View source for Champion (train)

{{Short description|Former passenger train in the US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Refimprove|date=February 2012}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width       = 
| name            = ''Champion''
| logo            = 
| logo_width      = 
| image           = The Champion Atlantic Coast Line 1941.JPG
| image_width     = 300px
| caption         = A postcard depiction of the ''Champion''.
| type            = [[Inter-city rail]]
| status          = discontinued
| locale          = [[Northeastern United States]]/[[Southeastern United States]]
| predecessor     = 
| first           = December 1, 1939
| last            = October 1, 1979
| successor       = ''[[Silver Meteor]]''
| operator        = 
| formeroperator  = [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad|Atlantic Coast Line]] (1939&ndash;1967)<br />[[Seaboard Coast Line]] (1967&ndash;1971)<br />[[Amtrak]] (1971&ndash;1979)
| ridership       = 
| ridership2      = 
| website         = 
| start           = [[New York City]]
| stops           = 
| end             = West Coast section: [[St. Petersburg station (ACL)|St. Petersburg]]<br />East Coast section: [[Miami]]
| distance        = {{convert|1046|mi|km}}
| journeytime     = 
| frequency       = Daily
| trainnumber     = East Coast Champion: 1 (southbound), 2 (northbound)<br />West Coast Champion: 91 (southbound), 92 (northbound)<br />Amtrak: 85 (southbound), 86 (northbound)
| line_used       = 
| class           = 
| access          = 
| seating         = Reserved coach
| sleeping        = [[Roomette]]s and [[Sleeping_car#Compartments_and_Double_Bedrooms|double bedrooms]]
| autorack        = 
| catering        = [[Dining car]]s
| observation     = [[Tavern-lounge car]]s
| entertainment   = 
| baggage         = 
| otherfacilities = 
| stock           = 
| gauge           = 
| el              = 
| speed           = 
| owners          = 
| routenumber     = 
| map             = {{Amtrak Champion}}
| map_state       = collapsed
}}
The '''''Champion''''' was a [[streamliner|streamlined]] [[passenger train]] operated by the [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad]] and [[Florida East Coast Railway]] between [[New York City]] and [[Miami]] or [[St. Petersburg station (ACL)|St. Petersburg, Florida]]. It operated from 1939 until 1979, continuing under the [[Seaboard Coast Line]] and [[Amtrak]]. It was a direct competitor to the [[Seaboard Air Line Railway]]'s ''[[Silver Meteor]]'', the first New York-Florida streamliner.

== History ==
===Atlantic Coast Line===
[[File:Atlantic Coast Line 501.jpg|thumb|left|ACL #501, an [[EMC E3]], at the [[North Carolina Transportation Museum]].]]
[[File:Miami FL Gold Coast RR Museum ACL 254-01.jpg|thumb|left|ACL #254, a [[Lounge_car#Tavern-lounge_cars|tavern-lounge-observation car]] built for the ''Champion'' in 1940-41. Now at the [[Gold Coast Railroad Museum]].]]
The ''Champion'' started as a daily service of the [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad]] (ACL) in 1939, competing with the ''[[Silver Meteor]]'' of the [[Seaboard Air Line]] (SAL) on the New York&ndash;Florida route. Initially just a New York-Miami service, the ACL added a section serving St. Petersburg and the [[Tampa Bay]] area in 1941 once enough streamlined equipment was available. The train was rebranded as the ''Tamiami Champion,'' with the St. Petersburg section called the ''Tamiami Champion (West Coast)'' (91 northbound/92 southbound), and the Miami section called the ''Tamiami Champion (East Coast)'' (1 northbound/2 southbound). In 1943 the names became ''East Coast Champion'' and ''West Coast Champion.''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.getcruising.com/rails/_acl.html | title=Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | access-date=May 3, 2008 | work=Florida Rails Online Museum | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915004408/http://www.getcruising.com/rails/_acl.html | archive-date=September 15, 2008 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Southbound trains originated in New York's [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|Pennsylvania Station]], and traveled south over the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]-owned [[Northeast Corridor]] through [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] to [[Washington, D.C.]] There, a radio-equipped lounge car was added to the train. Leaving Washington, trains used the [[Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad]] to [[Richmond, Virginia]], the north end of the ACL's main line. From Richmond, trains followed the Atlantic coast through [[Charleston, South Carolina]] and [[Savannah, Georgia]] to [[Jacksonville, Florida]]. Here the train split, with the ''West Coast'' section moving south then west through [[DeLand, Florida|DeLand]] and [[Sanford, Florida|Sanford]] on ACL rails to St. Petersburg, while the ''East Coast'' section turned south south-east to run along Florida's east coast to Miami via the [[Florida East Coast Railway]].

