The ''Nancy Hanks'' was a popular Central of Georgia Railway and later Southern Railway

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

running between

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

. It was named after a

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

that was named for Abraham Lincoln's mother. The name is even older than the mid-20th century train derived from that of a short-lived but famous

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

special, the ''Nancy Hanks''. The earlier ''Nancy'' operated in 1892 and 1893.

History

''Nancy Hanks II'' made its first trip on July 17, 1947. The new train's cars were painted blue and gray and, like the first ''Nancy'', each bore a likeness of the famed trotter on the side. "The Nancy", as it was affectionately known, was an all-

coach 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 * Co ...

, reserved-seat train with grill lounge service. The train had an average speed of 48 mph (including stops) and made the journey in 6 hours. It left the Central of Georgia Depot in Savannah daily at 7 a.m., running to Atlanta Terminal Station via Macon Terminal Station, and returned from Atlanta at 6 p.m. (18:00). Black and white passengers were separated on this pocket streamliner until the 1960s. Four "divided" segregated coaches were built by

American Car & Foundry ACF Industries, originally the American Car and Foundry Company (abbreviated as ACF), is an American manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches und ...

(ACF) for ''Nancy'', and

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

were not allowed to eat in the grill-lounge car. The Central of Georgia was the last major Southern railroad to

desegregate Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

. Since it ran only in Georgia and did not engage in

interstate commerce The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amo ...

, it was not subject to the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

's 1961 order to desegregate. In the 1960s the Central leased a

dome car A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car, sleeping car or obse ...

from the

Norfolk and Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

-Wabash line, where it had operated for a number of years; the car was thoroughly

renovate Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

d for service on the ''Nancy Hanks II''. The dome parlor-lounge car was 85 feet (26 m) long, made of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

and originally was built by

Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century ...

. It had a dark-blue exterior and interior

upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English word ...

in royal blue and gray. In keeping with the racehorse theme, the lounge beneath the dome was branded the "Saddle & Stirrup." Despite its popularity in Middle Georgia, the ''Nancy'' suffered a marked decline in ridership during the 1960s, in tandem with the larger decline of rail service during this period. While Southern opted to stay in the passenger business when

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

took over most passenger service, the ''Nancy'' was not among the routes retained. As a result, the ''Nancy'' made its last run on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak came into being. Atlanta's Terminal Station was demolished the following year.

References

{{CG named trains Passenger trains of the Central of Georgia Railway Named passenger trains of the United States Railway services introduced in 1947 1971 disestablishments Railway services discontinued in 1971