Elizabeth and I arose and after we checked the Internet, checked out of the hotel and went to the Huddle House for breakfast then I drove us to Bryson City and parked in the paid lot. There were some additions since I was last here; this was Elizabeth's first visit.
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad HistoryThe Murphy Branch of the Western North Carolina Railroad delivered thousands of mountaineers from the wilderness of their landlocked hills. A year after iron rails reached Asheville in 1880, workers scattered to the west of the city, digging, filling, and blasting an extension of the line that stretched 116 miles to Murphy, providing thousands with a path to reach the outside world.
The iron horse beat riding a wagon, but in many ways the young railroad was still primitive. In 1892, a visitor from Chicago described it as “little more than two streaks of rust and a right-of-way". With tongue-in-cheek, he told the Chicago Tribune, "when the wind is just right, the fastest train on the line, the ‘Asheville Cannon Ball,’ can make 10 miles an hour".
Rails changed the way of life for Western North Carolina residents. Mercantile business was commodities for a few of the bare necessities. Conveniences and luxuries were not even dreamed of and cash was hard to come by. The iron rails brought a flood of salesmen who peddled oil lamps that superceded tallow candles and New England “factory cloth” to replace scratchy, uncomfortable homespun. From door to door they sold books, pump organs, enlarged pictures, jewellery, lightning rods, baubles and doodads.
Passenger business was so good by the turn of the 20th century that six passenger trains ran every day between Asheville and Lake Junaluska and four daily between Asheville and Murphy. It was not easy to cut this branch line through the mountains. If it had not been for the practical, self-educated engineer Capt. J. W. Wilson, a rigidly honest and industrious man, it might not have been accomplished for years. One of Capt. Wilson’s most challenging tasks was the grade on the west side of the Balsams that was steep and curvy, with gaping ravines. His second obstacle was the 836-foot Cowee Tunnel through a shaky mountain west of Dillsboro. High iron topped the Balsam Mountains at 3,100 feet, at the time the highest elevation of any railroad in the Eastern United States.
The railroad was built by convicts working under the gun. In one of the most chilling accidents during construction, 19 inmates drowned in the Tuckasegee River at the mouth of the tunnel. Crossing the river to work, the raft carrying the iron-shackled convicts capsized and all aboard, except for guard Fleet Foster and convict Anderson Drake, died in the waters. Foster was rescued by Drake, who stole the guard's wallet while pulling him to shore. When the wallet was found in Drake's duffel, he was whipped and put to work in the tunnel at hard labour instead of receiving a hero’s honour. Those who died were buried in unmarked graves on top of a small hill near the mouth of the tunnel.
In the early years of the 20th century, there were a number of runaways on Balsam Mountain and a couple of wrecks inside Cowee Tunnel and in the river, but loss of life was small. As improvements were made to the railroad, accidents declined. The Murphy Branch experienced its heaviest use during wartime, in the early 1940s when the massive Fontana Dam was constructed. Thousands of carloads of cement, equipment, and other materials reached the construction site by rail on a spur line built from Bushnell to Fontana. Huge shipments of copper ore from mines in the western end of North Carolina and Copperhill, Tennessee, increased the line's tonnage. In the 1920's, ribbons of concrete crawled through the mountains, linking towns together.
With the increasing popularity of the automobile, passenger traffic on the Murphy Branch, then owned by the sprawling Southern Railway System, began to decline. Southern discontinued all passenger traffic on the Murphy Branch on July 16th, 1948, ending 64 years of service that had opened Western North Carolina to the outside world. When freight traffic dropped off by 1985, Norfolk Southern closed the Andrews to Murphy leg of the Murphy Branch and the State of North Carolina purchased the Dillsboro to Murphy tracks to keep them from being destroyed.
By 1988, many entities had come together to form the Great Smoky Mountains Railway, which then began running passenger excursions. Rolling stock for the GSMR was purchased from various railroads around the nation. The Dillsboro-to- Nantahala route was one of the most scenic on the Murphy Branch and the excursion trains caught on right away. Upward of 200,000 passengers enjoy the scenery and the experience of a true operational railroad each year aboard passenger excursion trains. American Heritage Railways purchased the GSMR in December of 1999. The Great Smoky Mountains Railway operates today as the newly-organized Great Smoky Mountains Railroad.
Our Visit
Great Smoky Mountains F9A 4210, ex. Indiana Box Corporation 4210, exx. LTV Mining 4210, exxx. Erie Mning 4210, nee Erie Mining 100 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1956.
Byson City turntable and sign.
A mock steam engine.
A mock train car. We started to walk towards the station.
This mural caught my eye, "Welcome to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad".
On the point of our train was Great Smoky Mountains 2335.
Great Smoky Mountains GP38-2 2335, ex. BNSF 2335, exx. Burlington Northern 2335, nee St. Louis and San Francisco 664, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1972.
Great Smoky Mountains GP30 2467, ex. Larry's Truck and Electric 2467, exx. BNSF 2469, exxx. Santa Fe 2769, exxxx. Santa Fe 3269, nee Santa Fe 1269, built by Electro-Motrive Division in 1963.
Great Smoky Mountains Generator Car 2 6118, nee Louisville and Nashville 6118 generator car rebuilt from bay window caboose, built by the railroad, year unknown.
Great Smoky Mountains open air car 37 "Nantahala", ex. Maryland Midland 83, exx. Penn Central 2182, exxx. Erie Lackawanna 1311, nee Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 311, built by Pullman in 1949.
Great Smoky Mountains observation-lounge 3331 "Carolina Shine", ex. American Zephyr 3331, exx. Amtrak 3331, exxx. Seaboard Coast Line 5831, nee Atlantic Coast Line 252, built by Budd Company in 1941.
Great Smoky Mountains club car 536 "The MacNeill Club Car", ex. Norfolk Southern 536, nee Norfolk and Western 536, built by Pullman-Standard in 1949.
Great Smoky Mountains diner 8507 "Silver Star", ex. Amtrak 8507, exx. Amtrak 8049, nee Northern Pacific 463, built by Budd in 1957.
Great Smoky Mountains diner 8806 "Harper", ex. Amtrak 8806 1976, exx. Penn Central 4622, exxx. Pennsylvania Railroad bar-lounge 4622, built by Budd Company in 1949. It was dedicated on September 17, 2010 and named for the family who owns the railroad.
Great Smoky Mountains parlor car 9904012 "Catamounts", ex. CSX 994012 "Michigan", exx. Conrail 12, exxx. Penn Central 7138, nee Pennsylvian 7138 "Baron DeKalb", built by Budd Company in 1951.
Great Smoky Mountains coach 3085 "Appalachian", ex. Cuyahoga Valley Scenic 110, ex. New Jersey Transit 3085, exxx. Erie-Lackawanna 3085, nee Santa Fe 52-seat coach 3085 built by Budd Company in 1937.
Great Smoky Mountains coach 841 "Royal Palm", ex. Norfolk Southern 841, nee Southern Railway 841 built by Pullman-Standard and Southern in 1958.
Great Smoky Mountains kitchen-dormitory 8807 "Conductor's Cafe", ex. Amtrak 8807, exx. Penn Central 4623, nee Pennsylvania Railroad 4623, built by Budd Company in 1949.
Great Smoky Mountains coach 3081 "Blue Ridge", ex. Indiana Transportation Museum 3081, exx. New Jersey Transit 3081, exxx. Central of New Jersey 3081, nee Santa Fe 52-seat coach 3081 built by Budd Company in 1937.
Great Smoky Mountains open-air car 35 "Fontana", nee New York Central baggage car 91xx, built by American Car and Foundry in 1946.
Great Smoky Mountains coach 523 "Cherokee", nee Canadian National built by Canadian Car & Foundry Company in 1935.
Great Smoky Mountains open-air car 32 "James 'Sarge' Revis", nee Kansas City Southern lightweight baggage car 27, built by Pullman-Standard in 1960.
>Great Smoky Mountains coach 322, ex. Seaboard System 322, exx. Clinchfield 107, exxx. Louisville and Nashville 2587, exxxx. Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 742, exxxxx. Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 73, nee Pullman "Bridesburg" built by Pullman in 1922.
Great Smoky Mountains open-air car 30 "Whittier", nee Kansas City Southern baggage-express 70, built by Pullman-Standard in 1960.
Great Smoky Mountains caboose 637, ex. Norfolk Western 518637, built by International Car in 1970. This was the consist of the train.
These cars and cabooses were were not part of our train.
Great Smoky Mountains coach 522, ex. Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad 4956, nee Canadian National 4956, built by Canadian Car & Foundry Company in 1935.
Great Smoky Mountains coach 522 "Jackson", ex. Eagle Canon Passenger Car Company 4956, nee Canadian National 4956:1, built by Canadian Car & Foundry Company in 1935.
Great Smoky Mountains open-air car 30 "Almond" 1960, nee Kansas City Southern baggage express 25, built by Pullman-Standard in 1960.
Denver and Rio Grande Western caboose 01490 built by International Car in 1970.
Chessie System bay window caboose 3753, nee Baltimore and Ohio C3753, built by International Car in 1971.
The mural on the side of the Smoky Mountains Train Museum.
A few views inside the model railway museum.
Our TripWe walked down to the boarding area for our open air car then at 10:30 AM, at the sound of the horn, we were off on another rail adventure.
Great Smoky Mountains F9A 4210 seen from the train.
We rounded the first curve past the kudzu.
Kudzu strangles the trees.
Once kudzu takes hold, it is very difficult to get rid of.
We crossed the Tuckasegee River.
Our train passed the Milepost 63.
Kudzu was all over the place.
Smoky Mountains saddle.
Kudzu is a vine that kills trees.
More curves on our route.
One of the few sections of straight track.
The length of our train and the fact that we were nearly at the back of it had not allowed us to see the motive power yet.
See how the kudzu destroys trees.
Kudzu is a member of ivy family in nature.
A sweeping curve.
Kudzu abounds in the humid weather.
We rounded yet another curve.
A whistle post indicating a grade crossing.
The first view of Fontana Lake.
This tree was destroyed by kudzu.
Houseboats are extremely popular on Fontana Lake; they were grandfathered into the current regulations and the ancestors of the orginal owners live in them now.
Fontana Lake.
Kudxu plants along the route.
Houseboat on Fontana Lake.
Fontana Lake.
Crossing the lake.
North Carolina Highway 28 bridge across Fontana Lake.
A grab shot of Southern Railway Almond station at Milepost 75.9.
Fontana Lake.
The front of the train was finally visible.
Kudzu was still with us.
The Ocoee River flows east into Fontana Lake.
We slowed to five miles per hour for the 17 degree curve, the tightest on this railroad, at Milepost 74.2 Talc Mountain.
Milepost 74.
Coming out of that curve, we passed these cliffs.
Going by the Milepost 78.
Another curve.
Kudzu was still prevalent.
A waterfall along our route.
Kudzu and other plants.
Ocoee River.
Passing Milepost 85.
The rock quarry.
The Occee River.
Rounding a curve.
The Ocoee River.
The spring switch at Topton.
Waiting for the locomotives to run around.
The power ran around the train.
The motive power returned to the train and we returned to the Nantahala Gorge station where everyone was allowed off the train for an hour.
Great Smoky Mountains GP30 2467 would lead the train back to Bryson City.
Ocoee River.
The location where rafts are put into the river or taken out.
A rafter in the Ocoee River.
The Whittier, the car in which we rode.
Interior of the Great Smoky Mountains coach 322 "Bryson City".
Interior of the Great Smoky Mountains coach 523 "Cherokee"
A map on the wall of the "Blue Ridge".
Interior of the Great Smoky Mountains "Blue Ridge".
Blue Ridge Parkway in the "Blue Ridge" car.
Interior of Great Smoky Mountains coach 3085 "Appalachian".
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Map.
Interior of Great Smoky Mountains parlour car 9904012 "Catamounts".
Interior of Great Smoky Mountains 8806 "Harper".
Interior of Great Smoky Mountains "Royal Palm".
Interior of Great Smoky Mountains diner 8507 "Silver Star".
Interior of Great Smoky Mountains club car 536 "The MacNeill Club Car".
Interior of Interior of Great Smoky Mountains observation lounge 3331 "Carolina Shine".
Interior of Great Smoky Mountains open air car 37 "Nantahala". We started the journey back.
The Ocoee River.
Rounding a curve at the beginning of the return trip.
By the rock quarry.
Taking that tight curve at Talc Mountain.
Coming off the curve.
The curve where you can see the rear of the train.
A close-up of the kudzu.
The Southern Railroad Almond station with the name board.
Fontana Lake.
The front of the train.
Our crossing of Fontana Lake.
Fontana Lake.
The front of the train.
Railroad equipment and cars not in use.
Great Smoky Mountains F9A 4210 seen from the train. We arrived back in Bryson City and visited the gift shop for souvenirs as they were not open before the train departed.
Southern Railroad Bryson City station built circa 1900's.
Pittsburgh & West Virginia "Northeastern" caboose 839 built by the railroad in 1940.
We returned to Dillsboro and had dinner at the Huddle House before we took US 74 to US Highway 120 to North Carolina 143 to Murphy.
Southern 50 foot box car 33687 built by Pullman-Standard in 1966.
Southern caboose bay window caboose X743 built by the railroad year unknown.
Southern Murphy station built circa 1887, was the meeting place of the Southern (originally the Carolina Railroad) and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad (originally the Georgia Railroad). What remains is the freight area. The grand station was torn down shortly after the railroad pulled up the tracks in 1987. Both railroads met at the river and were unable to cross it due to a group of Murphy businessmen and New York investors who chartered a railroad called the Hiawassee Railroad Company and set up a blockade to keep the L&N and Southern Railroads from meeting. Passengers and freight had to be ferried across the river to the depot. No railroad was interested in the Hiawassee scheme or buying its right-of-way, and it eventually died. The Georgia Railroad went to court to condemn the property and finally put its tracks across the river to the present depot site 12 years later. Murphy now boasts the smallest railroad in the country with a short spur of tracks, a boxcar and a caboose. The last train to leave out of Murphy was a trip to Andrews over Independence Day weekend in 1992.
Murphy Historical Railroad display board.
Trails of Tears display board.
Trails of Tears Fort Butler and the Cherokee Removal of 1838.
The bridge abutments of the Murphy Branch in the Hiawasse River.
The remaining yard tracks in Murphy.
Stop, Look and Listen crossing sign.
From here we took US Highway 78 to Ocoee and checked into the Quality Inn for the night.
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