Prototype Railroad Activities
Bus Trip Through Tweetsie Country $120.00
This has been extremely popular with previous Hickory conventions so we are offering it again. This is a pre convention activity so attendees and vendors can participate. Participants will board a tour bus at the convention hotel early on Tuesday morning, August 31st for a guided tour into the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains. They will travel to Boone, the eastern terminus of the ET&WNC/Linville River Ry system. Beginning at the old depot location, a tour guide will point out points of interest as the bus follows the old right of way westward. The bus will pass through the communities of Shulls Mills, Foscoe, and Linville, showing how much the railroad had to climb to pass through three watersheds between Boone and Linville, crossing the Continental Divide once. West of Linville the divide is crossed again as the right of way approaches Newland.
A 45-minute stop will be made at Newland, NC to tour the restored Linville Depot. This station has been carefully restored to its original glory and houses a museum full of artifacts beyond the building itself. Another local museum is next door.
After this stop, the tour bus will move on, passing the community of Cranberry, where the Linville River Ry met the original ET&WNC. After passing through Elk Park the tour will move into Tennessee, passing through the railroad communities of Shell Creek, Roan Mountain, and Crabtree, following the general route of the railroad. Unfortunately the tour bus is too wide to run on the section of right of way that was converted into a local road, but it will be pointed out, in case anyone comes back through the mountains during or after the Convention.
The tour bus will pull into the Doe River Gorge Ministries complex around lunch time. Passengers will disembark and immediately eat a lunch provided by the camp. After lunch it really gets interesting. Since 2011 or even 2021, the DRG Ministries purchased a train collection from another Christian Camp in Oklahoma. A large oval of more than one mile of 3’ gauge track has been constructed in the large meadow near the river. The best part of the story is the collection included two steam locomotives! A new boiler has been constructed for one of the Porters, and barring the usual bugaboo of mechanical problems, everyone should get a ride behind this historic steam engine! After this ride, the group will go up to the Doe River Gorge track and ride their usual train up to Pardee Point, which is a mile and a half up original ET&WNC right of way, in the most beautiful part of the original route.
After these two narrow gauge train rides, everyone will climb back on the bus and continue following the ET&WNC line westward. Beginning in Elizabethton TN the old right of way is now a hiking and biking trail. The bus will make its way to Johnson City, the western terminus of the line, passing the 120 narrow gauge engine house (still in use by the East Tennessee Railway) and the 135 year old depot which has been restored to its 1925 appearance. The next stop will be the Johnson City Railroad Experience. This is the new location for the George L. Carter Railroad Museum that used to be on the campus of ETSU. This is the home of several model railroad layouts, including the famous HOn3 ET&WNC layout that has been featured many times in the HOn3 Annuals produced by White River Productions.
After this visit, everyone will climb back on the bus and return to Hickory via I-26 and I-40. This is a full day of touring, train riding, and model railroading for one all inclusive price. The bus should arrive back in Hickory by early evening.
Even if you have done this tour before, the addition of narrow gauge steam at the Doe River Gorge makes this tour well worth coming into town a day early. Where else will you get a guided tour over two railroad routes for $120.00?
Tweetsie Railroad
We are very pleased to announce that we will be having a private afternoon at Tweetsie Railroad on Thursday September 2nd, available only to Convention Attendees. Tweetsie will be running two train trips, one at 1 PM and another at 3 PM. Shop tours will be available as well. This activity is completely FREE to all paid attendees and vendors. Tickets are limited so be sure to indicate your interest in this activity when you register. The trips will include photo run by opportunities for photographers. Non-paid attendees, including spouses, will be charged a nominal fee. More details will be included in the 47th NNGC Timetable.
