Our Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Train Trip

#trains #modeltrains #modelrailroad
We usually focus on model railroading here on The Main Track, but in this episode we're featuring an awesome "real" railroad you'll definitely want to check out!

This show highlights my recent trip on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in North Carolina. The GSMR operates 53 miles of the fabled ex-Southern Railway Murphy Branch. The heritage railway operates both steam and diesel excursions. Our particular trip was hauled by EMD GP38-3 #1009. We hope to make it back sometime in the future to ride one of the steam runs!

Clarification note: While I correctly refer to the line throughout the episode as the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, there is a time or two when I call it Great Smoky Mountains Railway. However, “Railroad” is the official term in the company’s name.

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We began our trip on a rainy day at the Bryson City, North Carolina Depot….just south of the gorgeous Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Our power is GP-38-m number 1009…it's what the Great Smoky Mountains Railway- or GSMR- refers to as its All-American- First Responder engine…this colorful paint scheme honoring local emergency response agencies and our nation's military personnel and veterans was rolled out in 2021 on this unit built in 1964 for Pennsylvania Railroad.

As we wait to hop on board, we’re going to take a look inside the Great Smoky Mountains Train Museum….an awesome place with layouts and a massive O-scale collection….with 7,000 Lionel locomotives on display—of course, I model in ho scale but found a lot to appreciate on this work of art. We have a more detailed look at this layout in an upcoming episode.

It didn't take long for me to get the appeal of riding in an open passenger car. The amenities- just a wooden bench- are pretty basic. But, I discovered there is no experience like feeling the breeze on your face, poking out to watch your train thread the curves, hearing the clickety-clack of jointed rail- and the engineer blowing the horn for crossings.

Our route follows the beautiful rushing waters of the Tuckasegee River for the 16 miles between Bryson City and Dillsboro. It has been raining here in the Smokys for days- ensuring high enough water for rafters and fly fishermen.

There are two spots on this trip where we cross the Tuckaseegee River over big iron truss bridges.

One thing that’s great about this open-air experience is looking ahead- and seeing and hearing the engine up ahead grumble up the slight grades…leaving the faint smell of locomotive exhaust in the air.

This trip provided another first for me…riding in a caboose. Chessie System caboose 3753- built for Baltimore and Ohio in 1971- now serves as this train's snack bar.

I’ve been in plenty of cabooses that are on static display in parks but never rolling on the rails.
Railroaders have told me how rough riding a lot of cabooses was…and I got to experience one of those wobbling, bobbling, bumpy rides for myself.

We came upon the remains of a train that had crashed on purpose.
Millionaire YouTube celebrity Mr. Beast bought two old locomotives from the GSMR just to crash them into a brick wall *and some empty semi-trailers- just to make a fun video of it for his followers. The GP9s were already set to be scrapped.

We then entered the 836-foot-long Cowee Tunnel…it was interesting to see the carved rock of the curved bore just inches away.

About a mile up, we slipped into Dillsboro. This is where the railroad maintains its shop complex.
Passing through the yard limits we come to access the rusting remnants of another wrecked train. There is no real Illinois Southern railway. These were painted for a scene in the 1993 Harrison Ford movie "The Fugitive.

Once we got to downtown Dillsboro, the train came to a stop. It stayed put for a layover, During this time, we were able to get out and tour the retail shops and restaurants before heading back for the trip back to Bryson City.

From the scenic mountains to the beautiful rivers to the historic rails and rolling stock- the Great Smoky Mountains Railway is one train ride you won’t want to miss when you’re in North Carolina.