Pan-American (passenger train)
Encyclopedia
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
state-of-the-art train linking the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cities of Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. Service started in 1921 and in 1940 was reequipped with streamlined, lightweight equipment in the way of diners, sleepers, lounges, and observations. The train remained in service until the startup of Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
in 1971.
The train was made famous by WSM Radio's nightly broadcast of the passing train's whistle. Some Pan-American passengers were lucky enough to sit in comfortable lounge chairs and hear the sound of their own train's whistle from a wood-cabinet table radio tuned to WSM in the observation car
Observation car
An observation car/carriage/coach is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the last carriage, with windows on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure...
.
The Pan-American inspired several songs:
- "Pan-American Blues" (1926) by DeFord BaileyDeFord BaileyDeFord Bailey was an American country music star from the 1920s until 1941, and the first performer on the Grand Ole Opry...
- "The Pan-American" (1948) by Hank Williams
- "Pan-American Boogie" (1949) by the Delmore BrothersThe Delmore BrothersAlton Delmore and Rabon Delmore , billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneers and stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s...