Silver Meteor

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Silver Meteor

Silver Meteor speeds through Odenton, Maryland
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Locale	East Coast of the United States
First service	February 2, 1939
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Former operator(s)	Seaboard Air Line Railroad (1939–1967) Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (1967–1971) Pennsylvania Railroad (1939–1968, haulage agreement) Penn Central (1968–1971, haulage agreement)
Ridership	1,023 daily 373,576 total (FY11)[1]
Route
Start	New York City
Stops	33
End	Miami
Distance travelled	1,389 miles (2,235 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	97, 98
On-board services
Class(es)	Coach Class Sleeper Service
Disabled access	All train cars, all stations
Sleeping arrangements	Roomette (2 beds) Bedroom (2 beds) Bedroom Suite (4 beds) Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)
Catering facilities	Dining car, Café
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet, Viewliner
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Track owner(s)	Amtrak, CSX, CFRC
Route map Legend Northeast Corridor to Boston 0 mi 0 km New York City NY NJ North River Tunnels under Hudson River 10 mi 16 km Newark Penn 58 mi 93 km Trenton Delaware River NJ PA 91 mi 146 km Philadelphia–30th Street PA DE 116 mi 187 km Wilmington DE MD 185 mi 298 km Baltimore MD DC 225 mi 362 km Washington, D.C. Potomac River DC VA 234 mi 377 km Alexandria 279 mi 449 km Fredericksburg 334 mi 538 km Richmond Staples Mill Road 362 mi 583 km Petersburg VA NC 460 mi 740 km Rocky Mount 550 mi 885 km Fayetteville NC SC 633 mi 1019 km Florence 672 mi 1081 km Kingstree 728 mi 1172 km Charleston 782 mi 1259 km Yemassee Savannah River SC GA 829 mi 1334 km Savannah 881 mi 1418 km Jesup St. Marys River GA FL 977 mi 1572 km Jacksonville 1035 mi 1666 km Palatka 1087 mi 1749 km DeLand 1119 mi 1801 km Winter Park 1124 mi 1809 km Orlando 1142 mi 1838 km Kissimmee 1187 mi 1910 km Winter Haven 1221 mi 1965 km Sebring 1324 mi 2131 km West Palm Beach 1342 mi 2160 km Delray Beach 1353 mi 2177 km Deerfield Beach 1367 mi 2200 km Fort Lauderdale 1375 mi 2213 km Hollywood 1389 mi 2235 km Miami All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk

The Silver Meteor is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and one of its flagship trains of its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line. It was handed to Amtrak when it took over intercity rail service in 1971.

The train is part of Amtrak's Silver Service along with the Silver Star, another former SAL streamliner. The two trains are the remnants of the numerous long-distance trains that operated between Florida and New York for most of the 20th century.

During fiscal year 2019, the Silver Meteor carried 353,466 passengers, an increase of 4.9% from FY2018. ^[2] In FY2016, The train had a total revenue of $36,652,426, a decrease of 4.7% from FY2015. ^[3] The train is currently suspended until late-March 2022 due to the of Omicron variant of COVID-19.^[4]

History[]

Silver Meteor 1961 SAL timetable

SAL's shrouded 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive #865 with the Silver Meteor's St. Petersburg section, in the 1940s

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) inaugurated the Silver Meteor on February 2, 1939. The name was selected via contest, with 30 people among 76,000 entrants proposing the winning name. It was the first diesel-powered streamliner to Florida, and its introduction prompted its competitor, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to introduce its own New York-Florida streamliner, the Champion, in December 1939. The SAL emphasized the train's modernity, referring to it as the "Train of Tomorrow" and having its first trip to Florida begin not from New York Penn Station, but from the Long Island Rail Road station at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The train used seven new cars manufactured by the Budd Company. The original schedule took 25 hours.^[5][6]

The Pennsylvania Railroad carried the train from New York to Washington along its main line–now the Northeast Corridor–under a haulage agreement. Between Washington and Richmond it used the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, jointly owned by the SAL and five other railroads. From Richmond south SAL's own track was used via Raleigh, North Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Jacksonville, Florida and Ocala, Florida. Until the late 1960s the Silver Meteor split at Wildwood, Florida, with one section continuing to Miami, and the other to St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Venice on Florida's west coast.

The SAL merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1967, and in 1968 the new railroad reshuffled the Florida streamliners. The Silver Meteor lost its west coast section and began serving Miami only.^[7] The Pennsy merged with the New York Central Railroad to form Penn Central, which inherited the longstanding haulage agreement for the Silver Meteor. Amtrak retained the train when it took over most intercity passenger trains on May 1, 1971.

From December 17, 1971, to April 15, 1972, and September 10, 1972, to April 27, 1973, the Silver Meteor bypassed Jacksonville, running over the track between the Georgia state line and Baldwin, Florida. Between November 14, 1971 and January 16, 1972, the Silver Meteor made the major shift in its route, shifting from its traditional path on the old SAL mainline through Columbia to the old ACL mainline through Florence and Charleston, South Carolina.^[8][9] Between June 11 and September 10, 1972 the Silver Meteor was extended to Boston and called the Meteor. Service to St. Petersburg returned with the train splitting at Auburndale.

On several occasions during the 1970s, the Silver Meteor was combined with its old rival, the Champion. In the summer of 1972, Amtrak split the trains in Savannah, with the Champion continuing to St. Petersburg and the Meteor continuing to Miami. They were combined again for the summers of 1975, 1976 and 1977, splitting in Jacksonville. Finally, in 1979, the Champion was permanently folded into the Silver Meteor as a St. Petersburg section. Although the Champion name was preserved for a time,^[10] it disappeared with the October 1, 1979 timetable.

On September 30, 1979 the Silver Meteor was rerouted between Savannah and Jacksonville over the former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad route, due to the abandonment of the old SAL route. On January 31, 1984 the Silver Meteor's Florida west coast terminus was cut back from St. Petersburg to Tampa, ending almost 100 years of rail passenger service to St. Petersburg. By October 26, 1986 the Silver Meteor had shifted to the old ACL route north of Savannah, as the abandonment of the SAL route north of Raleigh affected only the Silver Star. On June 11, 1988 the tracks between Coleman and Auburndale, Florida were abandoned, then removed to create the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail, shifting the Miami section west to Lakeland.

By the end of 1988 train numbers were 87 and 88 (to Tampa) and 97 and 98 (to Miami). The Tampa trips were later dropped and 97 and 98 are still used. By the mid-1990s the Silver Meteor made stops in Orlando.^[11]

The best timing for Amtrak's Silver Meteor between Miami and New York City was 27 hours in 2008; SAL's first edition took 25 hours in 1939. Late trains often add more hours to today's schedules, most often caused by freight delays.

In the January 2011 issue of Trains Magazine this route was listed as one of five routes to be looked at by Amtrak in FY 2011 as the previous five routes (Sunset, Eagle, Zephyr, Capitol, and Cardinal) were examined in FY 2010.^[12]

As of 2019, the train's dining car no longer serves freshly cooked meals in a traditional setting. They have switched to the “flexible dining” system, which consists of pre-prepared meals which are then heated at the time of purchase.^[13]

On July 6, 2020, Amtrak reduced the frequency of this train to four times per week as opposed to daily due to the impact of ridership from the worldwide COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.^[14] Southbound Silver Meteor trains departed New York Monday through Thursday, while Silver Star trains departed Friday through Sunday. Similarly, northbound Silver Meteor trains departed Miami Sunday through Wednesday, while Silver Star trains departed Miami on Thursday through Saturday.^[15] Both trains resumed daily services on June 7, 2021, after additional Amtrak funding was included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.^[16]

On January 19, 2022 the train was suspended due to the Omicron variant surge of the coronavirus pandemic and it’s affect on staffing and equipment availability and the train is due to resume operating March 28, 2022. During this period the sister Silver Star train continued to operate with additional coach and sleeping car capacity providing once daily service to stations normally served by both trains between New York and Rocky Mount, NC as well as between Savannah, Georgia and Miami, Florida and temporarily added a stop at Jesup, GA which is a station only normally served by the Silver Meteor. Meanwhile daily service remained available to Silver Meteor stops between Rocky Mount, North Carolina and Savannah, GA via the daily daytime Palmetto service which operates between New York and Savannah.^[17]

Equipment[]

Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) glass-roofed "Sun Lounge" Hollywood Beach, a 5-double-bedroom-buffet Pullman car introduced in 1956. Regular dome cars were too high for the tunnel clearances on the Northeast Corridor used by SAL trains north of Washington.

