Tweetsie began in 1882, when the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad began operations in Johnson City, Tenn. In 1919, the railroad extended tracks to Boone, N.C. The ET&WNC added passenger service and brought lumber out of the mountains, opening up a new source for agriculture in the once-remote Blue Ridge Mountains. Mountaineers dubbed the railroad “Tweetsie” after becoming accustomed to the shrill tweet of the train's whistles. Locomotive No. 12, built in 1917 by Philadelphia's Baldwin Locomotive Works, was one of 13 narrow gauge ET&WNC steam locomotives. Modern roads and severe floods doomed the ET&WNC, and rail service to Boone ended in 1940. All steam locomotives were sold or scrapped except No. 12. Gene Autry briefly owned No. 12 in 1955, intending to take it to California for use in films, but Grover Robbins, Jr. of Blowing Rock acquired it from Autry and decided Tweetsie should return home. In 1956, No. 12 was fully restored and brought to Blowing Rock. Tweetsie Railroad opened in July 1957 and evolved into North Carolina's first theme park. Meticulously maintained and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Tweetsie's No. 12 locomotive operates to this day, continuing to delight rail fans and tourists.

Photo: Duane and Tracy Marsteller

Photo: Duane and Tracy Marsteller

Boone, North Carolina · USA