Knoxville & Asheville Railroad

The **Knoxville & Asheville Railroad** is a railroad company that runs from Knoxville, Tennessee to Asheville, North Carolina, with connections to Greenville, South Carolina; Erwin, Tennessee, Hendersonville, North Carolina; Hickory, North Carolina, and Pikeville, Tennessee. In the golden age, the K&A connected to 5 other major railroads and a couple of shortlines.

## History

### The Beginning: 1905

Sheldon T.C. Hartford started being involved in railroading at the age of 15 in 1877 when he left home to start working for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad to help build the line under the command of former U.S. General, William Jackson Palmer. He was a participant in the railroad's 1877 - 1880 war with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (he even bought himself some personal customized firearms).

By the mid-1880s, the D&RG was completed and Sheldon not only became a stockholder of the D&RG, but also an employee of the railroad, as Locomotive Engineer, roundhouse foreman, and mechanic. By 1900, Sheldon had made himself a fortune and planned to build a railroad for his own.

Moving to Knoxville, Tennessee (where his grandparents were located), he began buying stock in the de-pleading Smoky Mountain & Atlantic Railroad Company, which had plans to extend their track up the mountain towards Asheville, but by 1903, funds ran out and workers strikes halted construction. In Asheville, the SM&A's neighbor, the Asheville & Hickory Eastern Railroad, also halted construction dur to a lack of funds and was facing bankruptcy. By early January 1905, Sheldon was in complete control of the SM&A and bought the railroad outright. With big dreams of completing the SM&A's original plan of extending the line towards Asheville, North Carolina, he renamed the railroad, the Knoxville & Asheville Railroad Company. He also invested some controlling interest in the Asheville & Hickory Eastern Railroad, under a deal with the A&HE president that if he helped with the K&A's construction westward from Asheville, the K&A would help the A&HE build towards Hickory, North Carolina.

After gaining a lot of investors, he managed to hire his friend, General Palmer to help drive the construction of the railroad and several Cherokees to guide them through the mountains so the railroad won't intervein on their land. The railroad hired several immigrants (sometimes straight off the boat) from Italy, Ireland, France, Russia, Great Britain, Scotland, and Germany (as well as a few Chinese) to build the railroad. One of these immigrants was a young German engineering scholar by the name of Fredrick Muller who was instantly hired as one of the railroad's chief engineers. Together, Muller, alongside General Palmer, steering the building force of the Knoxville & Asheville Railroad. One interesting scene they built was the track around Long Neck Point, where the cliff face shown the skeletal remains of a long neck dinosaur, long-extinct for millions and millions of years.

By March 1905, he reached the summit of the mountains decided to build a locomotive repair facility and a town to house his employees. He named the town after himself. On April 7th, 1905, the K&A received the delivery of its first new locomotive, an experimental 2-8-2 mikado type locomotive straight from Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The locomotive, numbered 1, was later named Smokey after rescuing a stranded train from a forest fire. On August 7th, 1905, the railroad finally drove its last spike and the railroad was complete, with U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and railroad tycoon E.H. Harriman, present at the ceremony.

Of course, once the completion of the railroad was done, the railroad's first passenger express train, the *Smoky Mountain Limited*, ran its first service on August 14th, 1905 behind locomotive #1 "*Smokey*" (officially named Smokeford Joesph Hartford on the paperwork). The K&A also began helping the Asheville & Hickory Eastern Railroad with its construction eastward towards Hickory (which was completed in 1908). In the railroad's early years, the motive power consisted of locomotives inherited from the defunct Smoky Mountain & Atlantic, several second-hand locomotives (mostly from the Southern Railway), and locomotives leased from other neighboring railroads such as the Southern Railway and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.

### Bandit Troubles: 1909 - 1913

As time would go on, however, the railroad managed to buy some new locomotives straight from the builder. The early 1900s was also a rough time for the Knoxville & Asheville Railroad, because of the robberies committed by the Smoky Mountain Gang, led by their leader Shaw Meyers, a former Stagecoach Tycoon and crooked businessman who lost his entire fortune when his customers started using the railroad as means of travel and to deliver their mail, goods, and produce to other places.

