TVRM excursion near Black Mountain

A month ago or so I was on the riding mower working the lawn. Eli came running outside, closely followed by Briggs. He was yelling and gesturing for me to take off my ear protection. I thought maybe the house was on fire given the way he was acting!

 He said he had heard a steam train whistle. I guffawed. We went back and forth for a minute or so, with Briggs trying to reassure me about what they had heard. Finally, it went off again. The sound really is unmistakeable. It was coming up the track from Ridgecrest. None of us could come up with any explanation for a steam train to be on the line near us. I told the boys to jump in the car, we were off on a quest!

 tail end of the train between Black Mountain and Swannanoa

Dodging five o'clock rush hour traffic in downtown Black Mountain we blasted down US 70 and saw the tail end of the train before we got to Swannanoa. The traffic lights in Swannanoa were going to either make us or break us. My awesome driving skills got us through greater Swannanoa unscathed and without getting stuck by a light. We finally were ahead of the train! We gained more ground and I decided the pull off at a crossing near a landscaping nursery we patronize. We had plenty of time to get out, grab the camera and grab a pic. Unfortunately the stop signs in that part of the valley tend to jump in front of the camera sometimes.

front end, blocked by the sign between Swannanoa and Asheville

Success, but we were still confused about what was going on. Facebook saved us. We learned of a series of excursions sponsored by Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum and Norfolk Southern, to build enthusiasm for steam train travel. There was a series of 4 outings planned from Asheville to Old Fort. That meant a journey through seven tunnels between Ridgecrest and Old Fort. I'm not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that all the rides were completely sold out! They were $60 per person; kind of steep. But had there been space, I would have been sorely torn about whether or not to spring for the trip. But at least by this point we had the schedule.  We waited for the train after a Saturday morning ballgame. On Sunday afternoon we walked down the Point Lookout trail to get a good vantage point. That was where we got our best pictures.

On Saturday, there was a photographer taking shots as the train came through Black Mountain. She graciously forwarded to me a couple of them after I politely asked if she would share. Her images are awesome!

photo by Tammy Schneider © 2013

We had a few friends from church who partook of the excursions. They said they were enjoyable, but that from the train cars, the trip seems rather closed in. I have to admit that seeing the trains from the ground as they make their way around Andrew's Geyser near Old Fort surely can't be beat by actually being on the train. We'll keep an eye out for future excursions, and hope to make one.

from the Point Lookout Trail

Roanoke, VA

Buncombe County schools have this thing about beginning the school year with a two-day week.  Three last days of summer vacation, then school begins on a Thursday.  This irks me no end, but this year we did something about it.

I took Briggs and Calvin to Roanoke, VA for an overnight trip.  We saw the star on Mill Mountain and the Virginia Transportation Museum.  Libby, Eli and I had been there several years ago, but it's been a while.  A hurricane in 2006 trashed the aviation wing at the museum, but we were able to see the cars, model trains and ALL the vehicles outside.

Everything was a big hit.  From climbing on the pseudo-rocks at the mountain park, to everything at the museum.  It was a great way to end up summer.

Historic train in Buncombe County

Working on clearing the right-of-way for the spur

Libby found information about the Craggy Mountain Line recently. Apparently a non-profit is seeking to restore 3.5 miles of a Southern Railroad spur and equip it with historic vehicles. The non-profit has been going since 2001. Last month they set one of the vintage passenger cars back on trucks for the first time in 75 years. The line is based in Woodfin which is a bedroom community north of Asheville.

Some history of this line: the Asheville and Craggy Mountain Railway was intended in 1889 to travel between the city and this mountain north of town; it was never completed.

The new non-profit group has some ambitious plans including a park and museum as well as rides on the restored cars. Late last year the group finished phase one of their plan, which was restoring track. It seems like the spur will run from the center of Woodfin to the French Broad River.

Matt Tate of the Weaverville Tribune has been documenting the group's progress. Rocky Hollifield seems to be the key player within the non-profit's organization. It looks like they have a slew of rolling stock in various stages of restoration. At least one car is from Asheville's old trolley system; another is a C&O caboose. I'll try to take the boys over one day this summer to see if there is anything to see yet.

Car 119, recently completed restoration

Spencer Shops

We went to the NC Transportation Museum today.


Sure, we rode the train. Sure, we had a picnic lunch the midst of a thunderstorm. Sure, we rode the turntable. Sure we got to see more than 30 train locos and rolling stock. Sure we got to watch them working on an old passenger car.





But nothing, Nothing, NOTHING compares to see the collection of die-cast models of fire and police and rescue vehicles in the "Bumper-to-Bumper" exhibit. Eli especially was in total bliss. Sure, we have more: at least a hundred as reported in Briggs' quest for 100-something in K-garten. But these were in pristine condition, artfully displayed. The boys were in awe!

K-ville

We spent the day in Knoxville, TN Saturday. We stopped by the Ijams Nature Center, rode the TN Riverboat, played in the fountains at the World's Fair plaza and went to the top of the Sunsphere. Not too shabby for 7 hours.

We were in town while an anti-immigration rally of some type was going on. Apparently Neo-Nazis from Wisconsin decided to drop in. Law enforcement was present in spades! Cars, bikes, special ops vehicles: all over downtown. Plus a helicopter buzzing overhead the whole time we were there.

There were no apparent food options near Ijams; we had to fortify ourselves with chips and water and caught a late lunch on the way back downtown. We were on the TN River while a "wakeboarding" event sponsored by MasterCraft was being run and taped for later television broadcast. There's nothing like a thunderstorm to clear out the fountain area. People were leaving in droves as we pulled up. We waited a few minutes and had the place nearly to ourselves. Same with the Sunsphere.

Knoxville felt a lot like Richmond: the riverfront, the humidity, the big-city vibe, the humidity, the history, the humidity. There are a lot more things to do there, so I feel certain we'll head back to enjoy the humidity.


When planning the day, I noted that there is a steam train in Knoxville. This particular weekend was their rail-fest. Tickets for the event were way out of our league. However, we espied a couple of the locos tanking up on water. That was a nice serendipity while we waited for our cruise to depart.

Train Trip

In early September we learned of a trip on the GSMR sponsored by the Old Depot Association here in Black Mountain, celebrating 100 years of the depot. We were thinking about going, and then had a call from Paul W. at church wanting to take Eli on the very same trip. In the end Paul sponsored Eli and the rest of us also went. Eli (and all of us) spent some quality time with Paul, who is way to smart for his own good. The train ride was great. We packed a huge picnic lunch and ate on the ground at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. It was Calvin's first train ride, so he had a blast. The ride came with free admission to the museum in Bryson City. When the ride was over we were exhausted and wrung out, so we decided to skip the museum and covenanted to drive back down the next afternoon (Sunday) for the museum. Best decision we ever made!

This is the train at the Outdoor Center. They split it in half so traffic can continue to move around the area.