Model Railroad Layout | ET&WNC Railroad
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Page Contents
Johnson City Railroad Experience’s ET&WNC Model Railroad
Without a doubt, the best ET&WNC layout has been built and is on display at the Johnson City Railroad Experience in Johnson City TN. Construction on the layout originally began at its old home on the East Tennessee State University campus. The museum moved to its new larger building last year in the center of downtown Johnson City.
The additional space has allowed for an even larger layout that truly brings the ET&WNC to life.
The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina (ET&WNC) layout is the centerpiece of the Johnson City Railroad Experience, a museum formerly known as the George L. Carter Railroad Museum. This nationally recognized HOn3 scale exhibit meticulously recreates the “Tweetsie” narrow-gauge line as it appeared during its peak in the 1920s.
Layout Design and Features
Crafted by the Mountain Empire Model Railroaders, the layout follows the historic route from Johnson City to Boone, North Carolina. Its design captures the challenging Appalachian terrain that necessitated the use of 3-foot narrow-gauge tracks. Key highlights include:
- Historic Accuracy: The layout features hand-built models of original structures, such as the 1891 train station recreated by museum director Dr. Fred Alsop using archival photos and measurements.
- Key Locations: Scenic highlights include the rugged Doe River Gorge, the town of Elizabethton, and mountain stops like Shell Creek and Roan Mountain.
- Industrial Details: The model includes the Cranberry yard and iron mines, reflecting the railroad’s vital role in transporting ore and timber to Johnson City’s dual-gauge interchange.
Enhanced Immersion
Following the museum’s move to a larger facility in downtown Johnson City, the layout has been significantly expanded. It now incorporates additional sections of Johnson City and Elizabethton, featuring dual-gauge tracks where standard and narrow-gauge lines met. Visitors can observe operating steam locomotives like ET&WNC #3 (the Unaka) and #5 performing switching duties or hauling passenger cars. The exhibit is further enriched by historic photographs placed alongside their scale replicas, allowing for direct comparison between the model and the actual history of the region.
ET&WNC Bibliography
- Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps, timetables, and track charts
- Archives: Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University.
- Newspaper Articles: Newspapers.com
- Magazines/Online: ‘Trains‘, ‘Classic Trains‘
- Ferrell, Mallory Hope. Tweetsie Country: The East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad. Boulder: Pruett Publishing Co., 1976 (Revised edition, Johnson City: Overmountain Press, 1991).
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume I: Early Narrow Gauge Locomotives. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2001.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume II: The Ten-Wheelers. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2002.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume III: Depots. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2003.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume IV: Freight Cars, Part A – Boxcars, Reefers, and Stock Cars. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2005.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume V: Freight Cars, Part B – Flatcars, Gondolas, and Maintenance-of-Way. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2007.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume VI: Passenger Cars and Cabooses. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2011.
- Graybeal, Johnny. The Railroads of Johnson City. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing (Images of Rail), 2007.
- Poole, Carey Franklin. A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina. Johnson City: Overmountain Press, 1995.
- Scheer, Julian, and Elizabeth McD. Black. Tweetsie: The Blue Ridge Stemwinder. Charlotte: Heritage Printers, 1958 (Reprinted by Overmountain Press, 1991).
- Sulzer, Elmer G. Ghost Railroads of Tennessee. Indianapolis: V.A. Jones Co., 1975 (Reprinted by Indiana University Press, 1998).
- Websites: Carolana.com, CarterCountyHistory.com, StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot, SteamLocomotive.com
