Champion (train)
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The Champion was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Florida East Coast Railway between New York City and Miami or St. Petersburg, Florida. It operated from 1939 until 1979, continuing under the Seaboard Coast Line and Amtrak. It was a direct competitor to the Seaboard Air Line Railway's Silver Meteor, the first New York-Florida streamliner.
A postcard depiction of the Champion.
ACL #501, an EMC E3, at the North Carolina Transportation Museum.
ACL #254, a tavern-lounge-observation car built for the Champion in 1940-41. Now at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum.
The Venice section of SCL's Champion in 1971; led by SCL 4900
Silver Meteor
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The Silver Meteor is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) and one of the flagship trains of its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). The train was transferred to Amtrak when it took over intercity passenger rail service in 1971.
The Silver Meteor arriving in Palatka, Florida in 2023
Silver Meteor 1961 SAL timetable
SAL's shrouded 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive #865 with the Silver Meteor's St. Petersburg section, in the 1940s
The Silver Meteor passing through Odenton, Maryland in 2014.