After losing everything, he managed to form a team consisting of Emilio "Black Jack" Sanchez; Cliff "Red Cliff" Gannon; Bo "Lazy Eye" Watson; Sean "One Eyed" O' Toole; Micheal "Big Mike" Dalton (rumored to be an illegitimate child of Bob Dalton), and Isabella "Fox" Gomez (Black Jack's half sister). Together, these fugitives formed the Smoky Mountain Gang and they began to rob trains and terrorize innocent civilians around the smoky mountain area. Their biggest take was when they robbed a government gold train in 1910, by derailing the locomotive and making off with $135,000.00 in gold.

But the day where the Smoky Mountain Gang would get its comeuppance. The Railroad was getting tired of having its trains robbed, so they teamed up with the local sheriff and his deputies, several of the local Cherokees, and the U.S. Army to stop the Smoky Mountain Gang's reign of terror. During the winter of 1912 and 1913, the railroad built a secondary route to Sheldon, North Carolina, claiming it was because of increasing traffic. In July 1913, Shaw Meyers caught a tip from a reliable source, that the Knoxville & Asheville Railroad was hauling a bank shipment of $3,000,000.00 on board the *Smoky Mountain Limited* and planed to use the secondary route to avoid detection from the robbers.

On July 13th, 1913, the Smoky Mountain Gang, along with a few hired guns, hid behind some rocks along the railroad's secondary route, already having explosives planted in the cliffside in order to cause a landslide. Once the train came around the bend, the gang set off the explosives and a landslide blocked the tracks. The gang strode up to the baggage/express car and demanded the expressmen to open the door.

But once the door was opened, the gang became face to face with a Gatling gun, in which the Pinkertons immediately fired, taking out Back Jack, Red Cliff, One Eye, Lazy Eye, and Fox. Shaw and Big Mike were injured. After taking out the hired guns, Meyers and Big Mike were arrested, ending the reign of terror and the destruction they left behind.

1910 saw the K&A's purchase of the nearby Knoxville, Harriman & Southern Railroad, which ran from Powell to Pikeville, Tennessee, connecting with the Tennessee Central Railway and the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. However, the railroad didn't have any trackage rights to go into the city of Knoxville due to the Southern Railway and the L&N already set up shop in the city limits. So to transfer goods and passengers, the K&A built a small branch line from Harriman to Kingston and built a dock there. They would lease steamboats and rail car ferries from other railroads to handle to work, but the rent was expensive and the company began plans to invest in their own maritime equipment, but raising enough capital would take quite a while to do so.

### World War 1: 1914 - 1919

In 1914, the railroad gained a new neighbor, a small shortline called the Waynesville & Southeastern Railroad Company. The first rails of the W&SE were laid on February 7th, 1914, and the railroad's first motive power where second-hand locomotives from other railroads. The Knoxville & Asheville Railroad got the contract to deliver building supplies to the W&SE interchange at Waynesville, and in exchange, Sheldon would buy some shares in the railroad. The W&SE was completed in 1916, connecting to Greenville, South Carolina.

On April 6th, 1917, the United States entered the conflict of World War 1. Rail congestion increased by requiring the movement of soldiers from induction points through training facilities to embarkation points. The railroads of America attempted to coordinate their efforts to support the war by creating the Railroads' War Board, but private action ran into anti-trust and other regulatory barriers. Observers noted, for example, that sometimes competitive practices prevailed that weren't in the best interests of efficient mobilization. Also, government departments sought priority for shipment made on their behalf, and congestion in freight yards, terminals, and port facilities became staggering.

On December 26th, 1917, the U.S. Government placed all U.S. Railroads under their control under the United States Railroad Administration. The Knoxville & Asheville was no exception. A year after the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th, 1919, all U.S. Railroads, including the Knoxville & Asheville, were returned to private operators, with the K&A going back to the ownership of the Hartford Family.