Interior of the "Sun Lounge"

The original Silver Meteor used lightweight cars built by the Budd Company. Three consists were needed for a daily train between New York and Miami; each had a baggage-dormitory-coach (22 seats), three 60-seat coaches, a tavern-lounge-coach (30 seats), a dining car, and a coach-observation-lounge (48 seats). Some of the coaches were owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Budd delivered more cars in November–December 1940, allowing daily service to St. Petersburg: three baggage-dormitory-coaches (18 seats), seven 56-seat coaches, two dining cars, and three coach-buffet-observation cars (30 seats).^[18]

By the early 1960s, the SAL's Silver Meteor typically had 17 cars or more, consisting of nine Pullman sleeping cars including its highly touted glass-topped Sun Lounge introduced in 1956, several coaches, two dining cars, and an observation car with tavern.^[19]

The Silver Meteor now uses Amtrak's standard long-distance single-level equipment: Viewliner baggage cars, Viewliner sleeping cars, Viewliner dining cars, Amfleet cafe-lounges and Amfleet coaches. An ACS-64 electric locomotive is used between New York City and Washington, D.C, while two GE P42DC diesel electric locomotives are used for power south of Washington, D.C.

A typical Silver Meteor includes:^[20]

• 2 GE P42DC Diesel Locomotives (or 1 ACS-64 Electric Locomotive on the Northeast Corridor)
• 2-4 Amfleet II Coaches
• 1 Amfleet II Cafe/Lounge
• 1 Viewliner II Dining Car
• 2-3 Viewliner II Sleeping cars
• 1 Viewliner II baggage car or baggage-dorm

During the winter months, additional cars are added to meet demand. These longer trains forced delays in Amtrak's long-planned move to a larger station in Miami.^[21]

Route details[]

Amtrak Silver Service (interactive map)

The Silver Meteor's route covers 1,389 miles (2,235 km) between New York City and Miami, Florida. The train originates at New York's Pennsylvania Station and travels south to Washington, D.C. via Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. From there the train operates entirely over CSX track via Richmond, Virginia, Fayetteville, North Carolina, North Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Jesup, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. South of Jacksonville, the train follows the traditional Palatka route of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. After transferring to the Central Florida Rail Corridor from DeLand to Poinciana, it returns to CSX track between Orlando and West Palm Beach before using the South Florida Rail Corridor from West Palm Beach to Miami, using track historically of the Seaboard Air Line.^[22]

The Silver Meteor shares much of its route with the Silver Star. However, the two trains diverge between their stops at Rocky Mount and Savannah. At Selma, North Carolina, the Silver Star turns inland to serve the Carolinas' two state capitals, Raleigh, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina. It also detours to serve Tampa, Florida. The daytime Palmetto uses the same route as the Silver Meteor but terminates in Savannah.^[22]

In its present form, the southbound Silver Meteor leaves New York in mid-afternoon, arriving in Washington at dinner time and traveling overnight through Virginia and the Carolinas for arrival at breakfast time the following morning in Savannah, rush hour in Jacksonville, lunchtime in Orlando, and early evening in Miami. Northbound trains leave Miami just before rush hour, arriving in central Florida at lunchtime and Jacksonville in late afternoon and dinner time in Savannah, then passing through the Carolinas and Virginia overnight for arrival at breakfast time in Washington, mid-morning in Philadelphia and lunchtime in New York.

Like other long-distance trains, passengers are not allowed to travel only between stations on the Northeast Corridor on the Silver Meteor. Northbound trains only stop to discharge passengers from Fredericksburg northward, and southbound trains only stop to receive passengers from Newark to Washington. This policy is in place to make seats available for passengers making longer trips, and also due to the availability of the more frequent Northeast Regional service.

Additionally, the Silver Meteor, like the Silver Star, does not allow local travel between West Palm Beach and Miami. Southbound trains only stop to discharge passengers, while northbound trains only stop to receive passengers bound for points beyond West Palm Beach. This is due to the availability of Tri-Rail, South Florida's commuter rail system.

Station stops[]

