The ''Tennessean'' was a named passenger train jointly operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) and the Southern Railway (SOU). Inaugurated on May 17, 1941, its route ran from

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, to Lynchburg, Virginia, on the SOU, then on to

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. T ...

, on the N&W, terminating at

Memphis Union Station Memphis Union Station was a passenger terminal in Memphis, Tennessee. It served as a hub between railroads of the Southwest, the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and railroads of the Southeast, the Louisville an ...

via the SOU. The St. Louis Southwestern Railway inaugurated a new passenger train, the '' Morning Star'' from Memphis to Dallas, specifically to provide close connections with the ''Tennessean'' at Memphis. Intended to replace the ''Memphis Special'' as the preeminent carrier on the Washington–Memphis run, one of its critical duties was the transportation of mail for the Railway Mail Service division of the Post Office Department. The train's almost immediate success was further bolstered by a sharp rise in passenger traffic during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The ''Tennessean'' carried a Bristol- Nashville sleeping car, a Chattanooga-Memphis sleeper, and a New York-Memphis sleeper.Schafer, Mike, ''Classic American Streamliners.'' Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing, 1997, p. 106 The heavyweight Pullman sleeping cars were painted silver to help them blend in with the train's

stainless-steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's resis ...

, streamlined baggage cars, dining cars,

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, and

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of ...

s. Following World War II, streamlined sleeping cars replaced the heavyweight sleepers on the ''Tennessean''. The amenities provided on the ''Tennessean'' were gradually curtailed as Southern Railway attempted to reduce operating losses. By the early 1960s, the train carried only coaches and a single Pullman sleeper, in addition to the

railway post office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly tr ...

car and express and mail cars. Due to a decline in overall ridership, and Southern Railway's determination to escape the expensive burden of operating

, the ''Tennessean'' was discontinued on March 30, 1968. This discontinuance ended all Southern Railway passenger train service to Memphis, allowing abandonment of

References

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Southern Railway Tennessean
Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway Passenger trains of the Southern Railway (U.S.) Passenger rail transportation in Delaware Passenger rail transportation in Maryland Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transportation in Tennessee Passenger rail transportation in Virginia Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Railway services introduced in 1941 1968 disestablishments in the United States Night trains of the United States Railway services discontinued in 1968 {{US-train-stub