The East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad , affectionately called the "Tweetsie" as a verbal

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

of its initials (ET&WNC) but also in reference to the sound of its steam whistles, was a primarily narrow gauge

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

established in 1866 for the purpose of serving the mines at

Cranberry, North Carolina Cranberry is an unincorporated community in Avery County, North Carolina, United States. The community was founded in 1850 and was named after Cranberry Creek, which flows in the area. The community is located one mile south from the town of El ...

. The narrow gauge portion of the ET&WNC was abandoned in 1950. The segment of the line from Johnson City to Elizabethton, Tennessee, operated as East Tennessee Railway until 2003. In 2012 the rails and ties were removed to make way for a

rail-trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetca ...

. This trail was named the Tweetsie Trail.

History

The East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Transportation Company was chartered by the Tennessee General Assembly on May 24, 1866. Lack of financial backing led to the venture's failure, and the railroad was abandoned in 1874. The Cranberry Iron Company acquired the line between 1876 and 1879, and designated the railroad one of its subsidiaries. The initial segment through the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

from Johnson City to Hampton, Tennessee via

Elizabethton Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both t ...

was completed on August 22, 1881, by

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

-based financier Ario Pardee, and the technical expertise of Thomas Matson (the noted railway engineer); a line extension to Cranberry opened on July 3, 1882. Soon dubbed by mountain residents as the "Railway with a Heart" as railroad personnel often performed errands for the locals (and even allowed passengers to ride for free during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

), it
tickets
were even validated with a heart-shaped punch. The ET&WNC had five

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades ...

Ten Wheelers: #9 (1911), #10 (1916), #11 (1916), #12 (1917), and #14 (1919). All the engines were painted black, but Clarence Hobbs chose to paint the engines green to resemble the Southern Railway standard gauge engines. In the midst of WWII, passenger service rapidly declined to make it unprofitable to run a full passenger train every day. The ET&WNC used car 15, which was a passenger car equipped with both a post office and baggage compartment. Behind car 15 was either one or two of the railroad's three

piggyback Piggyback, piggy-back, or piggybacking may mean: Transport * Piggyback (transportation), something that is riding on the back of something else Art, entertainment, and media *Splash cymbal piggybacking, mounting a cymbal on top of an already ...

flat cars. The ET&WNC's passenger station was next to the trucking depot, while the railyard was another mile down the line. In order to save time, crews picked up car 15 before picking up the piggyback flat cars. The ET&WNC hauled

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

ore from the Cranberry mines, pig iron from the local forge, and lumber from the forests of western North Carolina. CIC purchased the

Linville River Railway Linville may refer to: Places * Linville, Queensland, a town in the Somerset Region, Australia * Linville, North Carolina, United States * Linville Falls, North Carolina, United States Outdoor attractions in the United States * Linville Cavern ...

(LRR, known as the "Arbuckle" line) in 1913, a line originally constructed in the 1890s to haul lumber between Cranberry and Saginaw, North Carolina. The Linville River Railway was then subsequently extended to

Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters for the disaster a ...

, but later suffered heavy track damage from a 1940 flood. The line was eventually abandoned following

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...

approval on March 22, 1941. Subsequently, much of

North Carolina Highway 105 North Carolina Highway 105 (NC 105) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It traverses from the mountain community of Linville to the town of Boone. Route description NC 105 follows the general rout ...

was built along the former route of the LRR. The ET&WNC was one of the major rail lines to haul both passengers and freight in the region during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, though business declined dramatically after the War. The narrow gauge track from Elizabethton was soon abandoned, though the ET&WNC retained service between Johnson City and the

rayon Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose ...

plants of Elizabethton. The tracks in and around Johnson City (where most of the company's industrial customers were located) were

dual gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ca ...

to allow for interchange with other railroads. The ET&WNC purchased three

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

locomotives: #204 (former AT&N ), #205 (former

RF&P The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad compa ...

), and #206 (former

Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...

). These locomotives were used to switch cars throughout the Johnson City area. The ET&WNC Railroad Company's narrow gauge lines officially ceased operations on October 16, 1950, with scrapping commencing the following year. In 1952, the last of the narrow gauge engines (#9, #11, and #12) were put up for sale. #9 and #11 were offered to be put on display in Elizabethton and Johnson City, but this offer was turned down. The #9 and #11 were scrapped but the #12 was purchased by a group of railroad enthusiasts and shipped to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. Movie cowboy

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

later bought the unit, intending to transport it to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

for use in his films. After a lengthy restoration, the locomotive returned to North Carolina on May 23, 1957, along with a few pieces of the original rolling stock. That summer, the "

Tweetsie Railroad Tweetsie Railroad is a family-oriented heritage railroad and Wild West amusement park located between Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States. The centerpiece of the park is a ride on a train pulled by one of Tweetsie Railroad's t ...

