The Champion was a direct competitior to a passenger train operated by Amtrack, and was introduced by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in what year?
Silver Meteor The Silver Meteor is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. The first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, since being introduced by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) in 1939, it remains in operation now. The train is part of Amtrak's "Silver Service" along with the "Silver Star", another former SAL streamliner.
Thoroughbred Shortline Program The Thoroughbred Shortline Program was a system of shortline creation devised by Norfolk Southern in the late 1980s. It involved an alternative to the typical practice of a Class I railroad selling rail lines outright to shortlines in the post-Staggers Act era. Defining features of the program included leasing lines to shortline operators as opposed to outright sales, keeping stations available in Norfolk Southern marketing campaigns, and crediting carloads delivered to Norfolk Southern towards the lease and eventual purchase of the line. The program ran from 1988 to 1991, creating more than a dozen new shortline railroads, nearly all of which are still in operation today.