Southwestern Limited (IC train)

The Southwestern Limited was a night train, as #205 of the Illinois Central Railroad in the Southeastern United States. Running on the IC subsidiary Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Vicksburg Division, from Meridian, Mississippi's Union Station to Shreveport, Louisiana's own Union Station, it was one of the few trains spanning the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, Missouri and north of New Orleans, Louisiana.[1]

Southwestern Limited

Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Southeastern United States
First service	1934
Last service	1967
Former operator(s)	Southern Railway for sleeper passengers Illinois Central
Route
Termini	Meridian, Mississippi New York, New York for sleeper operations Shreveport, Louisiana
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	205: southwest-bound; 206: northeast-bound
On-board services
Seating arrangements	Reclining seat coaches
Sleeping arrangements	Sections, compartments and drawing rooms
Catering facilities	Cafe lounge (Jackson, Mississippi to Sibley, Louisiana)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Route map Meridian Newton Forest Morton Pelahatchie Jackson Clinton Bolton Edwards Vicksburg Mississippi Louisiana Tallulah Delhi Rayville Monroe West Monroe Calhoun Choudrant Ruston Arcadia Gibsland Sibley Doyline Haughton Shreveport

For much of its history from 1934 to 1967 it was linked with the Southern Railway's Pelican. Thus, the train carried sleeper cars that originated in New York City to Shreveport via Knoxville, Tennessee and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Coach riding passengers apparently needed to take Pennsylvania Railroad coaches from New York City to Washington, and Southern Railway coaches from Washington, D.C. to Meridian. Its opposite, #206, northeast bound, from Shreveport to Meridian, was carried by the Illinois Central's Northeastern Limited.[2][3]

It also had section which connected at Meridian, continued east to Birmingham, Alabama, whereupon it linked with the Southern Railway's Peach Queen (#29/#30) and continued to Atlanta, Georgia. Coaches were provided continuous, Shreveport to Atlanta.[4]

The train's schedule, 2:40 am from Meridian to 2:20 pm arrival in Shreveport, was more for the convenience of long distance riders from areas northeast of Meridian.[5] However, by 1961 the IC no longer arranged to have Pullman sleepers carry passengers continuous from the Upper South and the Northeast down to Mississippi and Louisiana. In the train's last years it took different numbers, #201 southwest-bound, and #202 for the Northeastern Limited.