The Flamingo was a passenger train operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Jacksonville, Florida, from the 1920s to the 1960s. It carried coaches and sleeping cars.
History Inaugurated on September 27, 1925, it operated between Cincinnati and Jacksonville, Florida, with sleeper service between Cincinnati Union Terminal and Atlanta Union Station. It was operated in conjunction with the Central of Georgia Railway and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The train would split at Atlanta,Atlantic Coast Line Timetable, October 30, 1955, Table L with one branch going via the ACL line via Cordele, and the other going through the Central of Georgia's line to Albany. On the branch from Albany to Jacksonville, the FlamingoAtlantic Coast Line Timetable, June 12, 1955, Table L ran in tandem with the Illinois Central's Seminole, departing stations with an identical schedule for that final segment.Atlantic Coast Line Timetable, June 12, 1955, Table I In Jacksonville, riders could continue their trips to elsewhere in Florida on various ACL branch lines that served different parts of the state, such as St. Petersburg, Sarasota (via Orlando and Tampa), Ft. Myers and Miami. Travellers to Miami would transfer in Jacksonville to the FEC's Havana Special.Atlantic Coast Line Timetable, June 12, 1955, Tables C, L'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1961, Florida East Coast section, Table 1 The Southland operated on similar route from Cincinnati to Albany portion, however, the Southland ran overnight through Georgia.
An empty oil tanker that had been attached to a north-bound freight train came loose and hit and wrecked the Flamingo near Falmouth, Kentucky in 1957. The injured received care at a local hospital.
Service was truncated to Atlanta in 1962; by September 8, 1965, the name was removed from the train. It was discontinued on March 7, 1968.
The dining car, originally built in 1948, was restored and returned to service by the Kentucky-Indiana Rail Advocates in 1998, serving up food on the dinner train from original recipes like seafood gumbo, lamb, plum pudding, and ham with red eye gravy.
Major stations served Cincinnati Union Station Covington, Kentucky Winchester, Kentucky Corbin, Kentucky (with connections to and from Louisville to the west) Knoxville L&N Station Cartersville, Georgia Marietta Depot Atlanta Union Station Atlanta Terminal Station Albany Union Station Jacksonville Union Station
References
Further reading
External links December 1965 L&N schedule October 1955 ACL schedule