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 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. ==Equipment==