hawkinsrails.net / shortlines / smn
Smokey Railroad Railroad
From 1910 until 1961, the city of Sevierville, Tennessee, nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, was served by a railroad of its very own. This shortline, built in 1908 and 1909 to standard gauge, linked then-remote Sevierville with the nearby commercial and industrial center of Knoxville, some 30 miles distant. Originally dubbed the Knoxville, Sevierville & Eastern Railway, locals came to know the KS&E as the "Knoxville, Slow & Easy" (or just "Slow & Easy"), given the unhurried pace of its trains.
A meandering 30 mile standard gauge Tennessee shortline, the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad ran through the western foothills of the Smokies,
between Vestal and Sevierville, Tennessee. This region is a rich agricultural and timber area.
The road began as the Knoxville, Sevierville and Eastern Railway Company, incorporated on July 15, 1907.
Three Baldwins and a Lima served the road during steam years; a General Electric 44 tonner offered a brief flirtation with diesel service.
Passenger service (mixed train, no less) was dropped in 1951, and the line was abandoned by 1964.
Motive Power
Smokey Mountain #206
Baldwin 2-6-0 (1910) / Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Smokey Mountain #206
- builder:Baldwin Locomotive Works
- arrangement:2-6-0 Mogul
- built:Jul 1910, Baldwin #34964
- fuel:coal/water
- notes:
- blt Genesse & Wyoming # 9
ex SI&E #1498, Brooklyn Cooperage #16
currently on display at Pigeon Forge, Tn
Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Rolling Stock
Smokey Mountain unknown
wooden combine / Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Smokey Mountain #504
wooden boxcar / Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Smokey Mountain #504
wooden boxcar / Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Links / Sources
- Taplines article on Smokey Mountain Railroad
- "Friends of the Slow and Easy" historical article