The COMPLETE Collection
Volume I: Early Narrow Gauge Locos
Volume II: The Ten Wheelers
Volume III: The Depots
Volume IV: Freight Cars Part A
Volume V: Freight Cars Part B
Volume VI: Passenger Cars
ALONG THE ET&WNC Volume I: Early Narrow Gauge Locomotives
The first of a multi-volume series by acclaimed East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad historian Johnny Graybeal, detailing the southeast's most beloved narrow-gauge railroad. The series highlights the day-to-day operations of the railroad as seen by the men who worked the line. Historians and modelers alike will relish the vintage rolling stock details, equipment drawings, exquisite maps and dozens of never-before-published photographs.
Volume I covers early narrow gauge locomotives of the line. See the Watauga "Cranberry" and "Unaka" as never before, as well as Numbers 4, 5 & 6. Switcher Number 7, Linville River 28 and the geared locomotives of the Linville River Railway are also featured. Spec sheets, drawings and modeling hints are all provided. Over 100 photos, maps & drawings.
Award Winner: Best Soft Cover Book, 2001.
Copyright 2001 by Johnny Graybeal
Preview of VOLUME I: Meet the locomotives
Locomotive Number 1, also known as the Watauga, sits in front of the Cranberry depot around 1895. This engine served the railroad until 1911.
Richard Huddle Collection, via Lees-McRae College.
Locomotive No. 2, affectionately known as the Cranberry, is shown at Shell Creek around 1882, and is only a year old. George Allison Collection.
Locomotive No. 3, also known as the Unaka, is shown here as a woodburner around 1882. This was the most powerful engine on the railroad for twenty years. No. 3 was sold in 1911 to the Fosburgh Lumber Company. Ed Bond Collection.
The train crew poses in front of Locomotive No. 4 at Newland, NC, around 1914. No. 4 was purchased new in 1902 for the ET&WNC, and was sold to the Linville River Ry in 1914.
Cy Crumley Collection, via Ruth Tupper.
Number 5 was built new for the ET&WNC in 1903, and was sold to the Linville River Railway in 1919. By the time this picture was taken circa 1915, she had been outfitted with a steel cab, smoke-box handrail, and two babies.
Ed Bond Collection.
Train crews enjoyed posing with their engines, especially in some official-like pose. Number 6 is shown here in the late Twenties, only a few years before it was parked during the Depression. It was built in 1904 for the ET&WNC, sold to the Linville River Railway in 1917, and scrapped in 1937.
Doug Walker Collection.
Along the ET&WNC Volume II: The Ten Wheelers
Volume II delivers nearly 200 pages with over 190 photographs and drawings of the ET&WNC's trademark locomotives. Volume II is a treasure trove of information for the historian and modeler alike.
Each engine, Numbers 8 thru 14, are discussed in detail from their engineering design, to their life and modifications on the railroad, to service on other lines and in Alaska. Charts include coal usage by year, specifications, and even days of usage by the fleet of famed locomotives.
Number 10 is parked outside of the Johnson City engine house in late 1941 or early '42. The engine sparkles with fresh green paint, aluminum trim, and gold lettering and striping all over the place. No. 10 was purchased by the War Department in May 1942, for service on the White Pass & Yukon Railroad in Alaska. There it was damaged in a roundhouse fire on December 25, 1943, and scrapped in 1945.
Jim Dowdy Collection, via Mike Dowdy.
Locomotive Number 11 was one of the workhorse engines of the ET&WNC. Built in 1916 by Baldwin, this engine served faithfully for 35 years. It is shown here at Johnson City, TN, on August 7, 1942, fresh out of the paint shop. So fresh in fact, that the outside contractor has not yet applied the striping on the cab, the only striping to remain during the World War II years.
Philip Laws Collection.
In late 1938, Number 12 replaced Number 7 as the switcher engine for a time, after that engine was retired. The trademark cowcatcher was removed and replaced with a switching pilot. Number 12 was the only ET&WNC narrow gauge locomotive to be saved from scrapping after that section closed in 1950. It continues to haul people today at the Tweetsie Railroad, in Blowing Rock, NC.
Jim Dowdy Collection, via Mike Dowdy.
Number 14 is parked in front of the Johnson City engine house in 1941. An oval of letters spelling ET&WNC RAILROAD was added to the Clarence Hobbs paint scheme in 1938, creating a distinctive look. No. 14 was also sold to the War Department for use in Alaska during World War II. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the same fire that consumed No. 10 in 1943, and was scrapped in 1945.
Jim Dowdy Collection, via Mike Dowdy.
ALONG THE ET&WNC VOLUME III: Depots
Volume III examines in detail the depots of this famous railroad. These buildings were unique from other railroads and unique from each other. Each depot is covered in detail, along with the early history and interesting facts about the communities served by the line. Careful research reveals the early history of the Cranberry mine area, how the "Old Fields of the Toe" became Newland, how Pineola came to exist, and the coming of the railroad to Boone.
This volume, like its predecessors, is an instant reference classic for the historian, railfan, and modeler alike. Dozens of drawings offer accurate interior arrangements and overall measurements of the ET&WNC and Linville River Railway depots. These drawings are offered in real-size measurements, convertible to any modeling scale. With the photographs as guides, nearly every depot and station shelter on the line can be reproduced. Whether your interest is in history, architecture, or modeling, this volume offers a wealth of never-before-published information.
PREVIEW OF VOLUME III: Depots
From Johnson City to Elizabethton, from Hampton to Roan Mountain, from Elk Park to Cranberry, to the halls of the Montezuma (literally), this volume of Along the ET&WNC presents stunning information never-before published, as well as many photographs that have not seen the light of day for nearly a hundred years.
No stop on the ET/Linville River route is left untouched. Photos of Johnson City, Bemberg, Elizabethton, Cranberry, and Boone are of course covered in detail, but so are the facilities at Milligan College (left), Shell Creek (above), Townsend, Jestes Siding, and Pineola!
In addition to the rare photographs, scale floorplan drawings are provided for many stops, including Johnson City, Elizabethton, Blevins, Hampton, Shell Creek, Roan Mountain, Elk Park, Cranberry, Newland, Pineola, Montezuma, Minneapolis, Vale, Linville, Foscoe, Shulls Mills, and Boone. Elevation drawings are provided as well for the facilities at Johnson City and Boone.
At 198 pages, Graybeal provides an in-depth study of each stop along the line, beginning at Johnson City and ending at Boone. In addition to the details of the railroad buildings, you will learn about the rise and fall of each hamlet served by the line, and interesting facts that have only recently come to light. Learn about the early history of the lands surrounding Cranberry, the richest iron mine on the east coast. Find out how the former president of the Western North Carolina Railroad wrecked the early ambitions of the Linville River Railway, and of course, understand how the little ET beat the "Virginia Creeper" to Boone!
Dozens of detailed drawings like the one of Shell Creek (above) are included in this must-have book. In some locations like Hampton, where two distinct buildings stood, both floorplans, as well as their dates of service are included for the historian and modeler alike.