Phoenix Airport Car Rental - To North Carolina's Nantahala Gorge With the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad

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Could trace its origins to the mid-1800s, inextricably tired to these western North Carolina mountains, that journey. Attached to generator car 6118 and trailed by Silver Meteor dining car 8015, today, number 536, i would make the journey in the MacNeill Club Car. Lulled into a North Carolina mood by a guitar-strumming trio, inundated the tiny portico waiting area, many of whom had dislodged from buses, passengers. Round-trip departure to Nantahala Gorge, 44-mile, as it prepared for its imminent, wooden Bryson City depot, vibrated and clanged its bell atop the gravel-imbedded rails next to the gray, wearing the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad's tuscan red and Rio Grande gold livery and pulled by an EMD GP-9 diesel locomotive, the twelve-car train. Appeared like smoke tendrils, rising from the dark green faces of the Great Smoky Mountains during the morning, misty clouds.

To be used by the Western North Carolina Railroad, it had agreed to subsidize the construction of track between Salisbury and Asheville in 1855, after considerable efforts to persuade the state legislature of North Carolina to rectify this deficiency. Wagon-plied route its only connection with the rest of the state, with a rough, had rendered it isolated and inaccessible, 000 feet, peeking at 6, the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains, and minerals, fertile soil, such as timber, although the ruggedly beautiful area had been rich in natural resources.

And several guards, a foreman, each of which had been led by a captain, five hundred tracklayers had been subdivided into 150-men camps. When convict labor had been employed for the first time, but momentum had ultimately been regained 16 years later, at which time some 70 miles of rail had yet to be laid, had been thwarted in 1861 by the Civil War, spanning six years, a smooth development period.

The rocks themselves expanded by fire-created heat and cracked after drenchings with cold water, hand tool usage and primitive rock removal methods, and had been exacerbated by crude, had required another decade to properly determine, revealing that existing topography had been unsuitable for track, an erroneous route survey.

Had collapsed and instantly crushed 21 workers, which had been being bored from both ends, the Swannanoa Tunnel, 1879, on March 11, indeed. And the precarious route had hardly been forged with safety, and passed through five tunnels, entailed an 891.5-foot elevation gain with an average two-percent grade, following Indian trails and cow paths, the rails.

Been connected by rail, for the first time, the 111 miles from Asheville had. And traffic interchange between the two had been facilitated when the former had changed its gauge from narrow to standard, albeit six years later than planned, served the same purpose in 1891 when the tracks for the Western North Carolina's Murphy Branch had been laid, already the eastern terminus of the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad, murphy.

A condition partially alleviated with the addition of culverts and abutments, and lack of ballast had often caused derailments, rough roadbed, topographical obstacles, its crude method, despite the delays incurred by its construction.

And inferior maintenance, low-capacity locomotives, sharp curves, but it had always been plagued by steep grades, and the Tuckasegee Southeastern, the Sunburst, the Ritter Lumber Company, the Smoky Mountain, b, the B& the Carolina and Tennessee Southern, the Appalachian, such as the Alarka Valley, existing shortline railroads, and connected with other, and timber, agricultural products, it carried supplies, rapidly becoming the lifeline to the communities lining it.

And sand, lumber, cross ties, routinely requiring feed, had heavily relied on rail transport to support their activities, manufacturing pulpwood and pallets and selling propane, its local businesses and industries. " with Bryson City serving as its headquarters, it had been reorganized as the "Murphy Division, in 1907, and, the Southern Railway took control of it, three years after its completion.

Road development had been necessitated by the opening of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, aside from offering increased western North Carolina access. Leaving Murphy at 0715 for Asheville and returning at 1415, only a single passenger train had plied the line, two daily trains had departed Murphy-a freight service at 0600 and a passenger run at 0800-but by 1944, for instance, in 1937. Gradually replaced the need for the rails, however, improved road access.

With stops in Murphy only sporadically made, had only been maintained between Waynesville and Andrews, of no more than five cars, regularly scheduled service, by which time the railroad had been acquired by Norfolk Southern, during the last three years. The number had dwindled to 817, yet by 1987, 239 freight car loads had plied the rails, 2, in 1980, thirty-two years later. 1948, had finally resulted in the permanent discontinuation of passenger services on July 16, coupled with the completion of the nearby Fontana Dam, diminishing timber resources.

