Part of an answer
I found this information from a Southern Railway employee on a google search..."In 1967, the Southern Railway began combining the "Crescent" and their other premier north south train, the "Southerner", on certain portions of the north-south run. Finally, in 1970, they were officially combined, given new train numbers (1 and 2), and renamed, "Southern Crescent". During the "Southern Crescent" era, there WERE two other passenger trains on the Washington, DC-South run which were combination freght and passenger trains. One ran Washington, DC to Lynchberg, VA, carring a heavy weight coach or two and a string of piggybacks. It was simply called Number 7 and 8(long before, it was called the "Birmingham Special". The second train was called the "Piedmont", and it carried a mixture of lightweight and heavyweight passenger equipment, along with a string of piggybacks on a Washington, DC to Atlanta run. The "Southern Crescent" was a streamliner, with all stainless lightweight equipment, sleepers, coaches, diner, lounge, and even a dome car from Atlanta to New Orleans. It ran with usually four green, gold and imitation aluminum E-8 locomotives."
So based on this...I need two more E8's and a dome car!!!