New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal

Company History: Planning for the NOUPT began in 1949 and the station opened in 1954, replacing five other stations in the city. Tenants included Illinois Central, Southern, Louisville & Nashville, Missouri Pacific, Texas & Pacific, Southern Pacific and Louisiana & Arkansas (by that time a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern.) Gulf Mobile & Ohio was also to be a tenant but their passenger service to the city was discontinued just before the station opened. SP’s Sunset Limited was the first train to arrive at the new station on January 8, 1954 followed a few minutes later by the first departure, Illinois Central’s Panama Limited. The terminal had their own fleet of switchers, a trio of SW8’s purchased new in time for opening day. One of the three was later sold. Amtrak took over passenger service in 1971 and sometime after that, the two remaining SW8’s received Amtrak paint but NOUPT reporting marks. The two switchers were retired and stored in 1984. Amtrak uses the terminal today for the Sunset Limited, the Panama Limited and the Crescent

Successor/Parent History: The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is a passenger railroad service that provides medium- and long-distance intercity service in the contiguous United States. Founded in 1971 through the government-sponsored consolidation of most of the remaining U.S. passenger rail companies, it is partially government-funded yet operated and managed as a for-profit corporation.

Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day on 21,300 miles (34,000 km) of track with select segments having civil operating speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h) and connecting more than 500 destinations in 46 states in addition to three Canadian provinces. In fiscal year 2015, Amtrak served 30.8 million passengers and had $2.185 billion in revenue, while employing more than 20,000 people. Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from the 10 largest metropolitan areas; 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles. Its headquarters is at Union Station in Washington, D.C.

The name "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "trak", the latter itself a sensational spelling of "track".

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Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.