Nostalgia & History > Tweetsie Railroad No. 12, Photos by Roger Patelski

Roger visited the Tweetsie Railroad at Blowing Rock, NC during the summer of 1982.  Running that day was No. 12, a  4-6-0  built by Baldwin in 1917.  She is  ex-East Tennessee & Western North Carolina RR.

Wikipedsia says:  "The East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad (reporting mark ET&WNC), affectionately called the "Tweetsie" in reference to the sound of its steam whistles, was a primarily 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad established in 1866 for the purpose of serving the mines at Cranberry, North Carolina.   The 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge portion of the ET&WNC was abandoned in 1950, however the 11-mile (17.7 km) 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge segment of the line from Johnson City to Elizabethton, Tennessee still exists today as the East Tennessee Railway."

Thanks Roger,
Marty Bernard



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/19 16:02 by MartyBernard.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/19 15:51 by MartyBernard.

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Marty,
I believe the East Tennessee Railway still exists in Johnson City for a short distance but no longer goes to Elizabethton.
Charlie

Charlie,

You are correct.  A remnant of the ET&WNC still exists today, as part of a church outdoor activity facility known as the Doe River Gorge.  It is located outside of Johnson City in Hampton, TN.  

Last November my wife and I participated in a one day trip to the area to study the Clinchfield RR, that also included a trip on the Tweetsie.  The tour organizer arranged the trip on the Tweetsie as a charter, which I believe is the only way to do it, but I am not sure.

The link below will take you to the Doe River Gorge website, which provides some information on the train as well as photos.

http://www.doerivergorge.com/



 

This is the line that bachmann modeled its large scale off of. Breaking that price. Barrier