Humming Bird (passenger train)

The "Humming Bird" was a named train of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). The train, inaugurated in 1946, originally ran from Cincinnati, Ohio to New Orleans, Louisiana, via Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile, and later via a connection at Bowling Green, Kentucky to Memphis, Tennessee.

In the mid-1950s, Train 5 departed Louisville, Ky at 10:05 pm for New Orleans. Train 6 was the northbound number. [http://members.aol.com/chirailfan/stbclou.html]

The original equipment was part of a 28-car order of 4 train sets of lightweight aluminum cars built in 1946 by ACF. Fourteen cars were assigned to the "Humming Bird" and fourteen to the "Georgian." Many of those cars were removed from service in the late 1960s due to severe corrosion problems.

The L&N Railroad served the old Union Station in Memphis, until its closure on April 1, 1964. The railroad then used Central Station. Both L&N and Southern Railway were forced to reopen part of Union Station on December 1, 1966, and use it until March 30, 1968.

The "Humming Bird" was canceled in 1968. At that time, the L&N Railroad earned some unwanted publicity when it terminated the final run of the train en route after a federal judge lifted the order keeping the train running after the ICC approved its permanent discontinuance. The passengers were then bussed to their destinations. [http://www.koyote.com/users/whsulliv/louisvillenashville020.htm]

Important cities on the Humming Bird route

*Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Union Terminal
*Louisville, Kentucky, Union Station
*Bowling Green, Kentucky L&N Station
*Nashville, Tennessee, Union Station
*Memphis, Tennessee, Union Station
*Birmingham, Alabama, L&N Station
*New Orleans, Louisiana

External links

* [http://www.cbu.edu/~mcondren/MRP/MemphisUnionStation/L&N-Memphis-Pass-Pixs.htm Humming Bird]
* [http://www.cbu.edu/~mcondren/MRP/MemphisUnionStation/Last-Day-MUS.htm Huming Bird at Memphis, March 31, 1964]