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Smoky Mtn. RR combine car #102 and boxcar #504 at Knoxville terminal. (Photo courtesy Mr. Jerry Dowling.)
The Smoky Mountain Railroad's small roster of vintage rolling stock was nearly as distinctive as its stable of iron horses. Early on, during the KS&E; and K&C-eras;, the railcars were seemingly well-maintained. Employees appeared proud to pose for numerous photographs beside their equipment. Yet, like the line itself, the material condition of the fleet deteriorated during the Smoky's long years (1938 - 1957) under Midwest Steel Corporation ownership. Despite the employees' best efforts at upkeep, management's avoidance of capital reinvestment resulted in deferred maintenance. Available manpower and funds were dedicated to keeping at least one of the locomotives in operation at all times.
Unlike the Smoky's near-legendary locomotive roster, a lack of company records prevents us from compiling an "all-time" rolling stock listing. However, rosters such as the one that follows from the Official Railway Equipment Register give us periodic "snapshots" of the railroad's holdings over the years:
| Car # | Type | Outside Length |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Combine | ? |
| 103 | Coach | ? |
| 104 | Coach | ? |
| 200 | Brill passenger railcar | 50' |
| 126 | Flatcar | 41' 5" |
| 127 | Flatcar | 41' 5" |
| 128 | Flatcar | 41' |
| 129 | Flatcar | 41' |
| 130 | Flatcar | 41' |
| 131 | Flatcar | 34' 6" |
| 132 | Flatcar | 40' |
| 200 | Gondola, flat bottom | 34' 6" |
| 500 | Boxcar | 34' 8" |
| 501 | Boxcar | 34' 3" |
| 502 | Boxcar | 34' |
| 503 | Boxcar | 34' 6" |
| 504 | Boxcar | 34' |
| 505 | Boxcar | 34' |
| 506 | Boxcar | 34' |
| 507 | Boxcar | 34' 2" |
| 508 | Boxcar | 34' |
| 509 | Boxcar | 34' 4" |
| 510 | Boxcar | 34' |
| 511 | Boxcar | 34' 2" |
| 512 | Boxcar | 34' 3" |
| 700 | Stock Car | 36' 9" |
*As Reported In The February 1923 Official Railway Equipment Register (Courtesy Mr. Jerry Dowling)
As compared to the K&C-era listing, above, what follows is a roster of the Smoky Mountain's rolling stock during its last days of operation. It was compiled using available records and photographic analysis:
1961 Smoky Mountain Railroad Rolling Stock Roster
| Car # | Type | Outside Length | Remarks | Click for image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | Combine | Approx. 45' | Sold (trucks only?) for $200 to C.F. Reedy, Sr., St. Augustine, Florida, for Henry Flagler Rambler restoration project. Car body sighted lying on its side at Sevierville as late as 1972 and probably scrapped. |  |
| 102 | Combine | Approx. 50' | Sold for $500 to C.F. Reedy, Sr., St. Augustine, Florida. Believed cannibalized for Henry Flagler Rambler restoration project. | |
| 1?? | Flatcar | Approx. 40' | Last used as a derailment tool flatcar. Car number was likely between 126 and 132. Disposition unknown. | |
| 502 (2nd) | Boxcar | Approx. 36' | Converted watermelon or produce car. Disposition unknown. | |
| 504 | Boxcar | Approx. 36' | Believed used as a roadside billboard for short-lived Petticoat Junction narrow-gauge tourist railroad near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Burned at that location by Halloween pranksters October 31, 1964. | |
| 506 (2nd) | Boxcar (double-door) | Approx. 40' | Last SMRR "express" car purchased (mid-1950s) from the Southern Railway due to deterioration of Nos. 502 and 504. | |
| 508 (2nd) | Caboose | Approx. 32' | Purchased from abandoned Emory River RR circa 1958. | |
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| Tennessee & North Carolina Railway combination car #100 crossing Ford Valley Road in South Knoxville. (From the McClung Collection) |
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| Smoky Mtn. RR combination car #102 at Sevierville. (Photographer unknown) |
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| Smoky Mtn. RR derailment tool flatcar at Knoxville. (Photographer unknown) |
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| Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #502, a converted watermelon car, at Knoxville. (Photographer unknown) |
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| Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #504 at Knoxville. (Photographer unknown) |
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| Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #506 at Knoxville. (Photographer unknown) |
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| Smoky Mtn. RR (ex-Emory River RR) caboose #508 at Sevierville. (Courtesy Mr. John Hewitt) |
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