Had been forced to abandon the 67 miles of track between Dillsboro and Murphy in 1988, unable to stem its losses, the papermill had been forced to truck its products to Canton and Norfolk Southern, as a result. Particularly for use by only a single company, costs to either lower their roadbeds or increase their ceiling heights had been prohibitive. Packaged in a cube whose size had precluded its rail transport through the Dillsboro and Rhodo tunnels, had converted its traditional pulpwood product to woodchips, long dependent on the line for its business, the Champion Paper Mill, and in 1984, had escalated without a commensurate increase in revenue, already high because of the 34 bridges connecting Dillsboro with Murphy and the excessive track curvature, maintenance costs.

000 for the intended introduction of a passenger excursion train operated by the newly-established Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, the North Carolina Department of Transportation had forcibly purchased the track for $650, and on July 18 of that year, none had been financially self-sustainable, although several prospective operators had explored both passenger and freight uses for it.

Had been joined by a 1942 Baldwin steam engine originally built for the US Army and two more GP-7 diesels from Chicago and North Western by 1995, open coaches, along with several converted, two GP-9 locomotives from Burlington Northern and Union Pacific, its initial equipment.

And the redecking of the bridge crossing the Tuckasegee River at Dillsboro, the reinforcement of many trestles, have entailed heavier rail and track side lubricator installations on sharp curves, whose 80- and 85-pound ratings stipulated 25-mph maximum speeds, track modifications. Had been acquired from several railroads and extensively refurbished, and cabooses, dining cars, club cars, "Crown" coaches, coaches, comprised of open cars, its present fleet.

From Andrews to Murphy, while the state itself continued to own the remainder of it, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad purchased the Dillsboro-Andrews section of track from the state of North Carolina, in 1996.

Which operates similar ventures in Colorado and Texas, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad became one of three excursion trains owned by the new company, by American Heritage Railways, 1999, on December 23, acquired three years later.

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It had temporarily burgeoned during its construction period, because of its proximity to the Fontana Dam. " and today serves as a gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains and is the hub for the railroad, who had originally referred to it as "Big Bear Springs, it had been laid out in accordance with the ancient trails and roads of the Cherokee, incorporated in 1887. 400 located on the Tuckasegee River and named after Colonel Thadeus Dillard Bryson, is a mountainside community of 1, origin of my own Nantahala Gorge excursion, bryson City.

Bryson City is located at mile marker 63 on the track running from Asheville to Murphy. And a coal chute had been instrumental in the then-present use of steam locomotives, a water tank, while a turntable, and a petroleum dealer, the Southern Concrete Company, the Carolina Building Supply, including the Carolina Wood Turning Company, had facilitated the town's many industries, of four tracks, a one-and-a-half mile long rail yard. Although its freight storage portion had since been removed and replaced by an open portico, is the only one remaining from the Southern Railway's operation of the line, built during the 1890s, the current railroad depot.

And a caboose, the Crescent Limited coach, the Fontana open car, the Cherokee coach, the Wildwater open car, the Bryson City coach, , the Conductor's Café the Dixie Flyer dining car, the Silver Meteor dining car, the MacNeill club car, a generator car, my train's complement had included the 1955-manufactured diesel engine.

Although still-gentle speeds, almost tunnel-like foliage at increasing, before it plunged through dense, red and gold Great Smoky Mountains Railroad's chain of coaches cradled by the freight yard, soon mirrored by the stationary, as it slowly glided over Everet street-imbedded track, a car coupling-created lurch preceded the train's initial movement at 1030.

Had been replaced by the present route in 1944 because of dam construction-created flooding, curing to the right at mile 64.5, the original roadbed. Paralleling the north bank of the Tuckasegee River, the chain of cars inched away from Bryson City, thin trees stood like sentinels guarding the single track, whose tall, re-emerging from the dense forest.

