Editing Silver Service

{{Short description|Duo of Amtrak trains operating from New York to Florida}}
{{About|[[passenger train]] service|the form of [[table service]]|silver service}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox Public transit
|name = ''Silver Service''
|image = File:Old 97, New Locomotive (14853558824).jpg
|imagesize = 300px
|alt=
|caption=The ''[[Silver Meteor]]'' passing [[Odenton station]] in 2014
|owner =
|locale = [[East Coast of the United States|United States East Coast]]
|headquarters =
|transit_type = [[Inter-city rail]]
|began_operation =
|lines = 2
|stations =
|track_gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}
|marks =
|operator = [[Amtrak]]
|website = {{url|https://www.amtrak.com/silver-service-palmetto-train|Amtrak ''Silver Service''}}
|map = {{Silver Service|inline=yes}}
|map_name  =
|map_state = collapsed
|area served=
|line_number=
|start=[[New York City]], [[New York]]
|end=[[Miami]], [[Florida]]
|annual_ridership=
|chief_executive=
|character=
|vehicles=
}}
[[File:Amtrak Silver Service.png|thumb|Amtrak ''Silver Service'' map]]
'''''Silver Service''''' was a [[brand]] applied by [[Amtrak]] to its [[Amtrak Long Distance|long-distance]] trains running along the [[United States East Coast]] between [[New York City]] and [[Miami, Florida]]. It comprised two trains – the {{lnl|Amtrak|Silver Meteor}} and {{lnl|Amtrak|Silver Star}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=AMTRAK TO HOST CIVIC CONVERSATION IN SAVANNAH ON RAIL DEPOT REDEVELOPMENT AND RESTORATION|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1635988881.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324223855/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1635988881.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 24, 2016|publisher=US Fed News Service, Including US State News |access-date=2012-12-31|date=January 27, 2009}}</ref> Since November 2024, the ''Silver Star'' has been temporarily combined with the {{lnl|Amtrak|Capitol Limited}} to form the {{lnl|Amtrak|Floridian}}, a Chicago–Washington–Miami route. The ''Silver Service'' brand was subsequently quietly discontinued for an indefinite period at the same time. 

The two services follow the same general route between New York City and Miami, but diverge between [[Selma, North Carolina]], and [[Savannah, Georgia]], as well as at [[Auburndale, Florida]]. The ''Silver Meteor'' takes a more direct, coastal route on the [[Main Line (Atlantic Coast Line Railroad)|CSX A-Line]] between Selma and Savannah via [[Fayetteville, North Carolina]], [[Florence, South Carolina]], and [[Charleston, South Carolina]], while the ''Silver Star'' travels inland over the [[Main Line (Seaboard Air Line Railroad)|CSX S-Line]] to serve the Carolinas' two state capitals, [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], and [[Columbia, South Carolina]]. At Auburndale, Florida, the ''Silver Star'' continues west to service [[Lakeland, Florida|Lakeland]] and [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]], while the ''Silver Meteor'' turns south to go directly to Miami. 

Amtrak's ''[[Palmetto (train)|Palmetto]]'' operates over the ''Silver Meteor's'' route between New York City and Savannah. However, from 1996 to 2002, the train was known as the ''Silver Palm'' and ran all the way south to Miami, though over a different routing between Jacksonville and Auburndale. The ''Palmetto'' name was reverted in 2002, and service was eventually truncated back to Savannah in 2004.

==History==
The two ''Silver Service'' trains were inherited from the [[Seaboard Coast Line Railroad]], which originally inherited them from the [[Seaboard Air Line Railroad]], when Amtrak took over most intercity rail service in 1971. They are the sole remnants of numerous long-distance trains that ran between the Northeast and Florida for most of the 20th century. Amtrak originally applied the  '''Florida Fleet''' brand to the ''Silver Meteor'', ''Silver Star'', and the now-discontinued ''[[Champion (train)|Champion]]'', another train inherited from SCL, in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web | title=Florida Fleet | author=Amtrak | author-link=Amtrak | url=http://history.amtrak.com/archives/florida-fleet-route-guide-1975 | date=1975 | access-date=2013-08-10}}</ref>