### The Roaring 20s: 1920 - 1929

In 1920, the Railroad finally raised enough capital and gathered enough investors to acquire their own maritime equipment. They set up a side company called the "Marbledale Packet & Marine Company" and purchased a few rail ferry barges and a tugboat named "*Jeremiah*" (better known as "Jerry" by the tugboat crews, from the Stone Fleet in New York. Amoungst the fleet was an old steamboat called the "*Huntsville*". This vessel was of NC&StL origins until it was built by the SM&A in 1893 to run goods and passengers down the river. On July 20th, 1920, the railcar ferry service began. Not only did the "*Huntsville*" take barges of railroad cars Knoxville to Kingston, the vessel also made stops to drop off and collect passengers and goods at Lousiville, Farragut, Lenoir City, and Loudon, Tennessee.

The railroad would buy more control of the Asheville & Hickory Eastern Railroad in 1924, making it one of their subsidiaries.

On Thurdsay, October 29th, 1929, the stock market crashed and billions were lost. Several businesses went bankrupt and the railroads began to struggle. The K&A manage to survive the whole ordeal, however, it's neighbor, the Erwin & Sheldon Railroad suffered huge losses.

### The Great Depression: 1929 - 1941

When the stock market crashed, the K&A's neighbor, the Erwin & Sheldon, went into complete dispair. Employees were laid off and passenger ridership declined 75%. In 1932, the line was completely bankrupt and had a deficit of $1,110,000.00. It was at this time, that the K&A went to the E&S aid. A deal was made that the K&A would buy the E&S, if the E&S would still have some control over their company. So it was arranged. The K&A bought the railroad and the E&S became one of its subsidiaries.

1932 was also the year the K&A bought out the bankrupt Gatlinburg, Dupont & Western Railroad. Which was a small narrow gauge railroad that hauled lumber products, agricultural goods. They sold all of the line's narrow gauge locomotives to the Sheldon, Lake Junaluska & Mount Morris Railroad which was a narrow gauge railroad that was headquartered in Sheldon. After the sale of all the GD&W locomotives and rolling stock, the K&A converted the track from 3 feet to 4 foot 8 1/2 inch Standard Gauge.

The K&A also bought 47% of the Sheldon, Lake Junaluska & Mount Morris Railroad in 1934, but the SLJ&MM was allowed to have it's own identity and run and buy it's own locomotives as well as having it's own operational independence.

### Future Events:

In May 1955, the K&A bought 10 2-8-2 mikado type steam locomotives second hand from the Illinois Central Railroad, these were the last steam locomotives bought by the K&A.

On August 29th, 1962, engine #1 "*Old Smokey*" pulled the last steam-powered revenue freight train on the line and the age of steam on the K&A was over. However steam would see a temporary comeback during the Cuban Missile Crisis (since electromagnetic pulses from radiation would disable diesel locomotives). Once the crisis was over, the steam locomotives were put back on the deadline to await disposal, however. Old Smokey was still kept on the company's roster as a public relations tool.

During the Oil Embargo of 1973 - 1974 and the Embargo of 1979, the K&A reactivated several of their steam locomotives to save costs on diesel fuel.

Beginning in 1974, AMTRAK began taking over some of the K&A's passenger services using worn out old EMD E8A diesel locomotives. By 1982, the railroad only had one revenue passenger service left on their books, the "*Pigeon*" local passenger train.

