I grew up riding Seaboard and ACL trains from New York to Florida, and our southbound stop at Broad Street, whether on the Meteor or Champion, was always a high point. The two trains were on similar schedules, and southbound were usually in Broad Street at the same time. The ACL train simply headed straight in, locomotives pointed south. To depart, the train ran around the loop, crossed the station throat on diamonds, and turned south onto the "belt line", having done a 360 degree loop.
Seaboard trains to Main Street Station used a connection off the east side of the loop. When they began calling at Broad instead, they would head halfway around the loop and come into the station with the locos heading north. On departure, the train would back halfway around the loop to the east side, then head south on the connection. SAL continued to run right through Main Street (platforms on the west side), although the trains didn't stop. As a kid, I always wondered what that station was.
AFAIK, the connection to the Seaboard was always there, since both SAL and ACL trains used the RF&P south from Washington. Into the mid-1960s, though, they would get RF&P power at Washington and then change again at Richmond. the Champion to three ACL E units (usually A-A-A, elephant style), and the Meteor to an A-B-B-A lashup. That stopped after the SCL merger, when SCL power began running through to Washington.
Randy Resor, aka "NellieBly" passed away on November 1, 2013. We honor his memory and his devotion to railroading at railroad.net.