This is a question I ask because I often see footage of various NS program steamers on it, but what exactly was it?

Was it a thing the Southern began that NS continued until 1994?

The "Independence Limiteds" were multi-day, Southern/NS excursions (usually one way) sponsored by the Roanoke Chapter, NRHS. The first was in 1973 which ran from Chicago, IL to Alexandria, VA. The train happened to depart on July 4th hence the Independence Limited name. I believe the 1974 train also departed on July 4h on a Cincinnati-Roanoke trip. By the 1980's these excursions often became positioning moves to get the trains to the NRHS convention sites. They no longer coincided with the July 4th holiday but the name stuck. I believe the Independence Limited operated every year through 1993. In 1994 a 4-day excursion was made to position the train for the Atlanta convention and operated over BN and NS rails with Frisco 1522 and N&W 611. However, this train was not sponsored by Roanoke Chapter. St. Louis Chapter sponsored that 1994 run and called it the Peach Blossom Special.

That's basically it in a nutshell. The original thing was getting the train back from the Chicago area back to the east coast and figuring out how to sell it so as to make money (or at least cover costs). The Roanoke NRHS operated the train, and it basically ran almost every year that Roanoke didn't host the NRHS Convention, often times going to or from Roanoke itself. It often ran timed with the NRHS Conventions when the SR/NR Steam Program was being used either as an inbound or outbound special. That would often time out with the normal problem of getting the trainset and engines from point A to point B which was several hundred miles away. There was also benefits to make the routing "interesting" from a scheduling perspective--rare mileage or otherwise.

The other thing was that unlike the normal excursion, there were multiple stops each day and it was basically marketed as dad puts mom and kids on the train and picks them up 30 miles down the road. You got that a lot on ferry moves in the early years when the steam train would operate just like a normal passenger train with corresponding mileage rates for tickets, but by the 1980s, those kind of trips were hard to come by. There were packages to ride by day and for the full trip, but the IL was basically aimed at the short haul riders.

The 1973 engine Chicago to Alexandria was SR 4501. I couldn't get time off that week but joined the train Saturday at Rook Yard (P&WV/N&W)(Pittsburgh) and I thought 4501 was old then!

I believe we ran N&W (P&WV)-Connellsville-WM-Hagerstown-N&W-Front Royal-Sou.

Phil Mulligan

The 1973 trip ran on the N&W Bellevue-Brewster-Rook Yard at least. I was at Spencer, Ohio to see it go by, my first railfan outing with me driving, as I had just gotten my learner's permit. So far, that was the only time I have ever seen 4501 in-person, and that was through a viewfinder.

I was a member of the Blackhawk Chapter of the NRHS at the time of the first Independence Limited and the chapter sponsored the first leg of the 1973 trip between Chicago and Fort Wayne behind 4501. The Chicago originating passengers were bussed from Fort Wayne to South Bend where they boarded a six car CSS&SB special that ran nonstop, except for operational stops, to Chicago. I vividly remember watching local fireworks displays from the old South Shore cars as the train returned to Chicago.

I rode the trip from Lexington, KY to Chicago (but I got off in Columbus, Ohio to fly home) in one of the final years. One of the nice features of the train was that first class included breakfast and lunch in the C&O RHS's heavyweight diner "Gadsby's Tavern", serving authentic C&O meals. My first time having peanut soup!

On the last day I rode coach from Portsmouth, Ohio to Columbus. Once I got to Columbus I figured I would get a taxi to the airport. I don't know how, but I ran into an NS official who was getting on the train and was looking for someone to return his rental car to the airport. He just gave me the keys and sent me on my way. Stuff like those trips won't happen again.