The Panama Limited was one of a fast-dwindling number of all-Pullman luxury trains in the early 1960s. Concerning the train, Mike Schafer and Joe Welsh write:

    "The Panama was best known for two things: punctuality and the King's Dinner. The train's precise timekeeping was legendary. Wayne Johnston, IC president from 1945 to 1966, was so insistent about the Panama's on-time performance that, if he could still see the train's observation car from his office high above the platform tracks at Chicago's Central Station at 5:01 p.m. (departure was scheduled for 5 o'clock sharp), he would immediately be on the phone questioning station personnel about the delay.

    "The legendary King's Dinner was actually a late addition to the train's repertoire, in the mid-1960s. For $9.85—in those days an eye-opening sum to spend on a single dinner—a diner patron received a cocktail, appetizer, a shrimp cocktail, a fish course, a main entree of charcoal-broiled steak with potato and vegetable, a post-entree salad, bread, sliced apple and cheese, coffee and wine, an after-dinner liqueur, and a special King's Dinner lapel pin to prove the undertaking."[*]

While I can't guarantee that the King's Dinner was being featured as early as 1962, I think I can safely say that a trip on the Panama Limited during this time period would not be a disappointment.


From the pages of the Official Guide, October 1962

Illinois Central Railroad herald

The Panama Limited

Illinois Central Railroad
September, 1962

5 Train Number 6
Daily Miles Services Daily
4 30P Dp 0.0 Chicago, IL (Central Station) (CT) C R Ar 9 00A
R 4 55P 6.6 Chicago, IL (63rd St., Woodlawn) C 8 50A
R 5 15P 22.1 Homewood, IL C X 8 30A
F 5 26P 54.5 Kankakee, IL C 7 55A
6 25P Ar 126.5 Champaign, IL (Urbana) C R Dp 6 55A
6 30P Dp Ar 6 48A
F 171.0 Mattoon, IL C R 6 06A
F 197.9 Effingham, IL C F
8 10P Ar 251.1 Centralia, IL C Dp 4 55A
8 15P Dp Ar 4 50A
9 06P Ar 306.9 Carbondale, IL C Dp 4 00A
Through Sleeper St. Louis - New Orleans
105 Train Number 16
6 45P Dp 0.0 St. Louis, MO (Union Station) (CT) C R Ar 7 15A
7 14P 17.8 Belleville, IL C 6 32A
8 05P 64.3 Pinckneyville, IL C 5 41A
8 20P 74.0 Du Quoin, IL C 5 17A
8 40P Ar 95.4 Carbondale, IL C Dp 4 50A
5 Continuing Train Number 6
9 21P Dp 306.9 Carbondale, IL C Ar 3 48A
10 28P Ar 360.2 North Cairo, IL C Dp 2 43A
10 34P Dp Ar 2 38A
11 23P Ar 404.8 Fulton, KY C Dp 1 45A
11 31P Dp Ar 1 35A
F12 13A 449.9 Dyersburg, TN F12 51A
1 40A Ar 527.2 Memphis, TN C R Dp 11 25P
1 50A Dp Ar 11 15P
F 2 50A 586.1 Batesville, MS C F10 08P
3 35A 626.3 Grenada, MS C 9 25P
F 4 26A 679.3 Durant, MS C F 8 37P
5 00A Ar 714.5 Canton, MS C Dp 8 08P
5 03A Dp Ar 8 05P
5 30A Ar 737.7 Jackson, MS C R Dp 7 40P
5 40A Dp Ar 7 30P
6 30A 791.8 Brookhaven, MS C 6 43P
6 50A Ar 815.7 McComb, MS C Dp 6 21P
6 53A Dp Ar 6 19P
7 40A 867.8 Hammond, LA C R 5 32P
8 42A 918.7 New Orleans, LA (Carrollton Avenue) 4 37P
9 00A Ar 921.1 New Orleans, LA (Union Psgr. Tml.) (CT) C R Dp 4 30P

Train 5: 19 stops, 16:30, 55.8 MPHTrain 6: 20 stops, 16:30, 55.8 MPH

Train 105-5: 17 stops, 14:15, 49.8 MPHTrain 6-16: 17 stops, 14:45, 48.1 MPH


Note—THE PANAMA LIMITED—Streamlined All-Pullman train—Only carries revenue passengers having Pullman or Parlor Car accommodations.

Illinois Central Railroad
Main Line of Mid-America


PULLMAN, COACH AND DINING CAR SERVICE
REGULARLY ASSIGNED CARS ARE AIR-CONDITIONED.
Coaches are carried, except as otherwise indicated.


SOUTHBOUND

THE PANAMA LIMITED. Daily
All-Pullman Streamlined Train—Radio—No Coaches.
No. 5—Chicago to New Orleans
No. 105-5—St. Louis to New Orleans

Sleepers—

Chicago to New Orleans, 22 Roomette [517].

Chicago to New Orleans, 11 Double Bedroom [511].

Club Lounge—Chicago to New Orleans.

Dining Service—Twin Unit. Chicago to New Orleans.

Sleepers—

Chicago to New Orleans, 11 Double Bedroom [509].

Chicago to Jackson, Miss., 10 Roomette, 6 Double Bedroom [505]. (May be occupied at Jackson, Miss., until 8:00 a.m., C.S.T.)

Parlor Car—

Chicago to Carbondale [PC-1]—(Illinois Central Tickets).

Sleepers—

St. Louis to New Orleans, 10 Roomette, 6 Double Bedroom [507].

Chicago to New Orleans, 2 Double Bedroom, 1 Drawing-room, 2 Compartment-Observation [501]. (Reserved seats Memphis-New Orleans.)


NORTHBOUND

THE PANAMA LIMITED. Daily
All-Pullman Streamlined Train—Radio—No Coaches.
No. 6—New Orleans to Chicago
No. 6-16—New Orleans to St. Louis

Sleepers—

New Orleans to Chicago, 22 Roomette [618].

New Orleans to Chicago, 11 Double Bedroom [612].

Club Lounge—New Orleans to Chicago.

Dining Service—Twin Unit. New Orleans to Chicago.

Sleepers—

New Orleans to Chicago, 11 Double Bedroom [610].

Jackson, Miss., to Chicago, 10 Roomette, 6 Double Bedroom [606].

Memphis to Chicago, 10 Roomette, 6 Double Bedroom [604]. (Open for occupancy 9:30 p.m., C.S.T.)

Parlor Car—

Carbondale, Ill., to Chicago [PC-2]—(Illinois Central Tickets).

Sleepers—

New Orleans to St. Louis, 10 Roomette, 6 Double Bedroom [608]. (May be occupied until 8:00 a.m., C.S.T.)

New Orleans to Chicago, 2 Double Bedroom, 1 Drawing-room, 2 Compartment-Observation [602]. (Reserved seats New Orleans-Memphis.)