Rick's Railroad Page - Real and Models

First the real stuff...

The Little River Railroad under the guidance of Col. Wilson B. Townsend brought industry and jobs to the residents of East Tennessee near the start of the 20th Century by building a railroad from Walland, Tennessee (the sight of a large tannery) to Tang, Tennessee (later renamed Townsend in honor of the Colonel).  In Townsend, Col. Townsend built a saw mill and a lumber company which extended the rails from the Little River Railroad into the mountains which later became the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Further details on The Little River Railroad and Lumber Company can be found at the Museum's website [HERE].

The main motive power use by Little River were Shays, gear driven, powerful but slow locomotives.  Today there are only a hand full or two operating Shay locomotives left in the US.  The Cass Scenic Railroad, Cass, West Virginia has five of them.  More on Cass [HERE].

Heisler No 6    Shay No 6     Shay No 11      All Three

My Railroad - Still Under Construction