Flashed through the left windows, a blue sheen amidst the blur of deep forest green, the Alarka Creek. Before reaching its summit by means of a horseshoe curve to the left, commencing an almost-imperceptible climb up a 1.3-percent grade, and thence arced into a 12.1-degree curve, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad crossed the Nantahala River, which had been constructed in 1898 and spanned 426 feet, traversing a steel truss bridge.

Virginia, it had been subsequently damaged the following year in a collision in Lynchburg, although it had been refurbished in 1993. At which time it had been transferred to the merged Norfolk-Southern's Steam Program, " operating Norfolk and Western's service of the same name on its Premier line until 1982, it had been built in the 1940s and had previously been designated the "Powhatan Arrow, the line's newest addition. Prompted closer internal inspection of the MacNeill club car in which I rode, lulling me into relaxed serenity, the train's gentle rock.

It had been inaugurated into this service in mid-1999 on the very Nantahala Gorge run I had currently made after meticulous restoration. And for their vision of an economically viable western North Carolina scenic railway, renamed in honor of Malcolm and Jean MacNeill for their years of service and dedication, it had been auctioned and acquired by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, no longer needed after the Steam Program had been discontinued in February of 1995.

And coffee had been served shortly after departure, blueberry muffins, fruit salad. Red carpeting, and thick, brass lamps above the tables; wood-grained wall paneling; and pairs separated by rectangular ones on the other; opposed easy chairs separated by round tables on one side, tan-upholstered, swivelable, single, it had featured a serving area; opulently decorated.

Its very creation had dictated the current railroad's route. At mile 72.2, flicked through the dense foliage before opening up to a full water body, once a fertile valley, glass-reflective surface of Fontana Lake, the pine green. Revealed patches of blue, and silver cloud deck open, gray, finally managing to tear the billowing white, the sun.

But World War II-necessitated demand for increased electrical power to facilitate production of vital war materials had sparked the Tennessee Valley Authority's Fontana Dam Project and the Murphy Branch's track rerouting. The small community located at the converging point of the Little Tennessee River and the junction of the Carolina and Tennessee Southern Railway Company's track, had followed the north bank of the Tuckasegee River to Bushnell, but with gentler grades, having been 8.5 miles longer, the Murphy Branch track.

000 tons of sand and gravel per day, 000 cubic yards of concrete and 15, conveying 8, and cement-filled boxcars had run from Bryson City to the dam, had formed the base of the project, and storage areas, a warehouse, a carpenter shop, along with a machine shop, long enough to support 100 cars on each of its spurs, a four-track rail yard. A timber trestle had been built over Eagle Creek. Facilitating material and machinery transport, had formed the temporary lifeline to it, extended 2.84 miles along the Little Tennessee River, had been nucleic to its successful completion and the Carolina and Tennessee Southern's track, a town 1.5 miles from the construction site, fontana.

Requiring relocated or reconstructed bridges and enormous amounts of fill to substitute for otherwise needed trestles, the war had carried two stipulations: the dam had to be completed within a two-year period and steel could not be allocated for it.

Had been the highest in the eastern United States and the fourth-largest in the world when it had been completed in 1944, at 480 feet, and the dam, three different rivers had formed the bottom of the newly-created Fontana Lake when the resultant reservoir had flooded 24 miles of former Murphy Branch track from Bryson City to Weser.

1944, had been replaced by the new one on July 30, discontinued by the Southern Railway between mileposts 64.5 and 88.2 on September 25 of the previous year, the old line.

The present Great Smoky Mountains Railroad crossed the evergreen-reflected water, concrete stanchion-supported Fontana Lake Bridge, eating away the steel girder.

Which could only be safely traversed at five mph, the relocated line's sharpest, the diesel locomotive negotiated the 14.2-degree curve to the right at mile 77.8, following the azure of Fontana Lake. Moved by, location of the former Southern Railway president's summerhouse, orchard remnants, at milepost 76.

Paralleled the 12-car link, a fluid life force exploding into small fumes of white anger with every rock and boulder obstacle thrown in its path, the Nantahala River.

