THINGS TO DO IN THE SMOKIES

Rich History of Railroading in the Mountains of Western North Carolina

A year after iron rails reached Asheville in 1880, workers began digging, filling and blasting an extension of that line to cover 116 miles to Murphy in the westernmost corner of North Carolina. By the turn of the 20th century, four passenger trains ran daily between Asheville and Murphy.

It was not easy to cut this branch line through the mountains with steep grades, long trestles and difficult tunnels.

The Murphy Branch experienced its heaviest business in the early 1940s when the massive Fontana Dam was constructed during World War II. Thousands of carloads of cement, equipment and other materials reached the construction site by rail on a spur line. Huge shipments of copper ore increased the line's tonnage.

Today you can enjoy railway excursions from Bryson City east to Dillsboro traveling beside the Tuckaseigee River and through the notorious Cowee Tunnel; as well as west across Fontana Lake and through the Nantahala River Gorge.

And there are entertaining rides all throughout the year including The Lone Ranger™, Thomas the Tank Engine™, Polar Express™, and Peanuts™ themed rides including Valentines, Easter and Halloween.