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A BOY on the plank bridge waves as Graham County's sidewinder cranks itself along the weed-grown track toward Topton. Photo by Mallory Hope Ferrell.

The Graham County Railroad... past past and present

THE mid-July sunrise that filtered through the mountain cabin's window was accompanied by the soft chuffing sound of a Shay down on the side of the hill. I quickly dressed and picked up my Nikon and several rolls of Plus-X film. This was a day I'd been looking forward to for some time.

Ed Collins, the veteran Shay driver of the Graham County Railroad Company, had invited me to come over and ride the 12 miles of light iron through western North Carolina's Great Smokies.

After a brisk drive down the hill on a rural road I found Ed, his fireman Wayne Brooks, and the No. 1925 under a homemade coaling tower. Ed gave his usual friendly smile and con

MALLORY HOPE FERRELL

tinued to scrape more coal into the panting little Shay as she sent up a column of gray smoke over the lumber town of Robbinsville.

After coaling up we backed the three-trucker down to the quaint Robbinsville station, the only one on the line and the office of Mrs. Arthur Ford, the GC's only station agent.

We coupled onto the short train, then headed out of the tiny two-track yard with a load of finished lumber from the mill of Bemis Lumber Company, three empty tank cars, and the GC's old wooden caboose, which shows signs of Southern heritage.

The line generally follows rocky Tulula Creek to the Southern's connection at Topton. Occasionally it cuts off through the deep forests that are

responsible for the Graham County Railroad's existence. Now and then the 56-pound rails dip through minor tributaries such as Juts Creek and Jacks Branch without the formality of a bridge. Tiptoeing through the streams is commonplace for the GC's two Shays.

WHEN the Southern Railway's Murphy Branch was built with convict labor in 1886 it opened up a vast area of inaccessible mountain timberland. By 1900 many of the choice and accessible trees had been removed from the area by a method called "splash driving." A stream would be dammed up and logs rolled into the resulting lake behind the dam. Then the dam would be blown up and the logs would be

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literally splashed out of the mountains into deeper rivers. This method worked only with huge, perfect logs that would float and was, needless to say, quite wasteful. The coming of the railroad made it possible to get at more remote stands of timber.

In 1900 the Kanawha Hardwood Company, after limited splash driving by other companies, crossed the high Snowbird Mountains on the south border of Graham County and built several mills along Snowbird Creek. Kanawha tried bringing out the timber on wagon trains with a steam tractor for power. This was soon abandoned in favor of a 3-foot-gauge railroad called the Snowbird Valley Railroad. The operation ended in failure in 1917 and the light 25-pound rails were sold to the Republic of

France for use in the war with Germany.

In 1905 a group of mountain men, realizing that the timber in Graham County could be removed only by rail, organized the Graham County Land & Transportation Company. Plans went so far as to propose a through railroad from Knoxville to Atlanta along the present-day Graham County Railroad right of way. However, the GCL&TC did not go beyond the planning stage. Ten years later the timber along Big Snowbird and Buffalo creeks changed hands, and in 1916 a railroad was graded from Robbinsville to Topton by Whiting Manufacturing Company. Wooden bridges were built and some ties laid in place. A 90-ton used Baldwin rod engine was purchased locally and sent

to Asheville for overhauling. In July 1916 a flood swept through much of western North Carolina and the Baldwin was washed away in the French Broad River, never to be found again. With its one and only locomotive lost, the Graham County Railroad project came to a halt.

The early 1920's saw the Bemis Lumber Company moving south from Fishing Hawk, W. Va., to Robbinsville. Bemis had the title to the land and hardwood along Snowbird, Buffalo, and Santeetlah creeks. At the same time the Champion Fibre Company of Canton, N. C., got the rights to the hemlock and softwoods. Both companies operated their own railroads at that time. Bemis had a standard-gauge Shay-powered line in West Virginia and Champion Fibre had a narrow

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gauge operation at Smokemont, N. C., using Shays, Climaxes, and a Heisler. Bemis Lumber Company completed the Graham County Railroad in 1925. With Bemis came the little No. 1 Shay from West Virginia which was used on construction trains. In February 1925 the GC's new 70-ton Shay arrived from the Lima Works. It sported the impressive road number of 1925 and was to be the only new locomotive ever to run on the line.

