The Pan-American was a passenger train operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) between Cincinnati, Ohio and New Orleans, Louisiana. It operated from 1921 until 1971. From 1921 to 1965 a section served Memphis, Tennessee via Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Pan-American was the L&N's flagship train until the introduction of the Humming Bird in 1946. Its name honored the substantial traffic the L&N carried to and from the seaports on the Gulf of Mexico. The Pan-American was one of many trains discontinued when Amtrak began operations in 1971.

History

The L&N introduced the Pan-American on December 5, 1921. The economic pressures of the Great Depression forced the Pan-American to start carrying coaches again in 1933.

Like many L&N trains, the Pan-American experienced a surge in ridership during World War II, carrying four times its normal traffic.

  • The Pan-American - January 1927 - Streamliner Schedules
  • The Pan-American - July 1954 - Streamliner Schedules