Inter-American
Info
Type	Inter-city rail
System	Amtrak
Locale	Midwestern United States
Termini	Chicago, Illinois Laredo, Texas Houston, Texas
Operation
Opened	1973
Closed	1981
Operator(s)	Amtrak
Technical
Line length	1,452 mi (2,336.77 km) (Chicago-Laredo) 1,333 mi (2,145.26 km) (Chicago-Houston)
Route map Legend 0 mi (0 km) Chicago 37 mi (60 km) Joliet 127 mi (204 km) Bloomington 185 mi (298 km) Springfield 257 mi (414 km) Alton Mississippi River Illinois/Missouri border 284 mi (457 km) St. Louis 446 mi (718 km) Poplar Bluff Missouri/Arkansas border 502 mi (808 km) Walnut Ridge 542 mi (872 km) Newport (F) 626 mi (1,007 km) Little Rock 669 mi (1,077 km) Malvern (F) 770 mi (1,239 km) Texarkana Arkansas/Texas border 837 mi (1,347 km) Marshall (F) 860 mi (1,384 km) Longview 987 mi (1,588 km) Dallas 1,018 mi (1,638 km) Fort Worth 1,046 mi (1,683 km) Cleburne 1,121 mi (1,804 km) McGregor 1,146 mi (1,844 km) Temple 1,238 mi (1,992 km) Brenham 1,298 mi (2,089 km) Rosenberg (F) 1,333 mi (2,145 km) Houston 1,185 mi (1,907 km) Taylor 1,219 mi (1,962 km) Austin 1,250 mi (2,012 km) San Marcos 1,299 mi (2,091 km) San Antonio 1,452 mi (2,337 km) Laredo

The Inter-American was a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois to Laredo, Texas. Its route changed over time and was eventually replaced by the Eagle.

Contents 1 History 2 Notes 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] History

Upon its inauguration in January 1973, the Inter-American connected Laredo with Fort Worth. At Fort Worth, travelers could connect with the Texas Chief, but doing so required an overnight layover. At Laredo, it was possible to cross the border to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and connect with Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México ("N de M") trains to points in Mexico. The train operated three times a week.^[1]

In March 1974, the train was extended to St. Louis, following the route of the former Missouri Pacific Texas Eagle. From St. Louis passengers could connect to Chicago, and the extension finally added service to Dallas itself. In October 1976 Amtrak extended the Inter-American all the way north to Chicago. This train operated daily between Chicago and St. Louis and tri-weekly between St. Louis and Laredo. In October 1979 budget cuts forced Amtrak to combine the Inter-American with the Lone Star (formerly the Texas Chief). The new train, still called the Inter-American, operated daily between Chicago and Laredo, with a section to Houston, Texas which split at Temple, Texas.^[2]

In the fall of 1981 Amtrak, forced to make service cuts, truncated the Inter-American to San Antonio, Texas and eliminated the through cars to Houston.^[3] The new service was named the Eagle, and is a forerunner of the current Texas Eagle.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Goldberg, Bruce (1981). Amtrak: The First Decade. Silver Spring, MD: Alan Books. 

[edit] See also

• Texas Eagle

[edit] External links

• lasttrain

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