1702 leads a westbound train out of Bryson City for the Nantahala Gorge.

1702 leads an afternoon tuck train through Thomas Valley.

1702 leads an afternoon tuck train through Wilmot.

NS 119 leans into the curve at W. Summit Ave. The train would trigger the crossing signals but they would not return to their off state resulting in a slow order for the next train through, P99.

NS P99 heads light towards Tryon St. yard passing Bank of America Stadium and the city skyline.

T31 hustles through the suburbs of West Asheville leading a short train from Canton. I'm used to chasing slow moving GSMR and T59, so trains on this end of the Murphy Branch seem to move along a l... (more)

T31 heads east through Hominy Valley.

T31 with a short train ducks under the Groundhog Rd. bridge bound for Asheville from Canton.

T59 emerges from a tree tunnel and into the morning sun, passing milepost 18 and the Canton yard limits. The train is returning light after a short morning of switching in Waynesville to the west.... (more)

Conductor Tim Keegan gives big double thumbs up as his short Asheville bound train rolls by the storage siding at Coburn on the way out of Canton.

GSMR 1702 charges hard towards Bryson City on what would be her first successful run all the way to Swain County.

A late afternoon test run provided for some rare light on this end of the line.

For the first time in 12 years, GSMR 1702 graces the ragged rails of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad east of Whittier. In a hurry to make a ceremony for her return, the 1942 built locomotive pa... (more)

Should we be grateful for what we have or hopeful for what we don't? While #1702 is the only operating steam locomotive on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, she's not the only one they own. T... (more)

Just east of Whittier, 1702 steams by, in a hurry to make a ceremony for her return in Bryson City. She wouldn't make it though, over heating a bearing just a few miles away, cutting short her mai... (more)