The Illinois Central relaunched the train on November 15, 1916, with new equipment and a new schedule: 23 hours from Chicago to New Orleans, all-Pullman.

[2] The Great Depression led the Illinois Central to discontinue the luxurious Panama Limited between May 28, 1932, and December 2, 1934.

The Illinois Central had ordered two lightweight sets of equipment before the attack on Pearl Harbor; after an appeal, the War Production Board allowed their delivery.

[7] The Panama Limited carried a new orange-and-brown paint scheme that later became standard on Illinois Central passenger trains.

[8] Today, Metra, Chicago's commuter rail system, honors this scheme by identifying the Metra Electric District, the Illinois Central's former commuter service to the southern suburbs, as "Panama Orange" on system maps and timetables.

In 1947, the Illinois Central introduced the City of New Orleans as a daytime, all-coach companion to the Panama Limited along the same route.

The Illinois Central petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to end the train altogether on November 23, 1970, but the ICC deferred the request with Amtrak due to launch the following spring.

Amtrak hoped to capitalize on the popularity of the eponymous song written by Steve Goodman and recorded in 1972 by Arlo Guthrie.

The song "Railroad Lady" was said to have been written by Jerry Jeff Walker and Jimmy Buffett on the final run of the Panama Limited, from New Orleans to Nashville.