The Southern Railway, The Southern Serves the South

The Southern Railway, forever remembered by its famous slogan, “The Southern Serves the South – Look Ahead, Look South” (it was also known for the slogan "The Southern Gives a Green Light To Innovations"), was created from a number of smaller railroads, which merged over the years to form the Southern Railway. Perhaps the railroad’s famous green paint scheme was fitting for the railroad as it became the most respected and arguably the best managed railroad of its day before it disappeared into a merger with the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W) in 1982 to form today’s Norfolk Southern Railway (NS).

A major reason why the Southern Railway became so successful was because its innovative nature and sound business practices (and the company very much lived up to another slogan it used, “The Southern Gives A Green Light To Innovations”), especially in the railroad's later years. The Southern was quick to adopt new technologies that improved efficiencies such as Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) and began double-tracking lines to improve operations (it would eventually finish double-tracking its entire main line between Atlanta and Washington, D.C.). Because of its innovative nature it probably comes as no surprise that the Southern was quick to make the switch from steam to diesel locomotives as well, completely dieselizing its locomotive fleet by 1953.

Regarding the railroad’s steam locomotive fleet it rostered a wide range of wheel arrangements, from large to small. While the Southern rostered impressive power such as 2-8-8-2s to haul coal out of the mountains in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee (known as the Appalachia Division), the railroad is perhaps best known for its fleet of Ps4-class Pacifics, which were built by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) in 1926 and used to carry the very best passenger trains the company had to offer. The Ps4s are best remembered for their days hauling the Southern’s finest passenger train, the Crescent. They were adorned to match their trains in the company’s beautiful green, white, and gold-trimmed livery and are argued to be the most beautiful (from an aesthetic standpoint) steam locomotives ever built. Fortunately one has been saved, #1401, which today resides at the Smithsonian and is proudly on display in her original green, white, and gold-trim.

By the time D.W. Brosnan rose to the helm of the company it was well on its way to becoming a powerhouse in its industry. Brosnan would go on to expand the railroad in terms of new technologies and efficiencies, such as updating bottlenecks across its system and using computers for even better operations. Graham Claytor would be Southern Railway’s last president and continued operations much as his previous predecessors.

In the Southern’s final days the railroad was a well-oiled machine. Even as the railroad industry hit an all-time low in the 1970s with many bankruptcies and outright liquidations (this was most prominent in the Northeast), the Southern continued to roll in profits, topping out at almost $1.8 billion in revenues in 1981, its last year as an independent company. While the company is no longer with us it will forever be remembered its famous slogans, “The Southern Serves The South” and “The Southern Gives A Green Light To Innovations,” both of which the railroad very much lived up to.

Please Click Here To Return To The Main Fallen Flags Section

For an all-time diesel locomotive roster of the Southern Railway please click here. Also, for an excellent listing of EMD-built diesel locomotives, including those owned by the Southern Railway please click here. Lastly, please click here to locate preserved Southern Railway diesel locomotives.

Please note that the below roster does not differentiate those units marked in Southern's predecessor roads due to the sheer number.

The American Locomotive Company

The Baldwin Locomotive Works

Electro-Motive Corporation/Electro-Motive Division

Fairbanks Morse

General Electric

For a more complete roster of Southern Railway steam locomotives please click here. Also, for information regarding surviving Southern Railway steam locomotives please click here. Please note that since the Southern controlled so many smaller lines its steam locomotive classes often overlap. As such, only the Southern's steam fleet is listed here.

Notable Southern Railway Passenger Trains

Crescent

Pelican

Royal Palm

Southerner

Tennessean

Aiken-Augusta Special: (Washington - Salisbury - Augusta)

Asheville Special: (Washington - Greensboro - Asheville)

Birmingham Special: (Washington - Birmingham)

Carolina Special: (Cincinnati - Greensboro/Charleston)

Florida Sunbeam: (Cincinnati - Florida)

Kansas City-Florida Special: (Kansas City - Brunswick, Georgia/Florida)

Peach Queen: (Washington - Atlanta)

Piedmont Limited: (Washington - New Orleans)

Ponce de Leon: (Cincinnati - Jacksonville)

Queen & Crescent: (Cincinnati - New Orleans)

Skyland Special: (Asheville - Jacksonville)

Sunnyland: (Memphis - Atlanta)

Washington-Atlanta-New Orleans Express: (Washington - Atlanta - New Orleans)

(A deep thanks to the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University for allowing Ron Nixon's historic collection of the Southern Railway steam locomotives to be featured here. Please note that the photos featured on this page feature their corresponding image number so that you may quickly and easily find more information about it from their website. To view Ron Nixon's entire collection please click here.)

Share Your Thoughts