Georgia Rail fans Take Note

[Bill Haithcoat]

There is a neat article on the Nancy Hanks in the new Classic Trains, Spring 2012

I never rode that train but I did see her several times.

I must say she was the train most often mentioned to me by people who found out I was a railfan after I moved to Atlanta from Chattanooga in 1977. She seemed to be very popular locally.

There is one little detail which I think it left out...but I have only skimmed the article once, is how popular it was with southeasterners coming to Atlanta to shop. Though mother and I approached Atlanta on the Georgian,from Chattanooga, the once famed Rich's department store was said to be swimming over with Nancy Hanks passengers. My apologies if that was mentioned and I skimmed over it.

 

[trainman74]

Technically, it was the Nancy Hanks II, as the article explains.

From what I've seen browsing old newspapers from Amtrak Day, the last run of the Nancy Hanks II on April 30, 1971 got more than its fair share of press coverage (compared to other trains that were also making their last runs), presumably because of Central of Georgia's "stunt" of running it with a steam locomotive.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Technically, it was the Nancy Hanks II, as the article explains.

From what I've seen browsing old newspapers from Amtrak Day, the last run of the Nancy Hanks II on April 30, 1971 got more than its fair share of press coverage (compared to other trains that were also making their last runs), presumably because of Central of Georgia's "stunt" of running it with a steam locomotive.

It is hard, truly hard, to realize that it had become a Southern RR train by then, so hugely identified had it been with Central of Georgia from 1947 forward.

At least equally hard to imagine is that the City of Miami and the Seminole from Chicago to Florida were Southern from Birmingham to Albany in the last years. In my mind the Southern RR take over never seemed to fit.

I did ride down from Chattanooga on A-Day on what was left of the Georgian.

I did not find out about the steam engine bit until much later in life.