Name Trains by Railroad

I grew up in a little community about twenty miles east of St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, the ‘Railroad Capital of Canada.’ I loved to watch the trains on the Wabash Railroad, which ran through there. As I watched the names on the various types of cars on the freight trains, I became familiar with the names of many railroads in Canada and the United States. My train traveling was done between 1945 and 1955. I hope that this will bring back some pleasant memories for those who traveled by train in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s and some transportation history for all.

This list includes trains from North America only. This gives an idea of the number of passenger trains operating in Canada and the United States in 1948. The name trains have been listed according by railroad that they traveled over. In some cases just the Pullman equipment traveled over these lines.

Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe (AT&SF)

1. Antelope
2. California Limited
3. California Special
4. Cavern
5. Centennial State
6. Chicagoan
7. Chief
8. El Capitan
9. El Pasoan
10. Fast Mail Express
11. Golden Gate
12. Grand Canyon
13. Kansas Cityan
14. Oil Flyer
15. Ranger
16. San Diegan
17. Scout
18. Super Chief
19. Texas Chief
20. Tulsan
21. West Texas Express

Atlanta and West Point (A&WP)

1. Crescent
2. Piedmont Limited

Atlantic Coast Line (ACL)

1. Champion (East Coast)
2. Champion (West Coast)
3. City of Miami
4. Dixie Flagler
5. Dixie Flyer
6. Dixie Limited
7. Everglades
8. Flamingo
9. Georgian
10. Havana Special (East Coast)
11. Havana Special (West Coast)
12. Miamian
13. Palmetto
14. Seminole
15. South Wind
16. Southland
17. Sunchaser

Baltimore and Ohio (B&O)

1. Ambassador
2. Capitol Limited
3. Cincinnatian
4. Cleveland Night Express
5. Columbian
6. Diplomat
7. Marylander
8. Metropolitan Special
9. National
10. Royal Blue
11. Shenandoah

Boston and Maine (B&M)

1. Alouette
2. Flying Yankee
3. Green Mountain
4. Gull
5. Kennebec
6. Minute Man
7. Monadnoch
8. Montrealer
9. Mount Royal
10. Mountaineer
11. New Englander
12. Penobscot
13. Pine Tree
14. Red Wing
15. State of Maine
16. Washingtonian

Canadian National Railways (CNR)

1. Ambassador
2. Continental Limited
3. Gull
4. Inter-City Limited
5. International Limited
6. LaSalle
7. Maple Leaf
8. Maritime Express
9. Montrealer
10. New Englander
11. Northland
12. Ocean Limited
13. Owl
14. Scotian
15. Washingtonian
16. Winnipeg Limited

Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)

1. Alouette
2. Chicago Express
3. Chinook
4. Dominion
5. Frontenac
6. Great West
7. Gull
8. Kettle Valley Express
9. Kootenay Express
10. Laurentian
11. Michigan
12. Montreal Limited
13. Overseas
14. Red Wing
15. Royal York
16. Viger
17. Winnipeger

Central of Georgia (CG)

1. City of Miami
2. Flamingo
3. Nancy Hanks
4. Seminole
5. Southland
6. Sunchaser

Central Vermont (CV)

1. Ambassador
2. Montrealer
3. New Englander
4. Vermonter
5. Washingtonian

Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O)

1. F. F. V.
2. George Washington
3. Resort Special
4. Sportsman

Chicago and Eastern Illinois (C&EI)

1. Cardinal
2. Dixie Flagler
3. Dixie Flyer
4. Dixie Limited
5. Dixie Mail
6. Georgian
7. Meadowlark
8. Silent Knight

Chicago and Northwestern (C&NW)

1. Arrowhead Limited
2. Ashland Limited
3. Ashland Mail
4. Capitol 400
5. Chicago Limited
6. City of Denver
7. City of Los Angeles
8. City of Milwaukee 400
9. City of Portland
10. City of San Francisco
11. Columbine
12. Commuter 400
13. Duluth-Superior Limited
14. Flambeau 400
15. Gold Coast
16. Los Angeles Challenger
17. Green Bay 400
18. Kate Shelly 400
19. Los Angeles Limited
20. Minnesota 400
21. Mondamin
22. Nightingale
23. North American
24. Northwestern Limited
25. Pacific
26. Peninsula 400
27. San Francisco Challenger
28. San Francisco Overland
29. Shoreline 400
30. Twin Cities 400
31. Utahn
32. Valley 400
33. Victory
34. Viking

Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy (Burlington Route) (CB&Q)

1. Ak-Sar-Ben
2. Alaskan
3. American Royal
4. Black Hawk
5. California Zephyr
6. Denver Zephyr
7. Empire Builder
8. Exposition Flyer
9. Mainstreeter
10. Mark Twain Zephyr
11. Nebraska Zephyr
12. North Coast Limited
13. Oriental Limited
14. Sam Houston Zephyr
15. Silver Streak Zephyr
16. Texas Zephyr
17. Twin Cities Zephyr (am, pm)
18. Western Star
19. Zephyr Rocket

Chicago Great Western (CGW)

1. Mill Cities Limited
2. Minnesotan
3. Nebraska Limited
4. Omaha Express

Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville (Monon) (CI&L)

1. Bluegrass
2. Thoroughbred
3. Tippecanoe

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific (Milwaukee Road) (CMSP&P)

1. Afternoon Hiawatha
2. Chippewa
3. Olympian Hiawatha
4. Morning Hiawatha
5. Pioneer Limited
6. Southwest Limited

Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific (Rock Island) (CRI&P)

1. Choctaw Express
2. Corn Belt Rocket
3. Des Moines-Chicago Rocket
4. Des Moines-Omaha Limited
5. Golden State
6. Hot Springs Limited
7. Imperial
8. LaSalle St. Limited
9. Mid-Continental Special
10. Peoria-Chicago Express
11. Rocky Mountain Rocket
12. Short Line Express
13. Southwest Express
14. Texas Rocket
15. Twin Star Rocket
16. Zephyr Rocket

Delaware and Hudson (D&H)

1. Laurentian
2. Montreal Limited
3. Mountain Express

Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western (Lackawanna) (DL&W)

1. Chicagoan
2. Keystone Express
3. Lackawanna Limited
4. Merchants Express
5. New York Mail
6. New Yorker
7. Nickel Plate Limited
8. Owl
9. Phoebe Snow
10. Pittsburgh Express
11. Pocono Express
12. Westerner

Denver and Rio Grande Western (Rio Grande) (D&RGW)

1. California Zephyr
2. Colorado Eagle
3. Exposition Flyer
4. Mountaineer
5. Prospector
6. Royal Gorge
7. Yampa Valley Mail

Dominion Atlantic (DA)

1. Gull

Erie (Erie)

1. Atlantic Express
2. Erie Limited
3. Lake Cities
4. Mountain Express
5. Pacific Express
6. Southern Tier Express

Florida East Coast (FEC)

1. Champion (East Coast)
2. City of Miami
3. Dixie Flagler
4. Dixie Flyer
5. Dixie Limited
6. Everglades
7. Flamingo
8. Florida Special
9. Georgian
10. Havana Special (East Coast)
11. Kansas City
12. Florida Special
13. Memphian
14. Miamian
15. Palmland
16. South Wind
17. Southland
18. Sunchaser

Grand Trunk Western (GTW)

1. Inter-City Limited
2. International Limited
3. New York Express
4. LaSalle

Great Northern (GN)

1. Badger
2. Cascadean
3. Empire Builder
4. Fast Mail
5. Gopher
6. Oriental Limited
7. Pacific Coast Express
8. Red River
9. Western Star
10. Winnipeg Limited

Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe (GC&SF)

1. California Special
2. Ranger
3. Texas Chief

Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio (GM&O)

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Alton Limited
3. Ann Rutledge
4. Gulf Coast Rebel
5. Mail
6. Midnight Special
7. Night Hawk
8. Prairie State Express

Illinois Central (IC)

1. Chickasaw
2. City of Miami
3. City of New Orleans
4. Daylight
5. Green Diamond
6. Hawkeye
7. Illini
8. Iowan
9. Land O’Corn
10. Louisiane
11. Miss Lou
12. Night Diamond
13. Northern Express
14. Northwestern Limited
15. Panama Limited
16. Planter
17. Seminole
18. Southern Express
19. Southwestern Limited
20. Sunchaser

Kansas City Southern (KCS)

1. Flying Crow
2. Shreveporter
3. Southern Belle

Lehigh Valley (LV)

