I have heard from friends that the Porter 0-6-0F in storage at the Rayon Plant in Elizabethton, Tenn. is going to be sold for scrap. There is a good picture of the engine on page 142 in the Steam Locomotive Directory of North America. This engine was apparently still in operation at the time of the books publishing in 1988. Someone needs to save this engine.<br>



stationmaster@yonahstation.com

my understanding is that the engine is being <br>donated to the town; unfortunately, they dragged <br>it outside the other day and the whistle promptly <br>walked off imagine that; <br>on a sadder note, looks like the ET Railway that <br>provided service to the rayon plant is down to a <br>handful of customers; get out there and see the <br>ghost of the ET&WNC now! <br>



jwrinn@charlotte.com

I believe the Doe River Gorge track is still down on that nearby portion of the grade - well worth a look. The property was owned by a religious bunch of some ilk when I was last that way. <p>Dave<br>



lathro19@idt.net

Funny you should mention this! The most recent issue of the Friends of the East Broad Top's Timber Transfer newsletter carried a letter from Rev. Phil Raynes, a railroad preservationist who is also a minister affiliated with the church youth camp which now owns the property.<p>He is leading an active effort to make portions of the track passable for use with the group's Fairmont speeder. He reports that 1/2 mile is now speeder-passible with ties laid out for restoration of the next 1/2 mile up to ET&WNC Tunnel #3.<br>



eledbetter@mindq.com

Each year my wife Danah and I show up for CSX's "Santa Express" between Shelby, KY and Kingsport, TN. Last fall we headed up a little early to do some exploring in the Doe River. I got the bug when I bought Delorme's "Street Atlas USA" CDROM, which shows a road through the gorge on the old roadbed.<p>There is a road on part of the old roadbed. It starts at Crabtree, between Roan Mountain and Blevins (the south end of the Gorge), and continues about a mile into the gorge. Look for "Old Railroad Grade Road." An 1888-era wrought iron bridge carries the road over the Doe River at Blevins.<p>Just before Tunnel 5 the road is washed out, and the road dead-ends. From there one can walk the roadbed about a mile to Tunnel 4, where bridges (with rail and some ties) are still in place at each end. Rail is in place from here to Tunnel 2, the north end of the gorge.<p>We got permission from the owners (www.doerivergorge.com) to hike along the roadbed. They don't allow visitors during their open season, but seem used to requests for access other times - the lady at the office had release forms ready to hand. Access is via Doe River Gorge Road south of Hampton. <p>We hiked out to Pardee Point, 1.2 miles, before time caught up with us.<p>The roadbed into Hampton is visible, and the stone abutments to the covered bridge made famous by John Krause's photos are still in place. <p>JAC<br>