On Saturday, Nov. 15, the George L. Carter Railroad Museum will be celebrating the one-year anniversary of the dedication of the museum in 2007.
The celebration is open to the public and will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the museum location at the Campus Center building in the center of the ETSU campus. This anniversary coincidently coincides with the National Railroad Month.
The museum is described as a “working museum that has exhibits of both prototypical railroad memorabilia, principally the railroads that served this area and some that still continue to serve the area, and it’s also a memorial to George L. Carter who built the Clinchfield RR in the early 20th century” noted Museum Director Fred Alsop, a professor of biology at ETSU.
Carter is many times called the “father of ETSU.” Carter lobbied for the building of a state normal school (future university), donated his 120-acre farm as land for the campus, gave $100,000 in 1908 dollars, built a sidewalk and road and built a railcar running to the campus for students.
And it was because of all this, and some others, that the future ETSU was opened in 1911 in Johnson City.
Of course, Carter has a full history in the Tri-Cities, being not only a railroad owner but also a large landowner and pivotal leader in the building and development of the Tri-Cities.
The museum also looks into the history of the region’s rich ties with the railroads, which helped to spur the creation of Johnson City.
Volunteers from the Mountain Empire Model Railroader (MEMRR) club give their time to the museum and provide information about the local historic railroads and knowledgeable tips on the basics of model railroading.
The museum not only includes classic railroad memorabilia but also has three large operating model railroading layouts. These model layouts include full scenery, structures, rolling stock and operating locomotives to provide viewing enjoyment.
Alsop also notes that the museum offers workshops for model railroading. The workshop looks into how to put and use scenery, issues in wiring your layout, and laying the track for your locomotive.
The next workshop is scheduled at the end of this month or early December, with a date to be determined after this weekend’s anniversary celebration.
Alsop noted the many “marvelous stories” of people coming into the museum and seeing the trains and exhibits, with many of them being reminded of something in their past by relatives or themselves having had a railroad experience, some who worked for the railroad, and some who knew something of the railroading in the region.
Alsop also wants to start an oral archive because these are stories that will disappear if they’re not written down. “We know something about the railroads,” he said. “We don’t know a lot about the people and the railroads.” He would like to use the archive to have storytelling events and days at the museum.
The museum has recently have been given an extra 1,300 square feet of new space for exhibits. Dr. Alsop wants to build a children’s railroad room, which would include train sets that kids could physically play with, Thomas the Train toys and other kid-friendly activities.
This would help to give children a place to not only learn but play hands-on, especially when parents are touring the professional exhibits or participating in a workshop. Alsop explains that the museum offers an educational benefit for all ages, but especially to get the youth into engineering and the sciences. Some kids look at the exhibits as toys, he said, but others want to know how it works, the mechanics of it all.
“I see a lot of public good and community support coming out of what we’re doing,” Alsop said.
The museum is currently open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, though any donations are welcomed. For more information, contact Fred Alsop at 423-439-6838 or email at alsopf@etsu.edu.

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