Prior to the [[Civil Rights Movement]], black passengers on the ''Champion'' and other trains running through the [[southern United States]] were restricted to the "colored" coach, a combination baggage/coach behind the diesel.  African Americans ate behind a curtain at two designated tables next to the kitchen of the dining car, but were barred from the observation-tavern-lounge on the rear of the train.<ref>Samuel Augustus Jennings (March 1988). "Reflections in Black and White". ''[[Passenger Train Journal]]''. Glendale (CA), US: [[Interurban Press]].</ref>  [[Racial segregation in the United States|Racial segregation]] on trains serving the South persisted even though the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] (ICC), U. S. courts, and President [[Harry S. Truman]]'s 1948 mandate (banning segregation in railroad dining cars) had ordered interstate carriers to desegregrate. 

By 1955 the ''West Coast Champion'' began hauling thru-cars for the ''[[City of Miami (train)|City of Miami]]'' and ''[[South Wind (passenger train)|South Wind]]'' [[streamliner cars (rail)|streamliners]] to and from Chicago on its Jacksonville–[[Tampa]]/[[Sarasota]] leg via [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] and its Jacksonville–St. Petersburg section via [[Gainesville, Florida|Gainesville]], [[Ocala]] and [[Clearwater, Florida|Clearwater]]. During its long successful career the ''Champion'' network reached virtually every major city and resort in the Sunshine State except [[Florida Panhandle]] cities like Pensacola and Tallahassee, which were served by Seaboard's Jacksonville–New Orleans overnight ''[[Gulf Wind]]''.<ref>Atlantic Coast Line timetable, June 12, 1955, Tables B, G and H</ref>  By the early 1960s the ''West Coast Champion'' also had different sections north of Florida: in Wilson, North Carolina a section branched southeast to Wilmington, North Carolina and in Florence, South Carolina a branch left bound for Augusta, Georgia. However, these through services were only offered southbound.<ref>Atlantic Coast Line December 1961 timetable, Tables D, 3 and 6</ref> By 1966 these Augusta service was offered northbound also. In 1967 these sections to Wilmington and Augusta shifted over the ''East Coast Champion.''<ref>Seaboard Coast Line timetable, July 1, 1967, Table 3</ref> The Gulf coast branch lines carried ''West Coast Champion'' thru-cars to three different Florida branches, one to St. Petersburg, a second to Tampa, Bradenton and Sarasota, and a third to [[Fort Myers]] and [[Naples, Florida|Naples]].<ref>American Rails, 'The Champion,' http://www.american-rails.com/champion.html</ref><ref>April 1967 ACL Timetable reproduced http://www.thejoekorner.com/brochures/acl-timetable/</ref> By April 1967 the Augusta branch was switched over to the ''Everglades'' and ''Palmetto'' trains.<ref>Atlantic Coast Line Railroad April 1967 timetable, Tables 4, 5, 12 http://www.thejoekorner.com/brochures/acl-timetable/index.html</ref>