Construction of a logging railroad up Big Snowbird Creek was started immediately. A line was built into the Dick Creek section but the track was soon relaid up Snowbird Creek; still later the Dick Creek line was completed.

The logging railroad was called the Buffalo & Snowbird Railroad, but this name was not put on any of the equipment. Construction and operating costs were charged to the B&S to keep them distinguishable from the commoncarrier Graham County Railroad.

Construction of the Champion Fibre Company's 3-foot-gauge railroad began in 1930 from the end of the Buffalo & Snowbird Railroad at a dualgauge yard called Junction. Champion brought in equipment from its Smokemont operation; however, Bemis Lumber Company always operated the narrow-gauge and did the logging. Motive power on the narrow gauge consisted of two 35-ton Shays, a 35ton Climax, a Heisler, and a rare class-A vertical-firebox Climax known locally as "The Black Satchel."

The Big Snowbird operation was cut out by 1942 and a line was again started into the Dick Creek section. The narrow-gauge equipment was stored at the Robbinsville mill. The area around Squally Creek was slated to be logged by trucks, but during the tire and truck shortage of World War II, the Dick Creek line was extended up and over the mountain on a 9 per

G. P. Vance Jr.

THE 1926 backs out of Squally Creek-Dick Creek line on 9 per cent. Year. 1947.

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GRAHAM COUNTY RAILROAD (BEMIS LUMBER COMPANY)

Const. number

and year 931-1904

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Built for Hoover Bros. Lbr., Clearfield, Pa., No. 1; to J. M. Bemis Lbr. Co., Bemis, W. Va.; to Bemis Lbr. Co., Robbinsville, N. C., in 1925.

Built for Foster-Lattimer Co., Mellen, Wis., No. 3; to Langdale Lbr. Co., Antigo, Wis., No. 3; to ArkansasAlabama Lbr. Co., Wetumka, Ala.; to Arkansas-Wis. Lbr. Co., Sylacauga, Ala.; to Foster Creek Lbr. Co., Stephenson, Miss.; to GC.

Used on construction trains. Scrapped 1929.

This engine was never used on the GC or the Bemis log lines. Thought to have been bought for T&NC by GC. Lima records indicate only the sale.

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cent grade into the Squally Creek basin. During the war, Champion Fibre Company moved its remaining 3-foot-gauge equipment to Fires Creek, N. C., on the Shay-powered Tennessee & North Carolina Railroad. After those two lines were abandoned about 1948 one narrow-gauge Shay and a Climax were sent to a West Virginia logger and later were preserved by fans in Michigan and New Jersey.

Originally Shay 1925 doubled as Graham County road engine and as the Bemis Lumber Company woods locomotive. During the day the Shay hauled log trains in the mountains above Robbinsville and at night, with a different crew, made the run to Topton.

In 1929 the No. 4 Shay was purchased from the Hassinger Lumber Company of Kennarock, Va., for use as the woods engine and occasionally for service on the GC. The No. 4 was an unusual four-truck job, but was not very successful. She was in a woods wreck and broke her crank shaft in 1940. Lima wanted so high a price to make the special part that Bemis bought Shay 1926 for the same amount. The No. 4 was hauled from the woods and spent her last years running the dry kiln at the mill. It is interesting to note that Grandpa J. M. Bemis gave his personal check to Hassinger Lumber for $1400. For this sum Bemis received a side door caboose, log loader, log cars, dump cars, and the big Shay.

