The Champion, ACL's Premier Train to Sunny Florida

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad needed its own exotic Miami-bound passenger train after rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad debuted its very successful Silver Meteor on February 2, 1939 connecting New York with Miami. To keep pace the ACL inaugurated its own version in December of that year called the Champion. In conjunction with the Florida East Coast Railway the Champion provided daily service between New York and Miami. The train featured a beautiful livery and because both the ACL and SAL served the very trendy vacation destination of Florida, their passenger trains to the Sunshine State remained popular through the late 1960s! However, since both railroads’ flagship trains served essentially the same market when Amtrak took over intercity passenger train operations in the spring of 1971 it elected to keep the Silver Meteor only and dropped the Champion in 1979.

This tropical climate gave both railroads an unprecedented marketing advantage not found on most other systems. Even as passenger railroad traffic took serious hits beginning in the 1950s, as travelers found planes and more reliable automobiles more convenient means of transportation (the Interstate highway system also didn’t help the railroads), across the industry both the Seaboard Air Line and ACL continued to earn profits with their Florida-bound trains all of the way up through the 1960s! (Both railroads would merge in 1967 forming the Seaboard Coast Line system.)

The ACL’s Champion was actually stylized quite similarly to the Silver Meteor when its streamlined, lightweight equipment arrived from the Budd Company in late 1939. The train itself was adorned in a stunning paint scheme of colorful purple and silver with yellow trim, led by Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) E3 diesels. The interior look of the train was again similar to the Meteor and featured nautical and tropical themes in bright colors.

Interestingly, the Champion operated over four different railroads with its segment across the ACL roughly the mid-point of the train's journey. From north to south, the railroad worked in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Railroad to ferry passengers from New York City's Pennsylvania Station to Washington, D.C. (usually under electrically-powered, streamlined GG1 locomotives) where they boarded the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac to continue their journey southward. Once in Richmond, Virginia passengers again switched trains, this time directly onto the Atlantic Coast Line. From this point, they remained aboard the ACL until reaching Jacksonville, Florida and the Florida East Coast Railway. Once the train reached Florida East Coast tracks at Jacksonville it was picked up by an equally colorful E3s, in an attractive bright yellow and red livery for the remainder of the journey to south Florida.

The Atlantic Coast Line’s services to the south included the East Coast Champion (New York – Miami), West Coast Champion (New York – Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota), Florida Special (New York – Miami), Miamian (Washington, D.C. – Miami), Vacationer (New York – Miami), Havana Special (New York – Key West), Palmetto (New York – Savannah/Augusta, Georgia/Wilmington, North Carolina), and the Everglades (New York – Jacksonville). The ACL also operated most of these passenger trains in conjunction with the Florida East Coast, such as its Havana Special to Key West (this train was renamed the Gulf Coast Special after the 1935 Hurricane destroyed the FEC’s Key West Extension and the train then terminated as far south as Fort Myers). The railroad’s Floridian passenger service was also so successful that it continued building new stations up through the 1960s!

Due to the Atlantic Coast Line's success with its initial Champion, the railroad rolled out other versions of the train including the East Coast Champion between New York City and St. Petersburg and the West Coast Champion between New York and Miami. After the merger of the Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line in 1967 the SCL continued the Champion as trains #91 (southbound) and #92 (northbound), continuing to offer nearly full passenger train amenities including reclining-seat coach service, sleepers, diners, and tavern-lounges (sleeper service was particularly rare by the late 1960s).

These services continued through the startup of Amtrak in 1971, which continued to operate the train until 1979. While today the Champion has essentially been combined into the Silver Meteor under Amtrak, it was an extremely successful operation that continues to see high ridership numbers.

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Also, for more reading on streamliners like the Champion you might want to also consider the book Streamliners: A History of the Railroad Icon from renowned author Mike Schafer who covers in detail most of the well known and remembered “classic” passenger trains to operate in the country. If you have any interest in such you should very much enjoy Mr. Schafer’s book. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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