## Documented Accidents

* **October 1927:** A Knoxville-bound special is accidentally diverted onto the Westbury Railway line and crashed into the back of a Westbury passenger train when the station master at Winslow Junction suffered a heart attack as he was about to switch the tracks. The passengers in the rear coach of the Westbury train lost their lives, most of them were a group of girl scouts ranging from the ages 6 to 13. The engineer of the Knoxville-bound train was scaled to death when his engine turned over into the river and exploded. The passengers in the first car of the Knoxville-bound train suffered injuries.
* **May 21st, 1957:** A truck stalls on the crossing east of Sheldon, North Carolina and the second service of the "*Smoky Mountain Limited*", headed by engines #36 "*Karen*" and #198 "*Stephanie*" (both ex-Southern Ps-4s) crashes into it. Causing the whole train to derail and completely destroying the truck. Both locomotives were later repaired and continued service for another 5 years. The truck was damaged beyond repair and was scrapped.
* **July 1961:** Steam Locomotive #6 "*Jerome*", an ex-Great Northern H-4 class 4-6-2, suffered a massive boiler explosion near Sheldon, North Carolina. No one was killed or injured, but the locomotive was heavily damaged and was sold for scrap 2 months later. The Department of Transporation discovered in their investigation that the locomotive's fusible plugs, which are designed to prevent boiler explosions by releasing steam into the firebox when the water level gets too low, were covered in limescale, isolating the plugs from the boiler. The investigation also theorized that the water level in the boiler got too low and the crown sheet got red hot and when the sloshing water hit the dry hot crown sheet, it caused the steam pressure in the boiler to increase rapidly to a higher pressure than what the boiler was designed for and exploded.

## Experiments

In 1951, the railroad, being dedicated to steam traction, underwent an experiment to see if a steam locomotive can power Diesel B units like normal diesels do. So after buying 2 F7B units from EMD, they brought in engine #190 "*Choovio*", a former Santa Fe pacific built by Baldwin in 1913 purchased a year prior, into the Sheldon Shops. The B units would be run via a set of hostler controls located above the engineers seat. When the locomotive's throttle was pulled, the special equipment went into action and the B diesel units got power. #190 would continue to operate on the K&A until its retirement in 1962.

## Subsidiaries

* Knoxville, Harriman & Southern Railroad (acquired in 1910)
* Asheville & Hickory Eastern Railroad (acquired in 1924)
* Erwin & Sheldon Railroad (acquired in 1932)
* Gatlinburg, Dupont & Western Railroad (acquired in 1932)
* Sheldon, Lake Junaluska & Pisgah Forest Railroad (bought 47% of its shares in 1934)
* Waynesville & Southeastern Railroad (acquired in 1948)

## Steam Locomotives

The offical livery for the steam locomotives in the categories, freight, local, mixed, and switching consists of black paint with white pinstriping. The cab roof, tender deck, and cowcatcher are painted red and the smokebox and smokestack painted white.

As of 1950, all K&A steam locomotives are equipped with CB Radioes to communicate with the dispatcher (cabooses are also equipped with his device). In the cabs of steam locomotives, you would also find a signal panel on both the engineer and fireman sides which give the crew information about the signals up ahead. When the signal changes to a less favorable indication, a shrill warning whistle sounds which the engineer must acknowledge by turning off the sound device. If he fails to do so in time, the brakes immediately come on.

## Passenger Trains

The Knoxville & Asheville also ran some named trains such as:

* The "*Smoky Mountain Limited*", which ran between Knoxville and Asheville and back with a stop in between at Sheldon, North Carolina. This service was taken over by AMTRAK by 1982.
* The "*Pigeon*", a local passenger service that stops at every station between Knoxville and Asheville. This is the only passenger service run and operated by the K&A after 1982.
* The "*Erwin Flyer*", which ran between Sheldon, NC and Erwin, TN, connecting with the Clinchfield Railroad. This service began loosing ridership when the Clinchfield ended passenger services in 1955 and by 1980, the last train ran.
* The "*Wilmington Warbler*", services began in 1949 and ran from Knoxville, Tennessee to Rutherfordton, North Carolina where the line connected with the Seaboard Air Line. Then it would to straight towards Wilmington, North Carolina under the Seaboard's Permission of course. Until 1956, steam locomotives handled the segment from Rutherfordton to Wilmington, but when the SAL dieselized that year, a Seaboard diesel would take the train from there. Services ran until 1967 when the SAL merged with the Atlantic Coast Line to create the Seaboard Coast Line and the new company did not want to continue the services.