OPINION: Do you remember ‘The Nancy Hanks?’

The “Nancy” had four passenger cars and a grill for lunch. Until the 1960s it was segregated. It was the last passenger train to integrate because the owners felt that they were immune from federal law because the train was intrastate. It never crossed the state line and thus only had to comply with Georgia law.

The Nancy Hanks had two lives. The first train, pulled by a steam engine, ran for only two years shortly after the end of the War Between the States. The second train, which was officially called, “The Nancy Hanks II,” made her first trip on July 17, 1947. The train’s cars were painted blue and grey and, like the first Nancy, each bore a likeness of the famous horse on the side.

The last trip made by the train was on April 30, 1971, the day before the national rail service, Amtrak started service. Due to the speed and comfort of bus and air transportation, Amtrak has never earned a profit, being subsidized annually by the American taxpayers. Amtrak has never offered an Atlanta to Savannah route.

So, why should we remember “The Nancy Hanks?” That is because our political leaders are ignoring her. You see, the politicians are spending millions of dollars to study and plan new rail passenger services between Georgia cities. Never mind that the best estimates show that such services will never break even and the taxpayers will have to bail them out every year they operate. Look at Atlanta’s current rail service, MARTA. It costs all Georgians millions of dollars to operate even though only a small part of our population ever rides it.

Oh, I have read all the arguments in favor of building these lines. They probably would reduce the number of cars on the freeways around Atlanta. They might even reduce the level of air pollution. But I do not believe that the benefit they would bring the people of Atlanta is worth what it will cost all Georgians in new taxes.

If the planners can find a way for these proposed rail passenger services to pay for themselves, then I say “build them!” But if a major portion of the state’s people will have to pay for a service they will never use, then I have to object.

Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frank@frankgillispie.com. His website can be accessed at http://www.frankgillispie.com/gillispieonline.