Crescent on the Southern Railway
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- Passenger Trains | Asheville Special | Birmingham Special | Carolina Special | Crescent | Peach Queen | Pelican | Piedmont Limited | Ponce de Leon | Royal Palm | Southerner | Tennessean
- Cities: Bristol TN/VA
- Related Lines: Embreeville Branch | Johnson City & Carolina | Johnson City Southern
- Notable People: Dr. Samuel B. Cunningham | Samuel Spencer | W. Graham Claytor, Jr.
- Today: Norfolk Southern
- Railfan Guides: Virginia & Southwestern
- Resources & Sources: Books | Scholars-Authors | Museums | Associations | Website Editor | Site Map
- Related Websites: Rails Across the Appalachians | Clinchfield.org
Southern Railway Crescent
Photo by Roger Puta – Crescent in 1969 in Alexandria VA
The Southern Crescent was Southern Railway’s signature train and exemplified the railroad’s commitment to passenger service. It’s route was always New York to New Orleans, but the intermediate cities changed over time south of Atlanta. Even when Amtrak took over national rail service in 1971, Southern was one of the few to continue running passenger trains. Eventually the Southern exited the passenger business in 1979, but the Crescent lives on today as a full-service Amtrak route. At different points in it’s history, the Crescent included coaches, sleepers, an observation car, a diner, and a dome.
Crescent Stats
- Route: New York to New Orleans
- Cities: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Greensboro, Charlotte, Greenville, Atlanta, Montgomery, Mobile, Biloxi, New Orleans
- Numbers: 37 southbound & 38 northbound
- Years in Service: 1925 to 1979
- Partner Railroads: Atlanta & West Point, Louisville & Nashville, Pennsylvania
- Streamlined: 1949
- Dieselized: 1941 (EMD Es and Fs)
- Distance: 1357 miles
- Scheduled Time: 30 hours 5 minutes (1952)
- Average Speed: 45 MPH (1952)
- Equipment: Coach, Sleeper, Diner , Observation, and Dome in variation throughout its history. Diner: NYC – NO. Sleepers: 5 NYC to NO, 1 DC to NO, 4 NYC to ATL, 1 DC to ATL (1952)
- Predecessor: New York & New Orleans Limited
- Today: Amtrak Crescent
Crescent Locomotives
Photo by Roger Puta. The Crescent stopping in Gainesville GA in 1967 with 3 E-units in the lead.
Like many Southern Passenger trains, the Crescent was pulled by the attractive PS-4 Pacifics during the steam era. Then in 1941, diesels replaced the steam engines, utilizing various EMD E-units and F-units. Throughout the various timeframes in the Crescent’s history, all green units were used, as well as all black units later in life. North of Washington DC, the Pennsylvania’s electric GG1 locomotives were utilized.
Southern Crescent Timetable – 1952
More Southern Railway information will be added to this page and others in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the railroads, the region, or model railroading.
Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources
The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Southern Railway and its predecessors. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Southern-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.
- Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
- Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
- Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
- Book – Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
- Book – Harshaw: ‘Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians’
- Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
- Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
- Book – Reisweber: ‘Southern Railway Power’
- Book – Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone’
- Book – Stout: ‘Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service’
- Book – Ward: ‘Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979’
- Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
- Book – Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Southern Railway Handbook’
- Book – Withers & Sink: ‘Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial’
- Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
- Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
- Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website – Hawkinsrails.net
- Website – Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
- Website – Multimodalways.org: Norfolk Southern Track Charts
- Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
- Website – SteamLocomotive.com
- Website – TheDieselShop.us
- Website – VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
Contact Us
Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the Southern or Model Railroads.
3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
