the "Silver Palm" to reflect it as one of the three "Silver Service" trains after it was reinstated and operated to MIA. The named of course was changed back to the "Palmetto" after the "Silver Palm" lost its diner and sleeper.

The name "Palmetto" has been around a long time, however, and its origin is as exactly what railman specified in his post.

 

[railman]

When Amtrak 'beefed up" the Palmetto consist and ran it to Tampa, I always thought it would have made more sense to re-name the train the Silver Comet.

The other two Silver Sevice trains have "heritage" railroad monikers from the Seaboard Air Line days. In keeping with the "Silver-and-a-celestial-body" theme (which was to denote speedy service in stainless steel consists) Silver Comet makes more sense as a "fleet" name than does Silver Palm. After all palm trees rarely move (except for recently, I guess)!

The original Silver Comet was a New York City - Birmingham, AL train but the historic routes and endpoints represented by the old train names seem to bear little relevance in Amtrak's naming convention anymore.

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

After all palm trees rarely move (except for recently, I guess)!

:lol: :lol:

 

[AlanB]

After all palm trees rarely move (except for recently, I guess)!

:lol: :lol:

Well actually that depends on who's watching, or in the incident I'm about to mention, who's holding the radar gun.

There is an infamous video, put out by a company that helps people fight speeding tickets. They argue that many speeding tickets aren't valid, since too many police officers aren't properly trained in the use of the radar gun.

On this video, they show an officer who clocked a tree (not a palm tree) moving at 55mph. They also have a shot of another officer who clocked a house moving at 18 mph, and it wasn't on wheels.