Smoky Mountain 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 shortline in eastern Tennessee, the Smoky Mountain Railroad ran through the western foothills of the Smokies between Vestal (greater Knoxville) and Sevierville, Tennessee.
This region is a rich agricultural and timber area.
The road began as the Knoxville, Sevierville & Eastern Railway Company, incorporated in 1907. From 1921 to the end, following foreclosure and new management, the line operated as the Smoky Mountain Railroad.
Three Baldwins and a Lima locomotive served the road during steam years; a General Electric 44 tonner offered a brief flirtation with diesel service. The shortline interchanged with the Southern Railway in Knoxville.
Mixed train passenger service was dropped in 1951, and the line was abandoned by 1964.
1955 Official Guide ad / collection
Motive Power
Smoky Mountain #107
Knoxville, Tn / Jan 1952 / collection
Smoky Mountain #107
to Smoky Mountain #107, 1942
on display at Pigeon Forge, Tn
Smoky Mountain #110
Knoxville, Tn / Jul 1953 / collection
Smoky Mountain #110
to Smoky Mountain #110, 1942
to private ownership
Smoky Mountain #206
Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Smoky Mountain #206
to Southern Iron & Equipment #1498
to Brooklyn Cooperage #16
to Smoky Mountain #206
on display at Chattanooga Choo Choo
Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Knoxville, Tn / Aug 1948 / collection
Sevierville, Tn / collection
Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 1990 / JCH
See also our Chattanooga Choo Choo scrapbook in Preservation
Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Chattanooga, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Smoky Mountain #440
Walkersville, Md / Jul 2020 / RWH
Smoky Mountain #440
blt Great Northern #5201, later #51
to Smoky Mountain #440
to White Transfer
to Walkersville Southern Railroad
Knoxville, Tn / Sep 1957 / Taplines
See also our Walkersville Southern Railroad scrapbook in Preservation
Jul 2020 / RWH
Walkersville, Md / Jul 2020 / RWH
Walkersville, Md / Jul 2020 / RWH
Walkersville, Md / Jul 2020 / RWH
Jul 2020 / RWH
Walkersville, Md / Jul 2020 / RWH
Jul 2020 / RWH
Walkersville, Md / Jul 2020 / RWH
Walkersville, Md / Jul 2020 / RWH
Jul 2020 / RWH
Walkersville, Md / Jul 2020 / RWH
Rolling Stock
wooden combine / Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Smoky Mountain #504
wooden boxcar / Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Sevierville, Tn / Sep 1960 / JCH
Clippings
from Steam Locomotive & Railroad Tradition
7 / Mar 1961 / collection
from Steam Locomotive & Railroad Tradition
9 / Dec 1961 / collection
from Steam Locomotive & Railroad Tradition
15 / May 1965 / collection
Links / Sources
- Taplines article on Smoky Mountain Railroad
- Friends of the Slow and Easy historical article
- Wikipedia article for Smoky Mountain