The Illinois Central Railroad introduced the original City of New Orleans on April 27, 1947 as a daytime companion to the overnight Panama Limited.

The 921-mile route, which the City of New Orleans covered in 15 hours 55 minutes, was the longest daytime schedule in the United States.

The City of New Orleans exchanged St. Louis—New Orleans through cars at Carbondale, Illinois and Louisville—New Orleans cars at Fulton, Kentucky.

Today the City of New Orleans is an Amtrak passenger train which operates on an overnight schedule between Chicago, Illinois, and New Orleans, Louisiana. (Wikipedia)