1. Asa Packer
2. Black Diamond
3. John Wilkes
4. Major
5. New York Express
6. Star

Louisville and Nashville (L&N)

1. Azalean
2. Dixie Flagler
3. Dixie Flyer
4. Dixie Limited
5. Flamingo
6. Georgian
7. Hummingbird
8. Pan-American
9. Piedmont Limited
10. South Wind
11. Southland

Maine Central (MC)

1. Gull

Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&SL)

1. Day Express
2. Night Express

Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie (Soo Line) (MSP&SSM)

1. Laker
2. Soo Dominion
3. Winnipeger

Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) (MKT)

1. Bluebonnet
2. Katy Flyer
3. Katy Limited
4. Sooner
5. Texas Special

Missouri-Pacific (MP)

1. Colorado Eagle
2. Houstonian
3. Louisiana Sunshine Special
4. Missouri River Eagle
5. Missourian
6. Orleanean
7. Ozarkan
8. Pioneer
9. Rainbow Special
10. Royal Gorge
11. Southerner
12. Star
13. Sunshine Special
14. Texan
15. Texas Eagle

Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis (NC&SL)

1. Dixie Flagler
2. Dixie Flyer
3. Dixie Limited
4. Georgian

National Railways of Mexico (NRM)

1. Sunshine Special

New York Central (NYC)

1. Berkshire
2. Booth Tarkington
3. Buffalo-Pittsburgh Express
4. Canadian
5. Chicago Express
6. Chicago Mercury
7. Chicagoan
8. Cincinnati Special
9. Cleveland Limited
10. Cleveland Mercury
11. Cleveland-Columbus Special
12. Columbus-Cleveland Special
13. Commodore Vanderbilt
14. Detroiter
15. DeWitt Clinton
16. Easterner
17. Empire State Express
18. Fifth Avennue Special
19. Forest City
20. Gateway
21. Great Lakes
22. Hendrick Hudson
23. Interstate Express
24. Iroquois
25. James Whitcomb Riley
26. Knickerbocker
27. Laurentian
28. Michigan
29. Michigan Special
30. Midnight Special
31. Midwestern
32. Minute Man
33. Missourian
34. Mohawk
35. Montreal Limited
36. Motor City Special
37. Mountain Express
38. New England States
39. New York Special
40. Niagara
41. North Shore Limited
42. North Star
43. Northerner
44. Ohio Special
45. Ohio State Limited
46. Ontarion
47. Overseas
48. Pacemaker
49. Pittsburgh-Buffalo Express
50. Royal York
51. South Shore
52. Southwestern State Special
53. Sycamore
54. Texas Special
55. Tuscarora
56. Twentieth Century Limited
57. Twilight Limited
58. Wolverine

New York, Chicago, and St. Louis (Nickel Plate Road) (NYC&SL)

1. Chicagoan
2. New York Mail
3. New Yorker
4. Nickel Plate Limited
5. Westerner

New York, New Haven, and Hartford (New Haven) (NH)

1. Bankers
2. Champion
3. Colonial
4. Cotton Blossom
5. Everglades
6. Federal
7. Havana Special
8. Merchants Limited
9. Miamian
10. Montrealer
11. Palmetto
12. Palmland
13. Patriot
14. Peach Queen
15. Pilgrim
16. Quaker
17. Senator
18. Silver Meteor
19. Silver Star
20. Sunland
21. Valley Express
22. William Penn
23. Washingtonian

Norfolk and Western (N&W)

1. Birmingham Special
2. Cannon Ball
3. Cavalier
4. Chicago Daylight Express
5. Chicago Night Express
6. Cincinnati Daylight Express
7. Cincinnati Night Express
8. Pelican
9. Pocahantas
10. Powhatan Arrow
11. Southerner
12. Tennessean
13. Union

Northern Pacific (NP)

1. Alaskan
2. Mainstreeter
3. North Coast Limited
4. St. Paul-Winnipeg

Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)

