IMAGES OF OUR PAST - DID THE NANCY HANKS EVER COME THROUGH DUBLIN?

  The question of whether or not the fabled passenger train, "The Nancy Hanks," ever came through Dublin has often been asked. The answer is "yes." As a matter of fact, the answer is yes, "twice." Following a wreck on the Central of Georgia Railroad between Wadley and Davisboro, the conductor of the train took the grand lady through Dublin on the morning of May 3, 1961. The Dublin Courier Herald reported, "Communities west of here got wind of the approach of the iron maiden and school children and others of the populace gathered to see her speed through." Exactly two weeks later, the sleek Central Georgia train came to Dublin again. This time the Nancy Hanks dropped off one special passenger. He was B.J. Tarbutton, a director of the railroad, who was headed to the depot in Tennille in his home county of Washington. It was the first and only time in the history of the ancient railroad line that a passenger was delivered to Dublin. Courier Herald, May 3,17, 1961.

    Riding the Nancy Hanks from Macon to Atlanta and a day of shopping at the iconic and luxurious Rich's Department Store became a tradition for Dublin women in the 1950s and 1960s. The Dublin Service League sponsored a trip for the ladies of Dublin in 1950. Some people took their own cars. Other rode on a chartered bus to the railroad station in Macon. Before, the those wishing to shop at Rich's simply took an MDS Railroad train to Macon and switched to the Central of Georgia in Macon. That practice ended on December 31, 1949, when the last direct passenger train to Macon ended.