Elizabeth, Bob and I arrived in Lebanon but before I write about our activities, some background information about the City of Nashville, where the 2017 National Railway Historical Society convention was held.
City of Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. Nashville, with its government partner Davidson County (there is a joint city-county government), has a population of approximately 700,000, with the 13-county Nashville metropolitan area having about 1 3/4 million residents, making it the largest city in the state.
Nashville was founded by James Robertson, John Donelson and a party of Overmountain Men in 1779. An earlier settlement, Fort Nashborough, stood nearby on the Cumberland River. Francis Nash, an American Revolutionary War hero, was the inspiration for the town's name. The community was incorporated as a city and became the county seat of Davidson County in 1806. It became the capital of Tennessee in 1843. Its location on the Cumberland River, and the number of railroads built to the docks, made Nashville a very prosperous city. During the Civil War, it was an early target for Union forces, and during February 1862, became the first southern capital to fall to northern forces. It soon became the major supply point for Union forces across the region. After the war, the facilities built by the Union Army soon hosted commercial businesses, and the economy again boomed in Nashville. The money moving through the city led to the construction of a number of grand classical-style buildings, many of which still stand throughout Nashville.
Nashville is famous for its country music and it is one of the major economic factors in the city. All of the Big Four record labels, plus many independent labels, are located here. Since the 1960s, Nashville has been the second- largest music production center in the country. Guitar company Gibson is also based here. Estimates state that the music industry employs approximately 20,000 people and pumps nearly $7 billion a year into the local economy.
However, this is not all that drives Nashville. It is also a center for the healthcare, publishing, banking and transportation industries. Healthcare accounts for 200,000 jobs in the area and contributes $30 billion to the economy. Nashville is home to more than 300 health care companies, including Hospital Corporation of America, the largest private operator of hospitals in the world.
Fortune 500 companies with offices within Nashville include companies such as Bridgestone, Nissan North America, Tractor Supply Company and Dollar General. It is the home of Goo Goo Clusters (made in Nashville since 1912). The economic environment of the area has placed Nashville on many business lists, including Forbes Best Places for Business and Careers (5 in 2013), Forbes Best City for White Collar Jobs (4 in 2015), and Business Facilities Cities for Economic Growth Potential (1 in 2015). Nashville is a major railroad hub, with CSX lines heading in multiple directions. However, Nashville is not served by Amtrak, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in the country without such passenger service, behind Las Vegas and Columbus.
The above was taken from "Nashville & Eastern - History Through The Miles" book by Barton Jennings, one of a series of railroad route histories created from years of operating charter passenger trains across the United States. The books are available through Amazon as they are released.
The Tennessee Central station in Lebanon, used by the Nashville and Eastern.
The Tennessee Central concrete mile marker. We drove over to the Music City Star station and waited for the train to arrive from the yard to take us to Nashville.
The Music City Star TrainThis commuter rail line operates six round trips a day between Nashville and Lebanon, Tennessee. The service uses the existing track of the Nashville and Eastern Railroad and stops at seven stations: Riverfront (Nashville), Donelson, Hermitage, Mt. Juliet, Martha, Hamilton Springs and Lebanon, a distance of 32 miles.
The train began operations on September 18, 2006, becoming the 18th commuter rail system in the United States and was the first passenger train service of any kind for Nashville since the discontinuation of Amtrak's Floridian in 1979. The Nashville and Eastern line, part of the former Tennessee Central Railway, had not seen passenger service for many decades prior to the Star, with the exception of excursion trains operated by the Tennessee Central Railway Museum and the Broadway Dinner Train.
In 2018, Metropolitan Transit Authority, which runs the Music City Star, re-branded itself as We-Go Public Transit and changed the commuter rail's name to WeGo Star.
Music City Star Train 156 arrived.
Music City Star F40PH 121, nee Amtrak 398, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985. We boarded the train and it left at 3:20 PM.
Elizabeth and I aboard the Music City Star commuter train. The conductor then came and sold us our one-way tickets to Nashville. This service does not use any ticketing machines but you can buy tickets at Kroger stores, Mount Juliet City Hall, Lebanon City Hall, Music City Central and the Riverfront Park station in Nashville.
Due to the tinted green windows found on these former Chicago Metra cars, I forewent taking any pictures from my previous experiences in Chicago where pictures always turned out green.
We stopped at Martha, Mount Juliet, Hermitage and Donelson before reaching the Tennessee Central Railroad Museum, where at the switch to their property, our new mileage began and continued all the way to Riverfront Station. When we arrived, I noticed that the passengers had already queued in a very orderly line to board. To ensure that we had seats, I had Elizabeth stay on while Bob went to the Riverfront station to get his senior ticket and I went to take photograph the train.
Music City Star F40PH 121 at Riverfront Station in Nashville. We then switched places while Elizabeth went off to photograph the locomotive. Bob soon joined us then we started the journey back to Lebanon aboard Train 157 and bought tickets from the conductor but he sold us tickets to Mt. Juliet, then asked if we were going to Lebanon. When we said yes, he informed us that this train only went as far as Mt. Juliet and went away but came back with tickets to Lebanon, telling us to wait thirty minutes for the next train to arrive in Mt. Juliet so we could return to Lebanon. He noted that this was a common occurence. So at Mt. Juliet, we detrained.
Our train at Mt. Juliet.
Music City Star F40PH 121. This train then went back to Riverfront Station to become the last train from Nashville to Lebanon.
Bob and Elizabeth looking good at the Mt. Juliet station.
The Music City Star information board. We waited, then about 5:30 PM, heard a horn, the crossing gates went down and the train approached.
Music City Star Train 159 with F40PH 122, nee Amtrak 399, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1985. We rode this train back to Lebanon then drove to a petrol station where we filled the rental car before returning to the Days Inn where Bob and Elizabeth checked in. From here we went to the Longhorn Steakhouse where I enjoyed a much-needed steak then returned to the hotel, wrote the first travelogue then I watched some television and called it a night.
| RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE |