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.)
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.