The late Grandpa Jones used to sing a song called "I'll Ride the Champion", about the Florida streamliner. Did he ever come around to see this restoration? If I recall from seeing old postcards, the Champion was a single diesel with about five or so cars. Does enough appropriate ACL rolling stock (Budd?) exist to recreate it accurately?

http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?september03/09-02-03/ACL501SpencerNC27Apr02.jpg
ryarger@rypn.org

No ACL (Champion) round end observations still exsist. From the first two consists ACL 250 was destroyed in a wreck & ACL 251 was converted to a blunt end. ACL never ordered any more round end cars again. The other cars are numerous enough that I'm sure they could be rounded up to recreate an original ACL 7 car Champion. Maybe the new FEC management team might even be agreeable to running the train for historical recreation from Jacksonville to Miami.

shadowtransit@yahoo.com

Original postcard from the era.

http://www.getcruising.com/gfx/rails/pc5302.jpg
ryarger@rypn.org