The Tennessean

Comments by Bill Pollard
Southern initially ordered 4 baggage-mail cars for the Tennessean. Cars 1700-1701 were named Corinth and Grand Junction respectively, and had a 60-foot RPO section with the remainder storage mail. Cars 1725-1726 were named Lenoir City and Athens respectively, and were configured with a 30-foot RPO section and the remainder storage mail.

According to Wayner (Car Names, Numbers and Consist), the 60-foot RPO's operated Washington-Chattanoogo, while the 30-foot RPOs operated Chattanooga-Memphis. The two names assigned to the 60-foot RPOs were two cities located on the Chattanooga-Memphis part of the route, while the two names assigned to the 30-foot RPOs were cities located on the Washington-Chattanooga part of the route. If Wayner's initial assignment is correct, none of these four cars regularly operated through their namesake city -- seemingly illogical when the cars were named for on-line cites, with great publicity and fanfare for the cities involved.

Railway Mail Service timetables (4th Division #594, July 27, 1941) confirms Chattanooga & Memphis RPO service operating with a 30-foot RPO section on trains 35, 36, 45, and 46. Washington & Chattanooga RPO ND [Wash-Bristol] and SD [Bristol-Chatt] utilized a RPO car with 60-foot RPO section.

By May 1944, and thereafter into the 1960s, Chattanooga & Memphis RPO service on trains 45-46 was expanded to a 60-foot RPO compartment, while the RPO section on trains 35-36 remained 30-foot. This change required an additional car with 60-foot RPO section; it is currently unknown whether this car operated in captive service between Memphis and Chattanooga, or whether it was added to the existing two cars with 60-foot RPO sections, to allow operation of a single car between Memphis and Washington.

The Tennessean - equipment assignments - 1941 to 1966

Specialty Cars

A flat-end observation-tavern car initially operated between Washington and Memphis. The inaugural timetable described this car as an observation-tavern. By 1944 this car was described as an 18-seat buffet coach; in 1946-47 the description was an 18-seat observation-tavern. By 1949-1953, the listing was for simply a tavern-lounge, and in 1954-1957, for a tavern-lounge-coach. It is currently unknown whether these descriptions are for the same cars, or whether the original configuration of these cars was modified to include coach seating in later years. The tavern-lounge operated Washington-Memphis in January 1957, but was reduced to a Knoxville-Memphis operation in February, and had been discontinued entirely by September 1957.

Full dining car service was initially provided between Washington and Chattanooga. In late 1946, the dining car run was shortened to Washington and Knoxville. In mid-1958, the full diner was replaced by a diner-lounge, still operating Washington-Knoxville. In late 1964, the diner-lounge was shared with other trains, resulting in a complicated train assignment. Service was provided in both directions between Washington and Monroe and between Bristol and Knoxville, but only northbound between Bristol and Roanoke. The Washington-Monroe car was gone by mid-1965, the Bristol-Knoxville car by early 1966, leaving only the northbound Bristol-Roanoke segment until the Tennessean consolidation with the Pelican in October 1966.

Coaches

The 22-seat baggage-dorm-coach (operating Washington-Memphis) was perhaps the Tennessean's most unique type of coach. By mid-1944, this car was designated as simply a 22-seat coach-baggage car. Additional research is needed to determine if the dorm space was actually converted to baggage, or if this change was merely a simplified timetable listing. The 22-seat coach-baggage continued to be listed through March 1964, but was absent in April 1964. This change may be due to car retirement or to a simplification of timetable consist listings.

In order to comply with Jim Crow laws, the original Tennessean carried a 52-seat partition coach between Washington and Memphis. This car was last listed in mid-1957, the terminology being phased out along with the Jim Crow requirements.

Through Washington-Memphis coaches, either 52-seat or 56-seat, were carried from the time the Tennessean was inaugurated until the time the train was consolidated with the Pelican in late 1966. After that time, the Tennessean carried only Chattanooga-Memphis coaches, and through passengers were required to change cars at Chattanooga.

Pullman sleeping car service

At various times, 5 different sleeping car lines operated on the Tennessean, including two lines (New York-Memphis, and Bristol-Nashville) which operated over railroads connecting with Southern Railway -- Pennsylvania Railroad and Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway respectively.

Pullman service between Bristol and Memphis was initiated using 10 section-3 double bedroom heavyweight cars. Complaints about no Pullman service east/north of Bristol resulted in these cars being extended to operate Washington-Memphis, effective June 23, 1941. By June 1946, this route had been extended to New York-Memphis, via the PRR north of Washington. By May 1950, the heavyweight car had been replaced by 14 roomette-4 double bedroom streamlined sleepers, and this configuration was maintained until the New York-Memphis service was discontinued in May 1959. [The competing New York-Memphis through Pullman service on the PRR-L&N via Cincinnati, had been discontinued after the Summer 1956 season.]

A second Washington-Memphis sleeper line was operational by October 1949, initially using 12 section-1 drawing room cars. 14-4 streamlined cars were assigned to this route by May 1950. In late 1952, the 14-4 cars were replaced with 10 section-1 drawing room-2 compartment cars, and the route was then discontinued altogether by mid-1955. When the New York-Memphis route was discontinued in 1959, the Washington-Memphis route was reinstated, using 14-4 streamlined cars. This route was shortened to Memphis-Bristol in 1962, and the 14-4 cars were replaced by 10 roomette-6 double bedroom sleepers. The route was again shortened, to Memphis-Knoxville, in late 1964, before being discontinued altogether in January 1966.

Through Pullman car service from Bristol to Nashville, via Chattanooga and the NC&StL Railroad, existed on the Tennessean from the time the train was inaugurated, initially using 12 section-1 drawing room cars. Between ca. 1943 and ca. 1948, this car line was extended to operate Washington-Nashville. By August 1951, 10 section-1 compartment-2 double bedroom cars were assigned to the service. Through Bristol-Nashville Pullman service ended in late 1957.

Knoxville to Memphis Pullman cars were not part of the original plan for the Tennessean. The volume of traffic between those cities and the desirability of having a setout car to mitigate against the inconvenient train times at Knoxville resulted in the addition of a Knoxville sleeper by 1944. Service was originally provided by 12 section-1 drawing room cars, then 10 section-1 compartment-2 double bedroom cars starting in 1950. Between 1955 and May 1958, the route fluctuated between Knoxville and Bristol as the eastern endpoint, before returning to a Knoxville endpoint. A 10 roomette-5 double bedroom car was briefly used in late 1958 before 10-6 streamlined cars were assigned. The route was discontinued in late 1959, but returned again in late 1964 as a truncation of the Washington/Bristol-Memphis route, as noted above.

The shortest Pullman car route carried by the Tennessean was Chattanooga to Memphis, 12 section-1 drawing room cars being carried from the time the train was inaugurated until 1949. In 1950, 10 section-1 compartment-2 double bedroom cars protected the service, and by 1951, the assigned cars were 8 section-1 compartment restaurant lounge cars. These cars remained in service through August 14, 1955, after which time they were replaced by 10 section-3 double bedroom cars. The Chattanooga-Memphis sleepers were discontinued in 1956.

Key to Table:
* - newspaper clippings or manuscripts
OG - Official Guides
PTT - public timetables with month and year date only
Pullman 8sec1cpt-rest-lnge - 8-section-1-compartment-restaurant-lounge
Pullman 10s1c2dbr - 10-section-1-compartment-2-double-bedrooms
Pullman 10s1dr2c - 10-section-1-drawing-room-2-compartments
Pullman 10s3dbr - 10-section-3-double-bedrooms
Pullman 12s-1dr - 12-sections-1-drawing-room
Pullman 10-5 - 10-roomette-5-double-bedroom
Pullman 10-6 - 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom
Pullman 14-4 - 14-roomette-4-double-bedroom

Notes:
1. Inaugural date -- planned consist
2. Bristol-Memphis slpr extended Was-Mem
3. The first timetables featuring the Tennessean described this car as an observation-tavern.  By 1944, this car was described as an 18-seat buffet coach; in 1946-47 the description was an 18-seat observation-tavern.  It is believed that this change in description was due to an order from the Office of Defense Transportation which instructed all railroads to discontinue operating full lounge cars because of capacity issues during World War II.  Southern complied with this order by selling the 18 lounge car seats as coach seats, thus the revised timetable listing. The original observation cars were stored for a period of time and then dismantled in 1957, with the trucks being used on coach “kits” purchased from Pullman and finished by Southern Railway.
4. By 1949-1953, the listing was for simply a tavern-lounge, the practice of selling the lounge seats as coach inventory having ended with the conclusion of World War II.
5. 1954-1957 timetables described this car as a tavern-lounge-coach. It is currently believed that the original observation cars had been replaced by Budd (built 1949) 34-seat coach-lounge cars during this period.
6. Chatt-Mem 1st trip full sleeper Aug 15, 1955
7. The assigned cars were 8 section-1 compartment restaurant lounge cars. In 1953 and 1954 (and perhaps earlier), the cars assigned to this service were Old Elm Club and Rochester Club, both owned by Chicago Great Western, but leased to Pullman.
8. Pullman Discontinued effective 1-6-1966
9. Pelican north of Chattanooga

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