The ''East Coast Champion'' ran up and down the Florida East Coast Railway stopping at popular east coast resorts. <ref>American Rails, 'The Champion,' http://www.american-rails.com/champion.html</ref> In 1963 the ACL rerouted the ''East Coast Champion'' from the coastal FEC tracks to an interior ACL route through [[Sanford, Florida|Sanford]] and [[Auburndale, Florida|Auburndale]], a town adjacent to [[Winter Haven, Florida|Winter Haven]], and then on SAL tracks from Auburndale to [[West Palm Beach]] and then to Miami.<ref>April 1967 ACL Timetable reproduced http://www.thejoekorner.com/brochures/acl-timetable/</ref><ref>ACL system map at 'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1961, Atlantic Coast Line section, p. 427</ref><ref>SAL system map at 'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1961, Seaboard Coast Line section, p. 453</ref><ref>Atlantic Coast Line December 1963 timetable, Tables 1, 14</ref>   

At the outset, the ''Champion'' was an all-coach streamliner pulled by a [[diesel electric locomotive]]. [[Pullman (car or coach)|Pullman]] sleeping cars were added by 1941.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.getcruising.com/cgi/museum.cgi?img=acltc41&class=acl | work=Florida Rails Online Museum | access-date=May 3, 2008 | title=Timetable}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.getcruising.com/cgi/museum.cgi?img=acl1266&class=acl | work=Florida Rails Online Museum | access-date=May 3, 2008 | title=Timetable}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Atlantic Coast Line Railroad |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=74 |issue=1 |date=June 1941}}</ref>
One Champion A-unit resides at the [[North Carolina Transportation Museum]] in [[Spencer, North Carolina]].

=== Seaboard Coast Line ===
[[File:SCL Motor Car 4900, Train 98, The Champion, at Naples, FL on March 14, 1971 (24915772993).jpg|thumb|The Venice section of SCL's ''Champion'' in 1971; led by [[SAL 2027|SCL 4900]]]]In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with the Seaboard Air Line to form the [[Seaboard Coast Line]], making the ''Champion'' a sister train to its longtime rivals, the ''Silver Meteor'' and ''[[Silver Star (Amtrak train)|Silver Star]].'' Additionally, a few months after the merger, on September 4 northbound, and September 5 southbound, the East and West trains were consolidated into one. <ref>Seaboard Coast Line Railroad July 1, 1967, timetable, Table 5</ref> By December 1967, the name was simplified to the ''Champion,'' with the Miami and southeast Florida destinations eliminated, as the formerly SAL trains, the ''Silver Meteor'' and ''Silver Star'' had those responsibilities.<ref>Seaboard Coast Line Railroad December 15, 1967, timetable, Table 5</ref> Nonetheless, the ''Champion'' continued to have three different sections south of Jacksonville, simultaneously bound for different aforementioned Gulf Coast destinations from the ACL years. The Sarasota section was extended the next year to [[Venice, Florida|Venice]].<ref>Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, December 13, 1968, timetable, Tables 4, 15</ref> The ''Champion'' remained as a New York&ndash;St. Petersburg service, numbered #91 southbound and #92 northbound.<ref>{{cite web | title=Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak | url=http://www.trains.com/ctr/objects/pdf/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf | access-date=May 3, 2008 | work=Trains.com | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325213209/http://www.trains.com/ctr/objects/pdf/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf | archive-date=March 25, 2009 }}</ref>

=== Amtrak ===
[[File:Amtrak Champion at Lake Alfred postcard.jpg|thumb|left|The northbound ''Champion'' at [[Lake Alfred, Florida]], during the Amtrak era]]
When Amtrak assumed control of most of the passenger rail service in the United States in 1971, the ''Champion'' was retained as a New York&ndash;St. Petersburg service (#85/87) operating over the same line it had for the past thirty-two years. On several occasions throughout the 1970s Amtrak would combine the ''Champion'' with its old rival the ''Silver Meteor''. The first of these instances came in the summer of 1972: the train split in [[Savannah, Georgia]], with the ''Champion'' section continuing to St. Petersburg and the renamed ''Meteor'' section passing west of Jacksonville via Thalmann, Georgia, and [[Callahan, Florida]], on former Seaboard tracks to Miami. These combinations occurred again in 1975, 1976, and 1977, but with two changes: the split occurred at Jacksonville, and the ''Meteor'' again became the ''Silver Meteor''.<ref name="goldberg" />{{rp|140–141}} In 1978, the [[United States Department of Transportation]] recommended the consolidation of New York - Florida services, leading to the permanent consolidation of the ''Champion'' into the ''Silver Meteor'' in October 1979, serving as the ''Silver Meteor's'' Tampa section. Although there were indications that the ''Champion'' name would be preserved,<ref>{{cite news | title=Amtrak cuts Florida service | newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]] | date=August 30, 1979 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bFYnAAAAIBAJ&pg=5258%2C4475291 | access-date=September 28, 2013}}</ref> it was dropped altogether with the October 1, 1979, timetable. The ''Silver Meteor'' continued to operate the Tampa section until 1994, when it was discontinued. The western terminus of the Tampa section, however, was cut back to Tampa from St. Petersburg in February 1984.

