Central of Georgia Railway 661

The Legacy of Central of Georgia Railway 661: A Coach with a Tale

The Central of Georgia Railway 661 is a remarkable 56-seat lightweight coach, masterfully crafted by the American Car & Foundry in 1947. Commissioned for the Central of Georgia Railway, this coach was the second in a series designed for the “Nancy Hanks II” – a passenger service connecting Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia. It proudly journeyed alongside its siblings, coaches 390, 662, and 907, all of which are preserved in the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) collection. After years of dedicated service for both the Central of Georgia Railway and its successor, the Southern Railway, the 661 found its final home at TVRM, being donated to the museum in 1981. A subsequent rebuilding saw the car emerge in 1989 as a “self sufficient” car, after the success of coach 907 and dining car 3158, with its own 220v A.C. diesel generator, and a Colonial Red exterior in place of the previous (by then faded) Pullman No. 4 Green from its Southern Railway days; all aspects necessary for continued excursion program operation.

Of note, these Nancy Hanks II coaches all featured ACF’s “Sunliner” lighting set-up, with curtains, and light fixtures mounted across the windows, designed to direct light upwards as if sunlight was always shining down. The Nancy Hanks II was the only trainset to ever be fitted with this technology. Although the fixtures were later relocated to a position above the windows, like standard fluorescent coach lights, they remain in place to this day.