By ALAN HODGE
Special to The Herald
Ready for a ride on a
steam locomotive with a
holdup to boot?-take a trip
to Tweetsie Railroad in
Blowing Rock.
Tweetsie is called “North
Carolina’s original theme
park.” A unique attraction,
+ Tweetsie has plenty to
amuse and thrill both chil-
dren and adults. Open from
May through November,
Tweetsie railroad makes any
season fun.
The heart of Tweetsie
Railroad is the historic Old
Number 12 steam engine.
This locomotive originally
hauled iron ore and lumber
out of the North Carolina
hills on the ET&WNC line.
Locals took the railroad’s
acronym and made the
phrase “Eat Taters and Wear
No Clothes” from it to
express their condition of
poverty. Trains of the rail-
way were known for their
shrill whistle- hence the
name “Tweetsie.”
The ET&WNC operated
from the late 1800s until
1940 when rains washed out
a large portion of track.
Another decade saw the line
close down completely.
Some of the ET&WNC
equipment was sent by the
U.S. Army to Alaska, some
was moved to Central °
America, and other bits
ended up on the scrap heap.
Saved from these fates
by three railroad hobbyists,
Number 12 was purchased
and moved to Harrisonburg,
Virginia and an amusement
Don Hong
* ly been built by the Baldwin
Chris Champion Brandon Walters Tom Smith
park. The park's tracks
washed out in Hurricane
Hazel two years later and
the engine was up for sale
again.
The next person to buy
Number 12 was cowboy
singer Gene Autry.
Incidentally, Autry was also
interested in aviation.
According to a story told by
J.W. Goins of Belmont sever-
al years ago, Autry was the
first person to break the
sound barrier when he
power-dived a P-47
Thunderbolt fighter plane at
an airport near New York.
Anyway, Autry took
delivery of Number 12 with
plans to put it in a
California park. When that
endeavor failed, Number 12
was bought by Tar Heel
Grover Robbins in 1956 for
$17,000.
Tweetsie arrived back in
Hickory on a standard flat
car in May of that year and
was greeted by large crowds
as well as Governor Luther
Hodges. A special “Tweetsie
Homecoming” celebration
was also held. While the lit-
tle engine was in Hickory, it
was restored at the shops of
Northwestern Railway Co.
Number 12 had original-
Locomotive Works in
Philadelphia in 1917 at a
cost of $14,000. It was the
last of the original 13
ET&WNC engines to sur-
vive. Number 12's dimen-
sions are 54 feet long, 9 feet
wide, and 12 feet tall. It
weighs 80 tons, Power
comes from a boiler 54 inch-
Beth Fidler
es in diameter. The tender’s
water tank holds 3,000 gal-
lons and four tons of coal.
July 4, 1957 saw
Tweetsie make its first run at death in 1996.
the 400 acre park we know
today. The tracks had been
laid in a three mile circuit at
Roundhouse Mountain and
had a five percent grade,
two deep cuts, and a
thrilling 225 foot trestle over
Dead Horse Creek.
The Wild West came to
Tweetsie in the late 1950s
when WBTV rented the park
to hold a birthday party for
Terry Coulter
Lisa Snead
| 2002 Taurus.
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THE BIG WHITE BUILDING WITH THE GIANT AMERICAN FLAG!
| 1901 East Frankiin Blvd. 704-867-8341
www.tindolford.com
8 +20% Down, 2000-87 mode!s 11.9% @ 72 mos. 96 & older models 12.9% @ 60 mos. Certain restrictions apply. Plus tax, tag & doc fees. OAC.
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it’s star Fred Kirby. From
that beginning, Kirby and
his singing cowboy act were =~ house.
a Tweetsie regular until his
Today, Tweetsie offers
train rides as well as a wide
variety of other features.
Attractions range from a
railroad museum to carnival
rides. There's also a shoot-
ing gallery, gold panning,
chair lift, deer park, and
Other amusements
include dancing at the
Palace Saloon, arcade
FF EARLTINDOL GD EARLTINDOLGED EARL TINDOL CE53 EARLTINDOL
Certified A Dealer :
Paul Marr
The Wings A Mountain Herald
games, antique cars, ice
cream, and an old time jail-
Tweetsie Railroad will
also be holding a series of
special events this year.
Western Days are coming
May 18-19 with the Saddle
Pals reenactors. Come see 2a
Thomas the Tank Engine at
Tweetsie May 31 through
June 9. The mountain sky
will light up with Tweetsie’s
Fireworks Extravaganza on
Way 2 2, 2002
Railroad
Photo courtesy of Tweetsie Railroad
No. 12 crosses a 225-foot trestle over Dead Horse Creek at Tweetsie Railroad. Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia
built the engine in 1917 at the cost of $14,000. In 1992, the engine was placed in the Naional Register of Historic Places
by the U.S. Department of Interior. i
Festival. Look for Grammy-.
winning entertainers Riders
in the Sky August 3-4.
Come cooler weather,
Tweetsie Railroad will have
the famous Ghost Train fea-
ture October 3-4, 11-12, 18-
19, 25-26, and November 1-
Tweetsie Railroad is
located right on Highway
321 between Boon and
Blowing Rock. For more
information on tickets,
Thursday, July 4. Two weeks schedule, call 1-800-526-
later, July 13-14, Tweetsie
Railroad will host a Magic
Gary Lowery
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