Silver Meteor

The Silver Meteor arriving in Palatka, Florida in 2023
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Locale	East Coast of the United States
First service	February 2, 1939 (1939-02-02)
Current operator(s)	Amtrak (1971–present)
Former operator(s)	Seaboard Air Line Railroad (1939–1967) Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (1967–1971) Pennsylvania Railroad (1939–1968, haulage agreement) Penn Central Transportation (1968–1971, haulage agreement)
Annual ridership	283,932 (FY23) 258.5%[a][1]
Route
Termini	New York City Miami
Stops	33
Distance travelled	1,389 miles (2,235 km)
Average journey time	27h 44m
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
Operating speed	Up to 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) (Northeast Corridor)
Track owner(s)	Amtrak, CSXT, CFRC, SFRTA
Route map Legend Northeast Corridor to Boston 0 mi 0 km New York City Empire Corridor NY NJ North River Tunnels under Hudson River 10 mi 16 km Newark Penn 58 mi 93 km Trenton Delaware River NJ PA Keystone Service & Pennsylvanian 91 mi 146 km Philadelphia–30th Street PA DE 116 mi 187 km Wilmington DE MD 185 mi 298 km Baltimore Capitol Limited to Chicago MD DC 225 mi 362 km Washington, D.C. Potomac River DC VA 234 mi 377 km Alexandria Cardinal, Crescent, & Northeast Regional 279 mi 449 km Fredericksburg 334 mi 538 km Richmond Staples Mill Road Northeast Regional to Newport News 362 mi 583 km Petersburg Northeast Regional to Norfolk VA NC 460 mi 740 km Rocky Mount Carolinian & Silver Star 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 Silver Star 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 Silver Star via Tampa 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 1393 mi 2242 km Miami Intermodal Center Planned All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit

The Silver Meteor is a long-distance 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 (SAL) and one of the flagship trains of its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). The train was transferred to Amtrak when it took over intercity passenger rail service in 1971.

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

During fiscal year 2023, the Silver Meteor carried 283,932 passengers, an increase of 258.5% from FY2022. ^[2] In November 2023, the train had a total revenue of $7.3 million.^[3]

History

The Silver Meteor was inaugurated by the SAL on February 2, 1939. The name was selected via contest, with 30 people among 76,000 entrants proposing the winning name. Utilizing EMC E4 diesel locomotives originally purchased for SAL's flagship all-Pullman train, the Orange Blossom Special, it became the first diesel-powered streamliner to Florida. Its introduction later prompted SAL's competitor, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL), to introduce its own New York-Florida streamliner, the Champion, on December 1, 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 original schedule took 25 hours.^[4][5]

The train used seven new cars manufactured by the Budd Company, those being a baggage-dormitory-coach, a diner straddled by two coaches on either side, and a coach-lounge-observation. The train was originally tri-weekly, alternating service between Miami and St. Petersburg every other day. However, the train proved to be so popular that after new equipment was delivered, SAL upgraded the train to daily operation to both coasts in December 1939.^[6] Heavyweight sleeping cars would be added to the train in 1941, and would be upgraded to lightweight sleeping cars in 1947. In 1956, SAL introduced the Sun Lounge to the train. These cars included five double-bedrooms on one end, and a lounge with glass panels in the roof. This was due to the fact that full dome cars could not fit through the tunnels on the Northeast Corridor between New York and Washington D.C.^[7]

The Pennsylvania Railroad carried the train from New York to Washington along its mainline—now the Northeast Corridor—under a haulage agreement. Between Washington and Richmond, Virginia it used the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, jointly owned by the SAL and five other railroads. South of Richmond, the train used SAL's own mainline via Raleigh, North Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Jacksonville, Florida and Ocala, Florida. At Wildwood, Florida, the train was split into east and west coast sections. The east coast section continued to Miami, and the west coast section to Tampa, where the train would be split again into a St. Petersburg section and a Venice section via Sarasota. The Venice section was normally handled by SAL Motorcar 2028.