Tweetsie Railroad Heritage Weekend
For those planning on coming to the area early or live in the region, there will be a special opportunity available the weekend before the National Narrow Gauge Convention opens. Tweetsie Railroad hosts their annual Heritage Weekend the last weekend of August each year. 2027 will be special as Tweetsie will be celebrating 70 years as a theme park. Usually two trains operate that weekend. No. 12 pulls their historic coach car around the mountain excursion style separately from the usual park train. This doubles the opportunities for photos and is usually heavily patronized by photographers. After the park closes a special photo trip is made, letting photographers get off the train and experience runbys at a couple of locations. On Sunday the locomotives usually double head, providing another unique experience opportunity. Shop tours are offered and historical presentations are given by historian Johnny Graybeal. The train is only a part of what is available at Tweetsie. Tweetsie Railroad is a well established theme park with numerous carnival rides, live shows, a petting zoo, and specialty shops. It is very family friendly and has been for generations now. Well worth a visit.
More information regarding Heritage Weekend can be found at www.tweetsie.com
Aberdeen Carolina & Western Excursion (Standard Gauge) $
The Convention Committee is committed to finding unique train riding opportunities for our attendees, especially those who are travelling a great distance to join us, whether that is from across the United States or across the planet. We are extremely pleased to announce that the 47th National Narrow Gauge Convention is partnering with the Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railroad to offer a rare mileage train excursion using mid-20th Century equipment.
The AC&W owns a portion of the original Norfolk Southern Railroad, which ran from Charlotte NC to Norfolk VA for several decades. Some of you might be familiar with their passenger train, which has made several trips in the Pinehurst area. They have collected a train set of passenger cars that span the period of the Golden Age of Rail Travel, from the 1912 “Pinehurst” car to a dome car.
The train will leave from a station on the east side of Charlotte on Tuesday August 31, 2027 and run eastward into the North Carolina sand hills. Guests will be able to travel throughout the train, enjoying the painstakingly restored cars, along with adult beverages and refreshments, making this a truly unique social experience. The trip will last several hours, from afternoon into the early evening. Motive power on the front of the train is first generation EMD F units, adding to the historic “feel” of the excursion.
This trip is limited to 150 people and is considered a private train for NNGC Convention Attendees. Any remaining seats after March 31, 2027 will be opened up to the general public, and as this is a new offering for the Charlotte region, once it is advertised publicly it will quickly sell out, so get your tickets early. The link to buy tickets for this special excursion is www.
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
The Convention Committee is currently in negotiations with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad to run a special excursion on Sunday September 5th in conjunction with the National Narrow Gauge Convention. The GSMR owns most of what once was Southern Railways’ famous Murphy Branch, which ran from Asheville NC to Murphy NC over tracks that climbed the sides of mountains at 4% grades, bored through tunnels when no route was available, followed rivers between the few towns in the region, all on rails and bridges that were too light for heavy duty steam engines. Does any of this sound familiar? The Murphy Branch has been called by many an “honorary narrow gauge” which happened to have rails spaced 56.5 inches apart.
Details are still being worked out, but we hope to use newly restored 2-8-0 No. 722, a former Southern Ry engine that spent most of her 40+ year career on the Murphy Branch. This engine was purchased by the ET&WNC in 1952 along with Sou No. 630, for service on the ET&WNC after the narrow gauge portion was closed. Both engines served for 15 years on that short line until Graham Claytor was able to purchase them for his Southern Steam Program. Thus the locomotive that hopefully will be pulling the train will have some narrow gauge pedigree.
More information on this excursion will be made available once the details are worked out.
Andrews Valley Rail Tours
Another rail oriented attraction on the old Murphy Branch is Andrews Valley Rail Tours. This is a company that offers rides on a 9.6 mile round trip ride on a section of the Murphy Branch. You can choose between a pedal powered rail bike, a cart ride (no pedaling), a speeder ride, or another speeder shaped like a locomotive. In 2026 all seats were $59.95. A perfect way to enjoy the beauty of the mountains of North Carolina by rail. Please visit their website at www.andrewsvalleyrailtours.com for more details.