{{Clear left}}

== Equipment ==
{{Infobox train consist
 | title     = Sample consist
 | box_width =
 | date1     = 1939
 | train1    = Original FEC consist
 | location1 =
 | consist1  =
* Baggage-dormitory-coach "New Smyrna" (14 seats)
* Coach "Boca Raton" (60 seats)
* Coach "Vero Beach" (52 seats)
* Dining car "Fort Pierce" (48 seats)
* Coach "Cocoa-Rockledge" (60 seats)
* Coach "Pompano" (60 seats)
* Tavern-lounge-observation "Bay Biscayne"
 | footnote1 =<ref name="wayner" />{{rp|78}}
}}
The [[Budd Company]] delivered three identical equipment sets for the ''Champion''; the ACL owned two and the FEC the third (the FEC received an additional matching set which became the ''[[Dixie Flagler|Henry M. Flagler]]''). Each equipment set consisted of a [[combine car|baggage-dormitory-coach]], four coaches, a [[dining car]], and a tavern-lounge-[[observation car]]. In 1940–1941 Budd delivered additional equipment: three baggage-dorm-coaches, eight coaches, three dining cars, and three observation cars.<ref name="wayner" />{{rp|74}} The new equipment permitted the operation of an additional section between New York and St. Petersburg.

{{Clear}}

== Legacy ==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2025}}
Throughout its 40 years of service (1939–79) the ''Champion'' was always a big money maker and remained a fast, reliable, full service operation until Amtrak took over in 1971. ACL, SAL and SCL had maintained exceptionally high standards on its popular Florida streamliners while other railroads gave up on passenger service. According to former ACL/SCL/Amtrak train attendant James Longmire (now retired in Jacksonville, Florida), "The Champ was always packed and we didn't stop serving dinner until everyone got fed... no matter how long it took. We called the Champ "Big Bertha" because tips were so good we didn't have to cash our paychecks."<ref>Interview for "Keeping Track" by Samuel Augustus Jennings, 1992</ref>

== See also ==
*''[[Silver Meteor]]''
*[[Rennert railroad accident]] (in 1943)

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="goldberg">{{Goldberg-Amtrak}}</ref>
<ref name="wayner">{{Wayner - Car names, numbers, consists}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
{{commonscat|Champion (train)}}
*[http://www.getcruising.com/cgi/museum.cgi?img=acltc41b&class=acl ACL ''Tamiami Champion'' timetable from 1941]
*[http://www.getcruising.com/cgi/museum.cgi?img=acl1266&class=acl ACL ''Champion'' timetable from 1966-1967]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080420120624/http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=43339 Amtrak ''Champion'' timetable from 1971]

== Further reading ==
* {{Schafer-Classic-Railroads-3}}

{{Former Amtrak routes}}
{{ACL named trains}}
{{FEC named trains}}
{{PRR named trains}}
{{PC named trains}}
{{SCL named trains}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion (Train)}}
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Florida East Coast Railway]]
[[Category:Former Amtrak routes]]
[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Night trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1939]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1979]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Former long distance Amtrak routes]]
[[Category:North American streamliner trains]]