Both Green River and Kentucky River were not Crescent cars. While they were built to the same plan as Pearl River and Mobile River, they were painted, smooth-sided cars. The pair were originally painted in PRR tuscan red, and lettered for the L&N for through service on the PRR to the L&N in Cincinnati, to points south. At some point, the through service ended, and the cars were repainted into the blue and grey paint we all know and love.

Here is a photo of the Green River in L&N paint:
http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?november98/11-09-98/ln-greenriver.jpg

The caption is wrong, the car is obviously part of a train being backed into Louisville Union Station. Notice the roof of the L&N general office building in the background.

Both of the smoothside cars went to Amtrak.

Green River went to Mexico's FNM after Amtrak and was named "America". Kentucky River is at the Bluegrass Railway Museum:

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1961180

An Update:

L&N #3411 Kentucky River (Amtrak #2813) at Bluegrass RR Museum is currently in the process of being scrapped. See this thread: http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36647

There were three cars built with smooth sides, Green River, Kentucky River and Barren River. What is even more interesting is that they were built as a part of the same order (same lot number) as other SOU/L&N/A&WP/WRA/NYC cars. according to Streamliner Cars - Volume 1 Pullman Standard.

An Update:

Sleepers:

49 Cars, P-S, 1949, Lot #6814, Plan #4140, 10RM-6DB:

6 cars owned by FEC and assigned to Royal Palm.



BAR #105 was acquired by the Blue Ridge Scenic RY as BLRX #105: http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2485960 (John Owens photo)

Blue Ridge also acquired BAR #106, which was built as FEC 10-6 sleeper Oriente (P-S, 1949, Lot #6809, Plan #4140B, ACL order) sold in 1966 to CN #2135 Grande Riviere, reconfigured to Dayniter chair #5740 to VIA to BAR: http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=851276 (Raymond Stewart photo)

Rainier,
See Flimsies for a news story about the above lightweight "French Broad River".
The photo attached to the news story is of a heavyweight Southern business car that is also named "French Broad River", which I think is the one you talked about in your heavyweights thread (quote below).
I'm as confused as the reporter now.



Edited to clean up writing.

Thanks, Rock Island!

I don't know why the reporter selected a photo of Grafton & Upton's ex-SOU modified heavyweight business car, which is indeed named French Broad River, rather than a photo of the lightweight P-S sleeper of the same name, which is the car in Latonia that Corbin has acquired. Maybe due to the fact that the museum tracks in Latonia are close together, with minimal empty space between cars, and therefore getting photos that would suffice for a newspaper article can be difficult. Or maybe because he didn't realize that there are 2 cars of the same name, both of SOU heritage (see below).

Besides this, I think the reporter did some of his research on this car via one of the main search engines, which led him to the RYPN forum, and this thread, as the text excerpt below appears to be a modified cut-and-paste of the same post you quoted above:

A quote from the article linked to in Flimsies: http://www.thenewsjournal.net/details/8711/Rail-cars-donated-to-Tourism-Commission-for-planned-railroad-museum#comments



The original post, as quoted by Rock Island Lines:

While it didn't result in the retirement of any cars (as far as I can tell), on 5/26/1978 the Crescent (direction?) hit a lumber truck in Atlanta, resulting in heavy damage to lead E8A #6915. The #6915 is seen here at Pegram Shops with other retired covered wagons before being turned in for GP38-2's (according to the poster, Robert Thomson, the last SOU order thereof). Photos taken by Jay Thomson on 7/22/1978.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter1828/4076088252



https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunter1828/4444681618

NTSB report for collision between SOU northbound passenger train #6 (on RF&P) and derailed car of PC freight train #B-4 in Potomac Yard, Arlington, April 27th, 1972: http://specialcollection.dotlibrary.dot.gov/Document?db=DOT-RAILROAD&query=(select+3961)

Train #6 consisted of 4 engines and 5 passenger cars, the last 2 of which (both baggage cars) were deadheading. The engines and the 3 occupied passenger cars derailed.

FP7 #6144

FP7 #6148

FP7 #6132

FP7 #6137

Baggage-12 bunk dormitory-22 seat coach #705 Bedford (P-S, Lot #6646, Plan #7455, 1941). After wreck, sold to the North Carolina Transportation Museum. The prewar cars, as discussed earlier in this thread, had serious corrosion issues, and the #705 was later scrapped in 1991.