Geometric textured carpeting which had adorned the bottom half of its sidewalls, and gray, brass lamps; small, floral motif-sporting chairs; black lacquer tables with upholstered, four-place, twelve, had featured a forward galley; built in 1940 for Seaboard Airline Railway and restored by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in 1994, lightweight car, the two-axle. Served with seasoned potato wedges and a side of lettuce and tomato, and creamy goat cheese on a hero, portobello mushrooms, had included grilled vegetables, served in the Silver Meteor dining car attached to the MacNeill club car, lunch.

Had been operated as a dormitory on the Atlantic Coast Line Railway and had also seen brief service with Amtrak before being converted to its present configuration in 1997; a snack car constructed in 1949 and an alternative eating venue, , the Conductor's Café.

Vegetation-created tunnel, perennially-green, had been laid close to the mountain's side with the aid of nothing more than picks and shovels and seemed to bore through cool air and nature's dense, paralleling the river, the track. Afternoon sun's rays from penetrating it, now cradled by steep mountains which formed Nantahala Gorge and impeded all but the high, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad passed Weser Creek Falls and the Nantahala Outdoor Center before crossing the Appalachian Trail at milepost 80, plying the last mile of relocated track.

The caves beyond the coaches' right windows had once been used by hunters and settlers and had been instrumental during the Cherokee's exile to Oklahoma in its Trail of Tears period.

It had served as my own journey's terminus, today. Thus necessitating sufficient provision for the 56-mile round-trip to Murphy and back, and a sand tower for replenishing steam engines, a coal chute, once the last location of a water tank, approaching Nantahala, the train approached Talc Mountain, at milepost 83.2, of 17 degrees, maneuvering through the line's sharpest curve.

Destined for the Nantahala Outdoor Center and a one-hour interlude, after a barely perceptible lurch, now in the opposite direction, passed it on the Stanley track to its right before reconnecting in front of the caboose and reinitiating motion, disconnecting from its 11-car chain, diesel locomotive 1751.

But instead of dense vegetation, boring through the forest green walls which reeked not of soot or coal, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad retraced its path, gently lurching and rattling.

Rustic cabins housing gift ships and restaurants, had been comprised of several wooden, starting point for rafting excursions and permanently suffused with the heavy scent of pine, the center itself. Tiny specks of blue had rendered the otherwise white and silver cloud blanket an afternoon mosaic, immediately above the green canopy. It inched into the Nantahala Outdoor Center, where the tracks briefly doubled, amid the rushing of the river.

Each car induced into coupling-snagged motion like a chain in mimicked reaction, released its brakes at 1400 and reinitiated momentum, once again signaling imminent departure with its whistle, the diesel locomotive, but quick rain shower during its one-hour rest, after having been pelted by a fierce.

The gentle blue of the sky crested the towering trees. Appeared a crystal green mirror, now paralleling the train on the right side and a reflection of the mountain-covered vegetation, the Nantahala River.

Their wheels screeching in protest as they adhered to the track's curvatures, the long chain of cars thread its way through the dense forest toward the almost-blue peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains ahead, traveling in a northwesterly direction.

Been served in the MacNeill club car, in the meantime, the cork on the champagne bottle had been popped and cheese and crackers had.

As if they had served as large television screens depicting a world from which one had been temporarily disconnected in the self-contained coach, rectangular windows on the left side, now visible through the long, once again glided by, draped by green-carpeted hills and dotted with houseboats, fontana Lake.

Crossing Evert Street in Bryson City and snagging its brakes for a final time abreast of the gray depot, the train once again traversed the steel truss bridge and inched past the railroad yard, green mountain valley-cradled tracks, following the dense.

And behind it lay the ultimate connection-the one from soul to soul. And connecting town to town, facilitating their growth and development, which had provided the lifeline to the Great Smoky Mountains' isolated communities, behind it lay a story of the Murphy Branch. And varying grades, tight curves, small tunnels, having requiring restricted bridges, river-abundant terrain, behind it lay a track comprised of light rails laid by convicts through mountainous. I stepped back on to the gravel and caught glimpse of the last car, climbing down from the MacNeill club car.

I stepped into the Bryson City depot, opening the door.