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Orange Blossom Special By Shrady & Waldrop Si with addendum to first edition
Orange Blossom Special Floridas Distinguished Winter Train by Theodore Shrady & Arthur M Waldrop
Soft Cover Writing on title page Notice the wrinkles atlong the bottom edge
78 pages
Copyright 2000
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword and Acknowledgmentsiv
1-Beginnings of the Orange Blossom Special
2-Inauguration of the Blossom
3-The First Official Season
4-The Miami Extension and Economic Storm Clouds
5-Blossom Optimism, Then Depression
6-Comeback and Competition
7 Inside the Blossom
8-Consists and Pullman Names
9-Diesel Pride, Lightweight Competition, and War43
10-Steam Retrospect
11-North of Washington
12-West Coast Section
13-Postwar Changes, and Streamlining?60
14-The Final Years65
Appendix68
References74
Index75
About the Authors79
ADDENDUM TO FIRST EDITION
Copyright 1997
32 PAGES
Soft Cover stapled
FOREWORD and ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
It is hoped that this book will rekindle the memory of a wonderful train and bring to mind the days when train travel was a luxurious experience. The Orange Blossom Special was the pride of the Seaboard Air Line Railway. It was tended to by a corps of dedicated railroaders whose concern was for nothing but the finest service for thousands of discerning passengers who graced the fine appointments of its interior.
Through these pages Arthur and I want to convey a treasure of information, some familiar and some never before published, about one of the South's greatest trains. We hope a whole new generation of rail enthusiasts will appreciate and study this work, and that old timers will remember the Blossom once again.
This is the compilation of the original Blossom book and the Addendum published by the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Railroads Historical Society in January 1997. . After the first work was completed, significant new material was discovered through submissions by interested individuals and the authors' continued research into this great train. This necessitated the writing of the Addendum, which was half again the amount of information of the original.
The Blossom was instrumental in helping to open up and develop the Southeast, particularly Florida, by bringing in wealthy Northerners to build and to play. Through the years, the train lived up to the pledge its creator, S. Davies Warfield, chairman and president of the Seaboard Air Line, set forth: the Blossom would be "all-Pullman with unsurpassed equipment, have unexcelled service and be on time." Patrons enjoyed fine dining, an attentive crew, and superb accommodations for 25 winter seasons between New York and Florida. The Blossom was not the only all-Pullman train serving the North and the Sunshine State, but it was considered by many to be the "grande dame" of Florida trains.
It is not the intent of the book to be an exhaustively documented record of detailed day-to-day operations, consists, or other technical information. Rather, it is meant to be a factual story about the fabled Orange Blossom Special, what it might have been like to travel on Florida's distinguished winter train, and why the train was so special.
Much of this book's information on the Blossom's early years comes from original Seaboard Air Line files, annual reports, letters, telegrams, and newspaper clippings, not to mention a trove of excellent black and white photographs from several sources. Just before the Seaboard merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, many of the old SAL files were discarded, but luckily for rail history two early files of the Blossom were literally rescued from a trash can.
With these files as positive support, we determined that an attempt could be made to tell the story of the Orange Blossom Special. Once the research was underway material came in from other sources, and we knew then that a definite chronicle on the subject was possible.
Major sources of information in the text are identified by a number in parentheses () at the end of a sentence or paragraph and refer to the numbered list under "Reference at the end of the book. The same reference number may appear more than once to indicate multiple uses of the same source. Information on consists, train sections, station served, mileage, and various train connections is taken fror. Seaboard public timetables, SAL employee timetables, and The Official Guide of the Railways from 1924 to 1953.
Various letter and telegram quotes in the early chapters of the book come from the two SAL files cited above. More early material relating to S. Davies Warfield and SAL officia. was taken from addresses, inaugural opening speeches, an( annual report statements. Some facts and accounts are from personal observations and recollections of railroaders who worked for the Seaboard during this period.
Pullman car types are written in an abbreviated form to conserve space. Abbreviations are adopted from Robert J. Wayner's Pullman Company List of Cars-1961 and are as follows: Sec-Section, Cpt-Compartment, DRmDrawing Room, DB-Double Bedroom, SBR-Single Bedroom, and Rmt Roomette. Therefore, a 10 Sec-2 Cpt-1 DRm configuration is a 10 Section, 2 Compartment, 1 Drawing Room car. Public areas like observation, lounge, etc., are spelled out. The terms "Pullman" and "sleeper" are both used for sleeping cars.
Without the generosity of other people, the story of the Blossom would not have been complete.
All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
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