East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad Locomotive No. 12

About this property

East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad 12, also known as Tweetsie Railroad 12, is a narrow-gauge 10-26-D class 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler" type steam locomotive, built in 1917 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) for the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC). It is preserved and operated by the Tweetsie Railroad (TR), located near Blowing Rock, North Carolina. No. 12 was built in February 1917 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) for the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC). The engine worked three decades on the ET&WNC hauling both freight and passenger trains during World War II, it was retired from revenue service in 1949 after thirty-two years of service. The ET&WNC ceased operations on July 13, 1950 and No. 12 was one of the only railroad's narrow-gauge engines still in existence, it would be put into storage for the next two years. In 1952, it was sold along with two ET&WNC passenger cars to a group of railfans, Grattern Price Jr., Paul S. Hill and Wade W. Menefee Jr., the group moved the engine along with its passenger cars to a farm near Harrisonburg, Virginia for use in tourism on their newly constructed tourist line, named the Shenandoah Central Railroad (SC). It was restored to operating condition in 1953 and began running passenger trains on the line from Memorial Day weekend until October of that year, when the railroad's tracks suffered a washout during Hurricane Hazel; due to the major damage of the line, the Shenandoah Central Railroad would cease all tourist operations entirely and the engine would once again be put up for sale. Cowboy actor and singer Gene Autry signed an option to purchase the locomotive and train cars for $17,000, with the intent to move them to California for use in motion pictures. However, Autry determined that the transportation and restoration costs made his plan impractical and decided to let his purchase option lapse. In 1955, it was eventually sold to Tweetsie Railroad (TR) founder Grover C. Robbins, Jr. The locomotive was repainted into Tweetsie Railroad lettering and on May 23, 1957, it was moved by truck up the mountains from Hickory to its new home near Blowing Rock. The theme park officially opened to the public on July 4 and No. 12 eventually haul its very first excursion train that same day. In February 1967, both Nos. 12 and 190 were remodified with diamond stacks and bright paint to make them look like the railroad took place in the wild west, but the modifications were later removed in the mid 1970s. In 1992, No. 12 celebrated its 75th birthday and was backdated to its ET&WNC appearance. That same year, the locomotive became listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

More in Watauga County

Historic places, battles, and census history across Watauga County.

More historic places in North Carolina

Browse all historic places in North Carolina.

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

North Carolina history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.