The Midnight Special
Encyclopedia
The Midnight Special was the name of a passenger train formerly operated by the Chicago and Alton Railroad and its successor, the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
. The train ran on an overnight schedule, and in later years carried the last regularly scheduled Pullman sleeping car between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri
. The train made its final run on April 30, 1971, although Amtrak
continued several other passenger trains over the same route traversed by the Midnight Special.
This Midnight Special is not the same train as in the famous Leadbelly
song "Midnight Special
." Some have written that the song refers to the Southern Pacific's Golden Gate Limited, but no train by that name ever ran on the Southern Pacific. More likely the song refers to the Missouri Pacific's Houston to New Orleans train called The Houstonian which departed Houston's Union Station shortly before midnight.
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St...
. The train ran on an overnight schedule, and in later years carried the last regularly scheduled Pullman sleeping car between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. The train made its final run on April 30, 1971, although 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...
continued several other passenger trains over the same route traversed by the Midnight Special.
This Midnight Special is not the same train as in the famous Leadbelly
Leadbelly
Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....
song "Midnight Special
Midnight Special (song)
"Midnight Special" is a traditional folk song thought to have originated among prisoners in the American South. The title comes from the refrain which refers to the Midnight Special and its "ever-loving light" ....
." Some have written that the song refers to the Southern Pacific's Golden Gate Limited, but no train by that name ever ran on the Southern Pacific. More likely the song refers to the Missouri Pacific's Houston to New Orleans train called The Houstonian which departed Houston's Union Station shortly before midnight.