The ''Nancy Hanks'' was a popular

Central of Georgia Railway The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constr ...

and later Southern Railway

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

running between

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and

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

. It was named after a

race horse ''Race Horse'' was an 1850 clipper barque. She set a record of 109 days from New York to San Francisco during the first Clipper Race around the Horn. Construction ''Race Horse'' was similar to a barque built by Samuel Hall a few years earlier, ...

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 water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

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 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 * Coac ...

, 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. In the 1960s the Central leased a

dome car A dome car is a type of railway Passenger car (rail), 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 (rail), coach, lounge c ...

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, o ...

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 of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

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 d ...

. 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 wor ...

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 intercity 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