Ride the rails, celebrate Tennessee’s fall foliage

On Saturday, Nov. 2, ETSU’s George L. Carter Railroad Museum will be partnering with The George L. Carter Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society to allow guests to travel to North Carolina and experience the scenery of the mountains and learn about the history of trains.

“It is an opportunity that not many people get,” Carolyn Gregg, historian for the National Railway Historical Society, said. “Trains do not provide passenger services in this area. You have to go to Lynchburg, Virginia, or Charlotte, North Carolina, to get on a train at all to ride in this day and age.”

Passengers will meet on campus at parking lot 22A to leave by motor coach at 7 a.m. The bus will travel through Tennessee to Bryson City, North Carolina, where “they can see the beautiful mountain scenery,” Gregg said.

After arriving in Bryson City, passengers will board the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad and travel to Nantahala Gorge to eat and sight-see for an hour.

“It is history, but it is also current because it is a beautiful time to explore the Smoky Mountains,” Gregg said. “Students would enjoy both the beauty of it, the history of the trains and a memorial to George L. Carter who provided the land they are studying on.”

The trip will conclude back in Bryson City, with two hours to shop, eat and enjoy the Smoky Mountain Train Museum. Admission to the museum will already be included with the train ticket.

“If you have never ridden on a train, it is really special,” Gregg said. “It is just different from anything you can do anywhere else.”

This train excursion is one of many that happen throughout the school year. ETSU train excursions have traveled to Knoxville, Chattanooga and even Stearns, Kentucky.

“We do one in the spring, and it goes to a different location,” Gregg said. “We try to go within a relatively close period of time, but we offer three a year. It is just a good experience, and it is fun to visit and meet with other people.”

Adult tickets are $125 each, and children 2-12 years old are $90 each; infants under two years of age ride free. Ticket order forms and liability waivers can be picked up at the Carter Railroad Museum or printed from www.memrr.org.