Silver Palm (train)

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Silver Palm
Amtrak Silver Palm during inaugural run.jpg
The Silver Palm on its inaugural run in 1982. An EMD F40PHR leads an Amfleet consist.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleFlorida
First serviceNovember 21, 1982
Last serviceApril 30, 1985
Former operator(s)Amtrak
Route
StartMiami, Florida
Stops8
EndTampa, Florida
Distance travelled255 miles (410 km)
Average journey time5 hours
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)895, 896
On-board services
Class(es)Unreserved coach
Catering facilitiesOn-board cafe
Technical
Rolling stockAmfleet coaches
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)Seaboard System

The Silver Palm is the name of two former passenger trains operated by Amtrak serving the U.S. state of Florida. The original Silver Palm was an intrastate train, operating between Miami and Tampa.[1] Service began in 1982 and ended in 1985. The second was an extension of the existing Palmetto service in the late 1990s.

History[]

Intrastate train[]

The Silver Palm at Tampa in March 1983

Amtrak introduced the first Silver Palm as a single round trip service between Miami and Tampa, Florida, on November 21, 1982.[2] The train was subsidized by the Florida Department of Transportation[3] as a 403(b) service.[4] The train operated over the tracks of the Seaboard System Railroad between Miami and Tampa via Auburndale. The northbound train departed Miami in the morning and returned from Tampa in the afternoon. Travel time was approximately five hours in each direction. A bus connection was provided between Winter Haven and Orlando. It followed the traditional SAL mainline through Wildwood and Ocala in north-central Florida.

The Silver Palm was the first intrastate train to use the then-new Amfleet II coaches.[5] The initial consist was two coaches and a cafe car.[6]

During its service, train crew were required to manually throw switches for the train to operate between divisions.[7] Amtrak had worked to remove speed restrictions on the line and considered adding more stops in an effort to improve service and increase the train's profitability.[8] The state also tried to help boost ridership following a publicity tour by then Lieutenant Governor Wayne Mixson in August 1984,[9] in part to build a base of riders for proposed high-speed service in the state.[4][10] After a two-year trial the Florida Department of Transportation recommended ending subsidies for the Silver Palm. State law required that state-sponsored services maintain a farebox ratio of 60% to continue funding.[1][11]

FDOT announced on October 20, 1984 that the Silver Palm's ratio was 45.3%.[10][12] The service was scheduled to be discontinued on November 20, 1984.[13] The Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers sued the state, arguing that the Department of Transportation had calculated the operating ratio incorrectly, and won at the district court level.[14] This decision was overturned on appeal by the Florida First District Court of Appeal on March 28, 1985.[15] The Silver Palm was discontinued on April 30, 1985.[16][17] It was estimated to have lost $4 million over the course of its run.[18]

Long-distance train[]

Map of Amtrak Silver Service train routes
Main article: Palmetto (train)

The second Silver Palm was a long-distance passenger train between New York, New York, and Miami, Florida. This was a revival of the Palmetto, which Amtrak had discontinued on April 1, 1995. Service began on November 10, 1996. For a period in the mid-1990s, as in the 1996-1997 season, it was Amtrak's only train passing through Ocala area north-central Florida section in 1996.[19] Amtrak restored the Palmetto name on May 1, 2002, after the train lost sleeping and dining car service.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Profit Loss May Run Silver Palm Off Track". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, FL. August 11, 1984. p. 174 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. ^ Moffett, Dan (November 21, 1982). "Train Starts Daily Run Across State". Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, FL. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. ^ Klein, Gil (November 16, 1982). "State betting Amtrak's Silver Palm will blossom". Tampa Tribune. Tampa, FL. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. ^ a b Romano, Michael (August 24, 1984). "Officials ride the rails for Amtrak's Silver Palm". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, FL. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. ^ Brokaw, Rick (June 26, 1983). "Silver Palm makes the trip". Tampa Tribune. Tampa, FL. p. 182 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. ^ "Pardon me boy - Is that the Silver Palm for Tampa?". Miami News. October 16, 1982. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  7. ^ Final Environmental Impact Statement: Florida Power & Light Company Martin Coal Gasification/Combined Cycle Project. Atlanta, GA: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV. May 1991. p. D-25 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Amtrak to Consider Okeechobee Flag Stop". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, FL. July 15, 1984. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  9. ^ "Mixson: More passengers needed or wave good-bye to Silver Palm". Tampa Tribune. Tampa, FL. August 24, 1984. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. ^ a b Klein, Gil (October 20, 1984). "Cutoff of state subsidy means end of Tampa-to-Miami rail service". Tampa Tribune. Tampa, FL. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  11. ^ Kinneberg, Rob (December 7, 1984). "Hopes Dim for Okeechobee Amtrak Stop". Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, FL. p. 167 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  12. ^ "State to cut Silver Palm funding". Lakeland Ledger. October 20, 1984. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  13. ^ Rojas, Helen (October 20, 1984). "Amtrak Silver Palm connecting Miami and Tampa discontinued". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, FL. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  14. ^ Wolff, Christine (November 13, 1984). "Ruling puts Silver Palm on track to keep running". Miami News. Miami, FL. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  15. ^ "Silver Palm Hits End Of The Line In Courts". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. March 29, 1985. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  16. ^ Marmor, Jon (May 1, 1985). "Silver Palm Comes to End Of the Line". Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, FL – via Newspapers.com. open access
  17. ^ Allen, Kevin (April 30, 1985). "End of the line: Amtrak's 'Silver Palm' makes its final run". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, FL. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  18. ^ "Doubts are flying about high-speed rail system". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, FL. September 17, 1989. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  19. ^ Amtrak Timetable, November, 1996 p. 29 http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19961110n&item=0029

External links[]

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