In 1940 GC loaned No. 1925 to the now abandoned Tennessee & North Carolina Railroad. The T&NC promptly wrecked the Shay, and No. 1926, which had been purchased that year from a nearby power company, be

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came the GC road engine. A runaway log car hit the 1926 head-on in the woods and Ed Collins repaired her with the smokebox front and number plate from one of the little narrowgauge Shays that were stored at Robbinsville. To this day No. 1926 sports the number 3229 on her front plate.

TODAY the Graham County line operates No. 1925 again. She was rebuilt a year or so ago, and Ed Collins still leans his husky frame from the right-hand cab window as he has been doing now for 32 years on the GC's sidewinders.

Ed knows every detail of his Shays and the 12 miles of track. He talked of the old times as we swayed along past the white Sweetgum church.

A few cows moved slowly off the right of way as Ed slowed down and gave a few toots on the mellow whistle as a warning. We passed the fiveman section crew putting in new ties near the settlement of Tulula. They account for one half of the people who work on the GC.

The staccato exhaust of the threetrucker slowed as we approached a wooden bridge across a small stream. Fireman Wayne Brooks dropped a hose into the creek and filled the sidewinder's tank in a matter of a few minutes.

The line leaves Tulula Creek about 9 miles out of Robbinsville and starts a climb on a 6 per cent grade up and over the mountain, then down to Topton.

Ed turned over a box car loaded with finished lumber here several years ago and you can see the clearing the car made as it rolled over and over down the side of the 600-foot

cliff. Luck was with "Big Ed" that day; the 1926 stayed on the right of way.

The track is on a shelf blasted from the side of a 4000-foot mountain of the Snowbird Range. U. S. Highway 129 is up above the cliff on the top of the ridge, and Rowland Creek and the Southern Railway are 800 feet below. Heading downgrade on the 6-per we passed the runaway track; there's no problem with such a short and light train.

Trains heading into Topton run backwards since there is no wye or table there and the ruling grade is with you. Flanges squealed as the Shay led the consist around the descending track.

It was noon when we arrived at Topton. Ed got down and oiled around the Shay. Ed said that when sand or grit gets into the Shay's gears he just "gives 'em some oil and the gears will work themselves clean." We sat in the little yard waiting for the Southern's "Hobo" freight and ate our lunch.

In the shade of the Shay I munched on some of Mrs. Collins' cookies and had a chance to talk with conductor Cown Bateman, who has been on the GC since 1928. Cown had been back in the caboose during the trip down. He said that business was "pretty good" and that the train usually was running three days each week and sometimes more. Back in the 1930's (1930-1936) when the Bemis mill had been closed it had been hard to keep the line going, but they somehow had managed.

Our discussion was broken up by the sound of the Southern's GP9 coming into the yard from the Murphy Branch. The diesel stopped next to Ed and the engineer called down to

see if Ed had any honey for sale. Ed promised to bring some with him next trip. The green and gold growler dropped off the cars, picked up what we had brought down, and backed down to the main line.

Since the limit for the Shay up "The Mountain" is two loads and two empties, two trips were necessary to get the seven cars up to the siding at the top of the grade. There Ed, who is noted for his hymn singing and Bible quoting as he runs his engine, oiled about and whistled off for home.

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The round trip on the Graham County usually requires 5 to 6 hours. The rest of the time and the days the railroad doesn't run are spent switching in Robbinsville or repairing one of the sidewinders in the Bemis machine shop. Those fellows could just about build a Shay from the ground up.

The future of the line seems secure. There is still a great deal of timber in the mountains above the mill, and Champion Fibre and Bemis will realize a return from their joint tree farm in a few years. The Shays too are in good hands. Cown Bateman and L. W. Wilson, who acts as general manager for Bemis Lumber Company, had just returned from a Shay parts shopping trip to West Virginia's then inactive three-Shay Mower Lumber Company.

An afternoon rainshower was approaching as I gave my best regards to the crew and rushed for the car. Ed called to me, "Be sure to send me some of those pictures!" In his thankyou note for the 8 x 10's he added, "The 1926 is in the shop for complete overhaul, so it looks like we'll have the Shays for some time!"

I surely hope so. I

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