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.[1] The Pennsylvania Railroad handled the train between New York and Washington, D.C.
In 1970, the Southern Railway combined the Crescent with the Southerner to form the Southern Crescent.[2] The merged train moved to the Birmingham 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.