Ann Rutledge (train)

Ann Rutledge
The Ann Rutledge in Springfield, Illinois. A GE Genesis leads the train, with an Amfleet coach and two Horizon Fleet coaches visible. The Illinois Capitol building can be seen over the center car.
Overview
Service type Inter-city rail
Status Discontinued
Locale Midwest United States
First service 1937
Last service 2009
Successor Missouri River Runner
Former operator(s) Alton Railroad, Amtrak
Route
Start St. Louis, Missouri
Stops 9
End Kansas City, Missouri
Distance travelled 283 mi (455 km)
Train number(s) 313,314
On-board services
Class(es) Business class and reserved coach
Catering facilities On-board café
Technical
Rolling stock Horizon Fleet and Amfleet coaches
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s) Union Pacific Railroad

The Ann Rutledge was a passenger train service operated by Amtrak running between St. Louis, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri as part of the Missouri Services brand. In 2009 Amtrak consolidated the Ann Rutledge, Kansas City Mule, and the St. Louis Mule under the new name Missouri River Runner.

History

Pre-Amtrak

The Alton Railroad inaugurated the Ann Rutledge in 1937 as a companion to the Abraham Lincoln over the St. Louis–Chicago route. The Alton named the train after Ann Rutledge, a woman from New Salem, Illinois, who may have been the first love of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.[1] The Ann Rutledge used the Lincoln's original lightweight equipment set, while the Lincoln received a matching set originally used by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's (B&O) Royal Blue.[2]:145 The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (GM&O) continued the Ann Rutledge upon its merger with the Alton in 1947.[3] The GM&O ended the Ann Rutledge on April 27, 1958.[4]:225

Amtrak

A Lincoln Service train lays over at St. Louis before continuing onward as the Ann Rutledge in 2008

Amtrak revived the name Ann Rutledge on February 15, 1976 for an Amfleet-equipped train on the St. Louis-Chicago route, replacing a Turboliner frequency. The revival proved short-lived: on October 31 Amtrak extended the Laredo-St. Louis Inter-American through to Chicago, replacing the Ann Rutledge. In a reversal of the situation with the Alton in the 1930s, Amtrak used the Ann Rutledge's Amfleet coaches to re-equip a revived Abraham Lincoln. Amtrak revived the Ann Rutledge again on October 30, 1977, replacing the Abraham Lincoln.[4]:229

Until April 2007, it operated as trains 303/304 over the full 567-mile (912 km) route between Chicago and Kansas City via St. Louis, serving as part of both the Illinois Service and Missouri Service. After April 2007, it operated as trains 313/314 between only St. Louis and Kansas City, connecting to Lincoln Service trains at St. Louis. In 2009, Amtrak consolidated the Ann Rutledge, Kansas City Mule, and the St. Louis Mule under the new name Missouri River Runner.

References

  1. ↑ Schwartz, Barry. "Ann Rutledge in American Memory: Social Change and the Erosion of a Romantic Drama". Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  2. ↑ Harwood, Herbert H.; Courtney B. Wilson (2002). Royal Blue Line: the classic B&O train between Washington and New York. Johns Hopkins University Press.
  3. ↑ "gmo.htm". Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  4. 1 2 Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
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