1. Admiral
2. American
3. Azalean
4. Birmingham Special
5. Broadway Limited
6. Cannon Ball
7. Champion
8. Chicago Arrow
9. Chicago Daylight Express
10. Chicago Night Express
11. Cincinnati Daylight Express
12. Cincinnati Limited
13. Cincinnati Night Express
14. Clevelander
15. Colonial
16. Congressional
17. Cotton Blossom
18. Crescent
19. Detroit Arrow
20. Duquesne
21. Everglades
22. F. F. V.
23. Federal
24. Fort Pitt
25. General
26. George Washington
27. Golden Triangle
28. Gotham Limited
29. Havana Special
30. Hummingbird
31. Iron City Express
32. Jeffersonian
33. Juanita
34. Keystone Express
35. Liberty Limited
36. Mail
37. Manhattan Limited
38. Miamian
39. Mid-City Express
40. Montrealer
41. Northern Arrow
42. Palmetto
43. Palmland
44. Pan American
45. Patriot
46. Peach Queen
47. Pelican
48. Pennsylvania Limited
49. Pennsylvanian
50. Philadelphia Express
51. Philadelphia Night Express
52. Piedmont Limited
53. Pilgrim
54. Pittsburgh Express
55. Pittsburgher
56. Quaker
57. Rainbow
58. Red Arrow
59. Red Bird
60. Senator
61. Silver Comet
62. Silver Meteor
63. Silver Star
64. South Wind
65. Southerner
66. Southland
67. Spirit of St. Louis
68. Sportsman
69. St. Louisan
70. Sunland
71. Tennessean
72. Texas Eagle
73. Texas Special
74. Trailblazer
75. Union
76. Valley Special
77. Washingtonian
78. William Penn

Pittsburgh and Lake Erie (P&LE)

1. Buffalo-Pittsburgh Express
2. Pittsburgh-Buffalo Express
3. Washingtonian

Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac (RF&P)

1. Cannon Ball
2. Champion
3. Cotton Blossom
4. Everglades
5. Havana Special
6. Miamian
7. Palmetto
8. Palmland
9. Silver Comet
10. Silver Meteor
11. Silver Star
12. Sunland

St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) (SLSF)

1. Firefly
2. Florida Special
3. Kansas City-Florida Special
4. Lone Star
5. Memphian
6. Meteor
7. Morning Star
8. Oklahoman
9. Sunnyland
10. Texas Special
11. Will Rogers

St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) (SLSW)

1. Lone Star
2. Morning Star

Seaboard Air Line (SAL)

1. Cotton Blossom
2. Orange Blossom Special
3. Palmland
4. Silver Comet
5. Silver Meteor
6. Silver Star
7. Sunland

Southern Pacific (SP)

1. Acadian
2. Alamo
3. Argonaut
4. Beaver
5. Border Limited
6. Cascade
7. City of San Francisco
8. Coaster
9. Del Monte
10. Gold Coast
11. Golden State
12. Hustler
13. Imperial
14. Klamath
15. Lark
16. Mail
17. Morning Daylight
18. Noon Daylight
19. Oakland Lark
20. Owl (2)
21. Passenger (2)
22. Rouge River
23. San Francisco Challenger
24. San Francisco Overland
25. Sunbeam
26. Sunset Limited
27. West Coast

Southern Railway (SR)

1. Aiken-Augusta Special
2. Asheville Special
3. Birmingham Special
4. Carolina Special
5. Crescent
6. Florida Special
7. Peach Queen
8. Pelican
9. Piedmont Limited
10. Ponce de Leon
11. Royal Palm
12. Southerner
13. Sunnyland
14. Tennessean

Toronto, Hamilton, and Buffalo (TH&B)

1. Ontarion

Union Pacific (UP)

1. Butte Special
2. City of Denver
3. City of Los Angeles
4. City of Portland
5. City of St. Louis
6. City of San Francisco
7. Columbine
8. Gold Coast
9. Idahoan
10. Los Angeles Challenger
11. Los Angeles Limited
12. Northwest Special
13. Pacific
14. Pony Express
15. Portland Rose
16. San Francisco Challenger
17. San Francisco Overland
18. Spokane
19. Utahn
20. Yellowstone Special

Wabash Railroad (WAB)

1. Banner Blue
2. Blue Bird
3. City of Kansas City
4. City of St. Louis
5. Detroit Limited
6. Midnight Special
7. Omaha Limited
8. Red Bird
9. St. Louis Limited (2)
10. Wabash Cannon Ball

Western Pacific (WP)

1. California Zephyr
2. Exposition Flyer
3. Royal Gorge

Western Railway of Alabama (WRA)

1. Piedmont Limited