30 seat chair-conductor's office-16 seat club lounge #955 (Budd, Lot #9621-030, 1949). Sold in 1979 to Amtrak #3855, stored in 1980, sold in 1991 to VIA, initially as #176, converted to HEP as 68 seat coach #4115.

52 seat chair #1037, rebuilt in 1954 at Hayne Shop from 10S-1DR-2C sleeper #2402 Hazen (Lot #3942, Plan #2585/D/E, 1911). Now owned by TVRM.

PC ex-NYC end door baggage-express #9143 (AC&F, Lot #2910, 1946). Sold in 1976 to Amtrak, planned as #1230 (1st), which was not applied, transferred to MofW department in 1977 as tool car #17019. Current status/location unknown.

2-axle truck heavyweight baggage-express #543 (StLCC, 1942). Later acquired by the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum (SARX), Oak Ridge, TN.

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

While not a Southern car, but being a part of the crescent consist, to clarify a couple of other posts about L&N RPO/Baggage 1120, this car most DEFINITELY was wrecked with the Crescent consist at Woodstock, AL in 1951. We do have 1120 at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum but have pretty much decided that it is a replacement car that was built two years after the derailment. The reason we believe it to be a new car is that we have wreck photos of the Woodstock wreck showing about two thirds of the car on the RPO end virtually obliterated. We also have a copy of the accident report listing this car in the consists as well as its position/location after the derailment occurred. Luckily the car was unoccupied of RPO clerks because the train was not on its usual route which would have been on the L&N at that point of the run but was detouring on the Southern thereby leaving the RPO unattended as its mail run was not on this portion of the route. At any rate, the Crescent's RPO/Baggage cars were built in 1949, the L&N 1120 and 1121 being the L&N portion of the requirement for the Crescent consists. The wreck happened in 1951 and we believe for all practical purposes, destroyed the car beyond repair. We also lucked up and have a complete set of builders photos for none other than car 1120 taken 1953 at the Pullman plant in Chicago. Prints are dated by the Pullman Photographer. Since we have both of the L&N cars, when you look at them there are things different about them both such as marker light mounting brackets, the form and mounting of grab irons, etc. We think they salvaged what they could of the wrecked car and used it in a new car, one thing we are pretty sure was salvaged were the trucks as they have 1948 casting dates on them. We were told that after the wreck the cars sat at Boyles Yard in bham for a long time, probably waiting to see who was going to pay for the damages and to let the lawyers do their thing, but in the end we think a new 1120 was ordered and built. Unless we find something to tell us otherwise, the overwhelming evidence on hand suggests this was the case.

Thanks, Jeffery, for the info on the first and second cars numbered as L&N #1120!

Now for an update:



As posted in the CB&Q Coaches to AMTK Auto Train Buffet Cars thread, the Royal Palm is now owned by the Wisconsin Great Northern.

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Hi,

In case you are interested, I rode the Southern Crescent in 1978 just before it was to have been abandoned. A few weeks before I rode (IIRC) there was an extension of one year so so Amtrak and Southern could finalize a deal.

My last ride on the Southern Crescent was from Atlanta to Charlotte, get off and catch the Southbound to Birmingham. Mom and Dad met me there and drove me home. I had the ticket stub for many years but it was distroied by basement flooding - I can only say I think it was in the spring of 1978 but E8 6915 was in the train and I am not sure when the accident happened in Duluth GA when she hit a concrete truck who could not make it in front of the train and smashed up the nose. I have a poor quality photo of it - Kodak disk camera maybe?

I also do not recall for sure but I thought she had been repaired with an F9 nose from a scrapped F9.

Anyway, I recorded all the cars in the consists (17 cars north of Atlanta and 13 cars south) in case you are interested.



I'll need to find time to see which cars of the 41 cars and 12 diesels still exist today.

FWIW

Doug vV

The Pacolet River's number was 2008.

Hi,

Thanks for the correction.

Is there a known reason for the letters after the locomotive number?

Doug vV

At the time, SR was using a letter suffix to its loco numbers as a form of computer check. Somewhere buried in the back issues of Trains in that era was a piece explaining whatever the algorithm was.

Here is an on-line explanation:

http://southern.railfan.net/check.htm