" became the state's newest travel attraction and family theme park. The train travels over a scenic 3-mile (4.8 kilometers) loop through the mountains near

Blowing Rock Blowing Rock may refer to: * The town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina ** The rocky outcropping Blowing Rock (land feature), near the town of the same name * Blowing Rock, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Caribbean island belonging to Anguill ...

, close to the original end-of-the-line station in Boone. The park operates two

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

s: in addition to former ET&WNC No. 12, in 1960, the company acquired No. 190 (the ''Yukon Queen'', a type

2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing w ...

locomotive) from the State of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

and restored it for operation. Tweetsie is also home to an authentic wooden

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, former

East Broad Top Railroad The East Broad Top Railroad (EBT) is a narrow gauge historic and heritage railroad headquartered in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania. Operating from 1871 to 1956, it is one of the nation's oldest and best-preserved narrow-gauge railroads ...

#5, which is run on special occasions such as their annual Railroad Heritage Weekend event. The ET&WNC continued operations of the standard gauge lines well after the narrow gauge closures. In 1952, the railroad sent a representative to the Southern Railway roundhouse in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, to look for some new motive power. The representative was first offered Ks-1 2-8-0s #685 and #835, but he instead chooses engines #630 and #722 because they were in better condition. The 630 and 722 were renumbered to 207 and 208, respectively. They served the ET&WNC until December 8, 1967, when the Southern Railway traded two ALCo Rs-3s for the two Ks-1 locomotives to run in their new steam program along with Savannah & Atlanta #750 and

Southern Railway 4501 Southern Railway 4501 is a preserved Ms class 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive built in October 1911 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the first of its wheel arrangement type for the Southern Railway (SOU). In 19 ...

. The 630 is now at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

, and the 722 is now at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in

Bryson City, North Carolina Bryson City is a town in Swain County, North Carolina in the United States. The population was 1558 as of the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Swain County. Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was founded as ...

. The Green Bay Packaging Company of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea le ...

, ultimately acquired the railroad properties and reorganized the company as the East Tennessee Railway (ETRY). Since 1996, the railroad has been owned by Genesee and Wyoming, an international operator of short line railroads, as part of its Rail Link group. The standard gauge line continued to operate switching operations in Johnson City for freight arriving via

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

and

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

, until October 10, 2003. In 2012 removal of the remaining ten-mile section of the ET&WNC between Johnson City and Elizabethton began, as part of
Rails to Trail
conversion project. The first seven miles were completed in August 2014, with the remaining three miles completed in August 2015. In 2016, Carter County began efforts to "extend" this trail to Roan Mountain by marking existing roads. For the most part, this extension does not follow the original ET&WNC right of way but does include a few more miles of the original roadbed along Old Railroad Grade Road. As a result, the East Tennessee Railway now operates very little trackage to serve the remaining industries around the Johnson City yard.

Locomotives

Historic designations

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

br>#NPS–92000147
— East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad Locomotive No. 12

References

— accessed on November 26, 2005.

— accessed on November 14, 2005.

article by John Preston Arthur (1914) — accessed on November 14, 2005.

External links

ET&WNC Railroad Historical Society
official website
ET&WNC Area Photos
A Modern Day Photo Album

* ttp://southern.railfan.net/ties/1957/57-10/twet.html "Tweetsie Comes Home"article in the October 1957 issue of ''Ties'', the Southern Railway System magazine.
Tweetsie Railroad History

East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Transportation Company Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:East Tennessee Western North Carolina Railroad Defunct North Carolina railroads Defunct Tennessee railroads Transportation in Appalachia East Tennessee Western North Carolina Narrow gauge railroads in North Carolina Narrow gauge railroads in Tennessee 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Transportation in Avery County, North Carolina Transportation in Carter County, Tennessee Transportation in Watauga County, North Carolina Elizabethton, Tennessee Hampton, Tennessee Johnson City, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Watauga County, North Carolina Railway companies established in 1881 Railway companies disestablished in 1950 1881 establishments in North Carolina 1881 establishments in Tennessee 1950 disestablishments in North Carolina 1950 disestablishments in Tennessee Railway locomotives on the National Register of Historic Places Rail infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina

History

Locomotives

See also

Historic designations

References

Further reading

External links