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AN AUTUMN RETURN TO TWEETSIE RAILROAD
By Jack M. Turner

    The lure of autumn leaves and crisp temperatures enticed my family to schedule our almost annual visit to the Blue Ridge Mountains in October 2014 instead of our usual summertime routine. A drive along the southern stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway would provide three hours of viewing the changing leaves and our visit to the Boone, North Carolina area would allow us to ride Tweetsie Railroad in a different time of year.
    Tweetsie operates on autumn weekends as opposed to its daily summer schedule so we had to coordinate our travels accordingly. Business was good on the day of our visit and we enjoyed riding the steam powered train on its three mile run three times while photographing several other arrivals and departures throughout the day.
    Below is a photo essay showing engine # 12 and the Tweetsie train during our day-long visit.

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    On our second ride around Miner’s Mountain, we discovered that the western show featuring outlaws and lawmen used a different storyline that on our prior ride. The same was true during the stop at Fort Boone where more action took place at train side. After the trip we spoke with one of the performers and we learned that the shows differ throughout the day so that guests can enjoy a different storyline if they ride the train more than once. We also learned that the performers switch roles so that one of the bad guys in one show may be a hero in another. Likewise there is some degree of improvisation in the show which indeed does make it entertaining.
    Of course the star of the show is the steam engine and we were delighted to ride behind # 12, the lone surviving member of the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina steam fleet. During our summer visits we usually ride behind # 190 which came to Tweetsie off the White Pass & Yukon in Alaska. On October weekend nights # 190 was scheduled to pull the Tweetsie Ghost Train, a popular Halloween themed ride. Alas # 190 was tucked away in the engine shop out of sight of daytime visitors, its ghost-like decoration revealed only after dark.

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    The towns of Boone and Blowing Rock are separated by 7 miles with Tweetsie Railroad located midway between the two. This is an excellent area to spend a few days with ample things to see and do and a relaxed atmosphere.

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    Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway is a must during a visit to the area. The stretch from Asheville to Boone is our favorite part and on this visit we drove eastbound from Asheville to Linville then made separate drives between Boone and Linville via the Linn Cove Viaduct as well as one foray to the east to hike to The Cascades, a long steady waterfall known as a “slide”. The 45 mph (maximum) speed limit and numerous scenic overlooks invite visitors to enjoy a leisurely pace and we certainly did that.

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    For further information about Tweetsie Railroad’s history, see our stories at the following locations: trainweb.us/vrt/TurnerTweetsieRR/ and trainweb.us/vrt/JackTurnerCarolina/.

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