State	Town/City	Station	Connections
NY	New York City	Penn Station	Amtrak (long-distance): Adirondack, Cardinal, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Star Amtrak (intercity): Acela, Carolinian, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Vermonter LIRR: ■ Main Line, ■ Port Washington Branch NJ Transit: ■ North Jersey Coast Line, ■ Northeast Corridor Line, ■ Gladstone Branch, ■ Montclair-Boonton Line, ■ Morristown Line NYC Subway: ​���​​ PATH: HOB-33 JSQ-33 JSQ-33 (via HOB) NYC Transit Bus
NJ	Newark	Newark Penn Station	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Star, Vermonter NJ Transit: ■ North Jersey Coast Line, ■ Northeast Corridor Line, ■ Raritan Valley Line PATH: NWK-WTC Newark Light Rail NJ Transit Bus
	Trenton	Trenton	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Star, Vermonter NJ Transit: ■ Northeast Corridor Line, ■ River Line SEPTA Regional Rail: ■ Trenton Line NJ Transit Bus, SEPTA Suburban Bus
PA	Philadelphia	30th Street Station	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Star, Vermonter SEPTA Regional Rail: all routes NJ Transit: ■ Atlantic City Line SEPTA City Transit: Market-Frankford Subway-Surface SEPTA City Bus, SEPTA Suburban Bus
DE	Wilmington	Wilmington	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Silver Star, Vermonter SEPTA Regional Rail: ■ Wilmington/​Newark Line DART First State: 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37, 40, 47, 52, 301, 305 Greyhound Lines
MD	Baltimore	Penn Station	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Silver Star, Vermonter MARC: ■ Penn Line Light RailLink MTA Maryland, Charm City Circulator
DC	Washington	Washington Union Station	Amtrak: Acela, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Silver Star, Vermonter, Thruway Motorcoach to Charlottesville, Virginia MARC: ■ Brunswick Line, ■ Camden Line, ■ Penn Line VRE: ■ Manassas Line, ■ Fredericksburg Line Metro: Red Line DC Streetcar: H Street/Benning Road Line Metrobus, DC Circulator, MTA Maryland, Loudoun County Transit, OmniRide Intercity bus: Greyhound, Megabus, BoltBus, BestBus, Peter Pan, OurBus
VA	Alexandria	Alexandria	Amtrak: Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Silver Star VRE: ■ Fredericksburg Line, ■ Manassas Line Metro: Blue Line, Yellow Line Metrobus, DASH
	Fredericksburg	Fredericksburg	Amtrak: Carolinian, Northeast Regional VRE: ■ Fredericksburg Line Fredericksburg Regional Transit
	Richmond	Richmond Staples Mill Road	Amtrak: Carolinian, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Silver Star, Thruway Motorcoach to Charlottesville, Virginia Greater Richmond Transit Company
	Ettrick	Petersburg	Amtrak: Carolinian, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Silver Star
NC	Rocky Mount	Rocky Mount	Amtrak: Carolinian, Palmetto, Silver Star Tar River Transit Greyhound Lines
	Fayetteville	Fayetteville	Amtrak: Palmetto
SC	Florence	Florence	Amtrak: Palmetto
	Kingstree	Kingstree	Amtrak: Palmetto
	North Charleston	North Charleston	Amtrak: Palmetto Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, Southeastern Stages
	Yemassee	Yemassee	Amtrak: Palmetto
GA	Savannah	Savannah	Amtrak: Palmetto, Silver Star
	Jesup	Jesup
FL	Jacksonville	Jacksonville	Amtrak: Silver Star, Thruway Motorcoach to Waldo, Ocala, Gainesville, The Villages, Wildwood, Dade City, Lakeland JTA Bus
	Palatka	Palatka	Amtrak: Silver Star The Ride Solution
	DeLand	DeLand	Amtrak: Silver Star, Thruway Motorcoach to Daytona Beach
	Winter Park	Winter Park	Amtrak: Silver Star SunRail LYNX Bus
	Orlando	Orlando	Amtrak: Silver Star, Thruway Motorcoach to Lakeland, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers SunRail LYNX Bus
	Kissimmee	Kissimmee	Amtrak: Silver Star SunRail LYNX Bus Greyhound Lines
	Winter Haven	Winter Haven	Amtrak: Silver Star
	Sebring	Sebring	Amtrak: Silver Star
	West Palm Beach	West Palm Beach	Amtrak: Silver Star Tri-Rail Brightline (at West Palm Beach) Palm Tran, Tri-Rail Commuter Connector, West Palm Beach Downtown Trolley Greyhound Lines
	Delray Beach	Delray Beach	Amtrak: Silver Star Tri-Rail Palm Tran, Downtown Connector
	Deerfield Beach	Deerfield Beach	Amtrak: Silver Star Tri-Rail Broward County Transit, Tri-Rail Commuter Connector
	Fort Lauderdale	Fort Lauderdale	Amtrak: Silver Star Tri-Rail Broward County Transit, Metrobus, Sun Trolley, Tri-Rail Commuter Connector
	Hollywood	Hollywood	Amtrak: Silver Star Tri-Rail Broward County Transit, Hallandale Beach Community Bus
	Miami	Miami	Amtrak: Silver Star Metrobus

See also[]

• Champion

References[]

• Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, Trains June 1991
• PRR Chronology
• Amtrak's First Trains and Routes
• Amtrak timetable, November 14, 1971
• Amtrak timetable, late 1988 (Northeast Corridor only)

External links[]

• Media related to Silver Meteor at Wikimedia Commons
• Silver Service / Palmetto – Amtrak