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Hub AI
Tweetsie Railroad AI simulator
(@Tweetsie Railroad_simulator)
Hub AI
Tweetsie Railroad AI simulator
(@Tweetsie Railroad_simulator)
Tweetsie Railroad
Tweetsie Railroad is a family-oriented Wild West theme park located between Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States. The centerpiece of the park is a 3-mile (4.8 km) ride on a train pulled by one of Tweetsie Railroad's two historic narrow-gauge steam locomotives.
The park also features a variety of amusement rides, live shows, a zoo and other attractions geared towards families with children. The park also hosts a variety of special events throughout the year including their Halloween and Christmas-themed events.
Origins of Tweetsie Railroad
The theme park's history can be traced back to the late 19th Century, when narrow-gauge railroads began to access the remote areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Coal-fired steam locomotive locomotive No. 12 is the only surviving narrow-gauge engine of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC). Built in 1917 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, No. 12 is a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge 4-6-0 coal-fired locomotive that ran from 1918 to 1940 carrying passengers and freight over the ET&WNC's 66-mile (106.2 km) route from Johnson City, Tennessee to Boone, North Carolina.
The name "Tweetsie" was given to the original ET&WNC by area residents as a verbal acronym of its initials, but also referred to the "tweet" of the locomotive whistles that echoed through the mountains. The nickname stuck with the railroad and its trains and became more identifiable than the railroad's official ET&WNC name.
Two years after the narrow-gauge portion of the ET&WNC ceased operations in 1950, the locomotive was purchased by a group of railroad enthusiasts and taken to Penn Laird, Virginia to operate as the Shenandoah Central Railroad, which opened in May 1953. Rains from Hurricane Hazel washed out the Shenandoah Central in October, 1954, and Locomotive No. 12 was once again 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.
On August 17, 2024, No. 12 was taken out of service to undergo a major rebuild, it was expected to return to service again for the 2025 operating season, however as of 2025, overhaul work is still underway.
Grover Robbins, an entrepreneur from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, heard about the locomotive's availability, and purchased Autry's option for one dollar. Robbins then paid the $17,000 purchase price to the Shenandoah Central operators in August, 1955. Robbins' plan was to bring the locomotive and rolling stock back to its original home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, initially as an excursion railroad. Robbins obtained a suitable site midway between the towns of Boone and Blowing Rock, and one mile of track was constructed. After restoration at the Southern Railway shops in Hickory, NC, the No. 12 locomotive and rolling stock were transported up the Blue Ridge Mountains by Charlotte-based Moss-McLeod Trucking Company.
Tweetsie Railroad
Tweetsie Railroad is a family-oriented Wild West theme park located between Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States. The centerpiece of the park is a 3-mile (4.8 km) ride on a train pulled by one of Tweetsie Railroad's two historic narrow-gauge steam locomotives.
The park also features a variety of amusement rides, live shows, a zoo and other attractions geared towards families with children. The park also hosts a variety of special events throughout the year including their Halloween and Christmas-themed events.
Origins of Tweetsie Railroad
The theme park's history can be traced back to the late 19th Century, when narrow-gauge railroads began to access the remote areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Coal-fired steam locomotive locomotive No. 12 is the only surviving narrow-gauge engine of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC). Built in 1917 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, No. 12 is a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge 4-6-0 coal-fired locomotive that ran from 1918 to 1940 carrying passengers and freight over the ET&WNC's 66-mile (106.2 km) route from Johnson City, Tennessee to Boone, North Carolina.
The name "Tweetsie" was given to the original ET&WNC by area residents as a verbal acronym of its initials, but also referred to the "tweet" of the locomotive whistles that echoed through the mountains. The nickname stuck with the railroad and its trains and became more identifiable than the railroad's official ET&WNC name.
Two years after the narrow-gauge portion of the ET&WNC ceased operations in 1950, the locomotive was purchased by a group of railroad enthusiasts and taken to Penn Laird, Virginia to operate as the Shenandoah Central Railroad, which opened in May 1953. Rains from Hurricane Hazel washed out the Shenandoah Central in October, 1954, and Locomotive No. 12 was once again 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.
On August 17, 2024, No. 12 was taken out of service to undergo a major rebuild, it was expected to return to service again for the 2025 operating season, however as of 2025, overhaul work is still underway.
Grover Robbins, an entrepreneur from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, heard about the locomotive's availability, and purchased Autry's option for one dollar. Robbins then paid the $17,000 purchase price to the Shenandoah Central operators in August, 1955. Robbins' plan was to bring the locomotive and rolling stock back to its original home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, initially as an excursion railroad. Robbins obtained a suitable site midway between the towns of Boone and Blowing Rock, and one mile of track was constructed. After restoration at the Southern Railway shops in Hickory, NC, the No. 12 locomotive and rolling stock were transported up the Blue Ridge Mountains by Charlotte-based Moss-McLeod Trucking Company.