Page 6 - TN Public Works Nov-Dec 2014 Vol. 32 No. 5
P. 6
by Phil Pindzola
Tweetsie Trail Opens
Connectioning Johnson City and Elizabethton
You may have heard the saying, “It longest rails-to-trail project in Tennessee, closed. The line remained unused until
takes a village,” but when Johnson known as the Tweetsie Trail, which that time.
City decided to implement this very extends from downtown Johnson City to In June of 2013, the land transaction
ambitious project, some commissioners downtown Elizabethton. This begs the was complete between the city and
and citizens were surely saying, “It will question: How in the world did they do Genesee-Wyoming, and all existing rails
take our entire village working together, that for $10 per foot? and crossties were removed. It was time
and then some!” to start designing and constructing the
So…(the conversation must have The Back Story trail. But with limited funds and high
gone), you want to design and build a In 2007 the Johnson City Board of expectations as described above, this was
rails-to-trail project seven miles long for Commissioners entered into negotiations going to take a concerted effort by all. It
less than $10 per foot in add-on costs? for the purchase of 10 miles of an really did take a village to complete the
And oh, by the way, the existing rail line unused rail line owned by Genesee and project.
is completely overgrown, and the trail Wyoming, the parent company of East
needs to be 12 to 14 feet wide with three Tennessee Railway. The narrow gauge The Major Players
inches rock base. The trail includes seven line was constructed in the early 1900s The first step was to organize a citizen
old bridges spanning approximately and stretched from Johnson City to group to raise the money as no federal
500 feet of roadways and waterways Cranberry, North Carolina, and was or state monies were used. That group,
that need to be converted to pedestrian primarily used to transport iron ore from known as the Tweetsie Trail Task Force,
bridges that are substantial enough to the mountains to the smelting plants in was comprised of trail and bicycle
handle maintenance equipment. Also, Johnson City. Interestingly, the width enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and local
the project must include constructing of the rail line was 30 inches wide, thus politicians past and present from all
a re-creation of a train depot and an the name “narrow gauge.” The standard three affected jurisdictions--Johnson
outdoor education center with 1000 feet separation today is 56 inches. City, Elizabethton, and Carter County.
of railing, a pavilion and small bench As time passed and other iron ore That group raised over $250,000; most
amphitheater. Finally, the entrance plaza deposits were found in Minnesota, notably through a bridge adoption
needs to be grand, and the whole trail the usefulness of the line dwindled. program ($140,000), adopt-a bench-
has to exceed everyone’s expectations. Its primary function became logging program ($52,500), a donation from the
And there is only $150K available for and transporting wood products to annual Turkey Trot event held annually
design and construction, so you need to the robust furniture industry in the at Thanksgiving ($25,000), the opening
raise the rest. Not a problem--if a village community. But as the furniture industry day “Tweetsie Trail Trek” event itself
is involved. gave way to international pressure, the ($20,000), and generous donations from
On August 30, 2014, over 2500 villagers customer base further dwindled until individuals throughout the community.
came to experience the birth of the 2003 when the last commercial user Secondly, builders and builder
6 TPW November/December 2014
Tweetsie Trail Opens
Connectioning Johnson City and Elizabethton
You may have heard the saying, “It longest rails-to-trail project in Tennessee, closed. The line remained unused until
takes a village,” but when Johnson known as the Tweetsie Trail, which that time.
City decided to implement this very extends from downtown Johnson City to In June of 2013, the land transaction
ambitious project, some commissioners downtown Elizabethton. This begs the was complete between the city and
and citizens were surely saying, “It will question: How in the world did they do Genesee-Wyoming, and all existing rails
take our entire village working together, that for $10 per foot? and crossties were removed. It was time
and then some!” to start designing and constructing the
So…(the conversation must have The Back Story trail. But with limited funds and high
gone), you want to design and build a In 2007 the Johnson City Board of expectations as described above, this was
rails-to-trail project seven miles long for Commissioners entered into negotiations going to take a concerted effort by all. It
less than $10 per foot in add-on costs? for the purchase of 10 miles of an really did take a village to complete the
And oh, by the way, the existing rail line unused rail line owned by Genesee and project.
is completely overgrown, and the trail Wyoming, the parent company of East
needs to be 12 to 14 feet wide with three Tennessee Railway. The narrow gauge The Major Players
inches rock base. The trail includes seven line was constructed in the early 1900s The first step was to organize a citizen
old bridges spanning approximately and stretched from Johnson City to group to raise the money as no federal
500 feet of roadways and waterways Cranberry, North Carolina, and was or state monies were used. That group,
that need to be converted to pedestrian primarily used to transport iron ore from known as the Tweetsie Trail Task Force,
bridges that are substantial enough to the mountains to the smelting plants in was comprised of trail and bicycle
handle maintenance equipment. Also, Johnson City. Interestingly, the width enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and local
the project must include constructing of the rail line was 30 inches wide, thus politicians past and present from all
a re-creation of a train depot and an the name “narrow gauge.” The standard three affected jurisdictions--Johnson
outdoor education center with 1000 feet separation today is 56 inches. City, Elizabethton, and Carter County.
of railing, a pavilion and small bench As time passed and other iron ore That group raised over $250,000; most
amphitheater. Finally, the entrance plaza deposits were found in Minnesota, notably through a bridge adoption
needs to be grand, and the whole trail the usefulness of the line dwindled. program ($140,000), adopt-a bench-
has to exceed everyone’s expectations. Its primary function became logging program ($52,500), a donation from the
And there is only $150K available for and transporting wood products to annual Turkey Trot event held annually
design and construction, so you need to the robust furniture industry in the at Thanksgiving ($25,000), the opening
raise the rest. Not a problem--if a village community. But as the furniture industry day “Tweetsie Trail Trek” event itself
is involved. gave way to international pressure, the ($20,000), and generous donations from
On August 30, 2014, over 2500 villagers customer base further dwindled until individuals throughout the community.
came to experience the birth of the 2003 when the last commercial user Secondly, builders and builder
6 TPW November/December 2014
