The train service was originally conceived to be the main New York Central route to the American Southwest and California via the St. Louis gateway.

From Cleveland, the train ran on The Big Four Railroad trackage to Indianapolis's Union Station, and then terminated in St Louis.

At Cleveland, the schedule shows the train leaving NYC track and joining the Big Four route at 8:45 AM.

[6] In the 1950s, the Southwestern Limited became fully-streamlined as part of the New York Central's modernized "Great Steel Fleet."

[7] On March 27, 1953, at 10:02 PM, a four-train accident involving the Southwestern Limited occurred on the four-track mainline 2.4 miles east of Conneaut, Ohio.

Despite this, the Southwestern Limited remained on the New York Central timetable until only two years prior to the demise of the company,[8] in 1968.