Prior to 1979, the ''Silver Meteor'' travelled between Savannah and [[Jacksonville, Florida]], via the Seaboard Coast Line's ex-SAL [[Kingsland Subdivision|Everett Subdivision]] with a stop at [[Thalmann, Georgia]], for the nearby city of [[Brunswick, Georgia]]. The train was rerouted via SCL's ex-ACL mainline via [[Jesup, Georgia]], in late 1979, the same route as the ''Silver Star'', after SCL expressed desire to abandon the Everett Subdivision. Similarly, the ''Silver Star'' ran between [[Petersburg, Virginia]], and Raleigh via the ex-SAL [[Norlina Subdivision]], with a stop at [[Henderson, North Carolina]], until 1985. When [[CSX Transportation]], corporate successor of Seaboard Coast Line, abandoned the line between Petersburg and [[Norlina, North Carolina]], in 1985, the ''Silver Star'' was rerouted via Selma en route to Raleigh. Currently, under the [[Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor]] plan, the Norlina Subdivision will be rebuilt between Petersburg and Norlina, with both the ''Silver Star'' and Amtrak's [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]–New York ''[[Carolinian (train)|Carolinian]]'' being rerouted over the line, with the stop at Henderson being reinstated, as well as a new stop being added at [[La Crosse, Virginia]].

Starting in 1982, Amtrak operated a service called the ''[[Silver Palm (train)|Silver Palm]]'' between Miami and Tampa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=q-IeAAAAIBAJ&pg=3490,3442820|title=Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com|access-date=2018-12-17}}</ref> This was later discontinued in 1985 due to low ridership. From 1996 to 2002, the ''[[Palmetto (train)|Palmetto]]'' was renamed ''Silver Palm'', and operated as a third train in the ''Silver Service'' brand between New York and Miami. However, it turned west at Jacksonville and ran via [[Waldo, Florida|Waldo]], [[Ocala, Florida|Ocala]], [[Wildwood, Florida|Wildwood]], [[Dade City, Florida|Dade City]], [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]] and [[Lakeland, Florida|Lakeland]], before rejoining the ''Silver Star'' and ''Silver Meteor'' in [[Auburndale, Florida|Auburndale]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kick back and enjoy the ride on Amtrak's Florida-bound trains; Get on track for enjoyable ride to Florida|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-79638061.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224130757/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-79638061.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 24, 2016|publisher=[[Boston Herald]]|access-date=2012-12-31|date=November 1, 2001|first=Mark David|last=Chapman}}</ref> Amtrak reinstated the Palmetto name on May 1, 2002, after eliminating the sleeper and dining cars, but it still provided service to Florida. On November 1, 2004, the Palmetto was shortened to operate only between New York and Savannah, reverting to its daytime schedule as it had before 1994. Since then, the ''Silver Star'' began its out-and-back detour route to serve Lakeland and Tampa.

In response to planned rehabilitation work in the [[East River Tunnels]], the ''Silver Star'' was temporarily combined with the {{lnl|Amtrak|Capitol Limited}} on November 10, 2024, forming a Chicago–Washington–Miami through service called the {{lnl|Amtrak|Floridian}}.<ref>{{Cite press release |date=September 23, 2024 |title=Amtrak Launching the Floridian, with Daily Service Between Chicago and Miami |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2024/09/amtrak-launching-the-floridian-with-daily-service-between-chicago-and-miami/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240923190514/https://media.amtrak.com/2024/09/amtrak-launching-the-floridian-with-daily-service-between-chicago-and-miami/ |archive-date=September 23, 2024 |access-date=September 23, 2024 |publisher=Amtrak}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Silver Comet (train)|Silver Comet]]''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}
* [http://www.amtrak.com/silver-service-palmetto-train Official site]

{{Amtrak routes}}

[[Category:Amtrak routes]]
[[Category:Amtrak route networks]]
[[Category:Long distance Amtrak routes]]