Fast Mail (Southern Railway)
The Fast Mail was a Southern Railway mail and express train that operated between Washington, D.C., and New Orleans, Louisiana. The southbound Fast Mail carried the train number of 97, and was later known by the nickname of "Old 97". One such trip made by the train, on September 27, 1903, derailed at Stillhouse Trestle in Danville, Virginia, and was later known as the "Wreck of the Old 97", for which the service was most well known.
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | mail and express |
| Locale | Southern United States |
| First service | November 2, 1902 |
| Last service | January 1, 1907 (as No. 97) April 30, 1971 |
| Former operator(s) | Southern Railway |
| Route | |
| Termini | New York City (via Pennsylvania Railroad) Washington, D.C. New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Train number(s) | 97 (1902–1907) 35/36, 36/37 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The train's normal consist was two railway post office (RPO) cars, one express car, and one baggage car. It was the first exclusively mail and express train in the southern United States, and it was the last fast mail train in the United States to receive a subsidy for its fast service schedule.
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