Pre-Amtrak
The Alton Railroad inaugurated the Ann Rutledge in 1937 as a companion to the Abraham Lincoln over the St. Louis–Chicago route. The Alton named the train after Ann Rutledge, a woman from New Salem, Illinois, who may have been the first love of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The Ann Rutledge used the Lincoln's original lightweight equipment set, while the Lincoln received a matching set originally used by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue. The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad continued the Ann Rutledge upon its merger with the Alton in 1947. The GM&O ended the Ann Rutledge on April 27, 1958.
Read more about this topic: Ann Rutledge (train), History