Southerner (U.S. train)
The Southerner was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the United States between New York City and New Orleans via Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Meridian. It operated from 1941 to 1970.
History
The Southerner was one of two new streamliners put into operation by the Southern Railway in 1941, the other being the Tennessean. The new train made its first run on March 31, 1941, using new equipment delivered by Pullman-Standard. The Pennsylvania Railroad handled the train between New York and Washington, D.C.The Southerner shared much of the same route as the Crescent, the Southern's other major New York-New Orleans sleeper, but diverged between Atlanta and New Orleans. While the Crescent took a more direct route via Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama, the Southerner stayed inland to serve Birmingham and Meridian. The Southerner also traveled exclusively on Southern trackage south of Washington, while the Crescent used Atlanta and West Point Railroad, Western Railway of Alabama and Louisville and Nashville Railroad trackage south of Atlanta.
In 1970, the Southern Railway combined the Crescent with the Southerner to form the Southern Crescent. The merged train moved to the Birmingham–Meridian route, allowing the train to run solely on Southern's right-of-way between New Orleans and Washington. This train became Amtrak's Crescent on February 1, 1979.