Tweetsie is more than a train. It's an institution, a tradition and a legend. Mention the name "Tweetsie" throughout the South and it conjures up memories for all age groups.

For children, it means a trip back into the Wild West, helping the US Marshal Fight off howling renegades and would-be train robbers. It also means music and entertainment, exciting Country Fair rides and arcades, and lots of good things to eat.

For adults, it means a family oriented theme park in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, providing a day of fun and adventure for themselves and their children.

For old-timers, the name stirs up nostalgia and the uncomplicated days of yesteryear.

Tweetsie's history dates back to 1866, when the Tennessee legislature granted the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad Company permission for the construction of a railroad. At the outset, the ET&WNC line (which mountain humorists dubbed the "Eat Taters & Wear No Clothes" Railroad) was to operate from Johnson City, Tennessee to the iron mines just over the state line at Cranberry, North Carolina.

The narrow-gauge railroad began operations in 1881 after fifty miles of track was laid through the rugged Blue Ridge chain of the Appalachian Mountains that divide the two southern states. Later, additional tracks were laid to Boone, North Carolina and in 1916 rail service were extended to that mountain community. The new line added passenger service to the formerly isolated area, and brought lumber out of the mountains.

The name "Tweetsie" was given to the railroad by local folks who became accustomed to the shrill "tweet, tweet" train whistles that echoed through the hills. The name stuck, and the train was known as Tweetsie ever since.

Unfortunately, the affection felt for Tweetsie by mountain dwellers could not protect her from a changing economy. The construction of modern roads made the mountain communities more accessible, and Tweetsie felt the competition from trucking companies. Severe floods came in August, 1940 and obliterated sections of the line, hastening the demise of the mountain railroads.

On July 13, 1950 the ET&WNC Railroad Company came to an official end. Tweetsie Locomotive #12 -- the last of the original 13 coal-fired ET&WNC steam engines -- was purchased by railroad enthusiasts and moved to Virginia. Her stay there was cut short when hurricane Hazel swept through the state and wiped out the train tracks. The owners found a buyer for #12 in Gene Autry. The movie cowboy intended to ship the locomotive out west to use in films.

Grover Robbins, Jr., a native of the North Carolina Mountains, decided that it was time to bring Tweetsie back where she belonged. Robbins purchased Tweetsie from Gene Autry and in 1956 the little engine headed back to Robbins\' home town of Blowing Rock.

North Carolina governor Luther Hodges designated May 20, 1956 as "Tweetsie Homecoming Day", but it was only a partial homecoming. The locomotive spent several months in Hickory, NC undergoing complete restoration. A year later, on May 23, 1957, Bragg McLeod of Moss Trucking Company in Charlotte moved Tweetsie and some of the original rail cars from Hickory to a scenic spot near Blowing Rock.

In the summer of 1957, Tweetsie Railroad became North Carolina\'s newest travel attraction, as she made her first run at her new location just a couple of miles away from the old railroad station in Boone. People came from all over the South to welcome her famous whistle back to the mountains.

Tweetsie now makes a scenic three-mile loop through the mountains near Blowing Rock, not far from the original end of the line station in Boone. Tweetsie also operates a complete steam train repair shop, rebuilding and restoring locomotives for other theme parks and museums.

Meticulously maintained and now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Tweetsie continues to delight the rail buffs, children and tourists who flock to the cool Blue Ridge Mountains every summer. The appeal of riding an original coal-fired steam train will never die.
(Thanks to Carowinds 73-03)

Tweetsie Railroad was the first theme park built in North Carolina.