Tweetsie Railroad

North Carolina attraction
Tweetsie Railroad is a family oriented Wild West theme park located between Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States. The centerpiece of the park is a 3 mile (5 km) ride on a train pulled by one of Tweetsie Railroad's two historic narrow gauge steam locomotives. The park also features a variety of amusement rides, live shows, a zoo and other attractions geared towards families with children. The park also hosts a variety of special events throughout the year including their Halloween and Christmas themed events.

Grover Robbins, an entrepreneur from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, heard about the locomotive's availability, and purchased Autry's option for one dollar. Robbins then paid the $17,000 purchase price to the Shenandoah Central operators in August, 1955. Robbins' plan was to bring the locomotive and rolling stock back to its original home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, initially as an excursion railroad. Robbins obtained a suitable site midway between the towns of Boone and Blowing Rock, and one mile of track was constructed. After restoration at the Southern Railway shops in Hickory, NC, the No. 12 locomotive and rolling stock were transported up the Blue Ridge Mountains by Charlotte based Moss McLeod Trucking Company. The train would soon become the centerpiece of the new "Tweetsie Railroad" tourist attraction. On July 4, 1957, the locomotive made its first public trip over the line. In 1958, the track was extended to a 3 mile loop around the mountain, and the trains at Tweetsie Railroad have traveled that circuit ever since. Grover Robbins' brothers, Harry and Spencer, were also involved with the operation of Tweetsie Railroad, and the park is still controlled and operated by the Robbins family. In 1960, Tweetsie acquired another coal fired steam locomotive, the No. 190 "Yukon Queen" from Alaska's White Pass and Yukon Route. Also built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1943 for the US Army, the USATC S118 Class engine was part of an 11 locomotive fleet of "MacArthur" 2 8 2s originally constructed for the US Army for use overseas. During World War II, the locomotives were sent to Alaska for use on the White Pass and Yukon. Tweetsie Railroad became a popular tourist attraction, and quickly evolved into the first theme park in North Carolina — and one of the first in the nation. A western town and saloon were built around the original depot area. A train robbery and cowboy and Indian show were added to the train ride, playing off the Wild West theme that was very popular at the time on television and in motion pictures. The theme was enhanced by regular visits from singing cowboy Fred Kirby, who hosted a popular children's television show on Charlotte NC's WBTV. In 1961, a chairlift and amusement ride area was constructed on the central mountain inside the rail loop, and over the decades the park has been expanded with additional rides, attractions, shops, zoo and restaurants.

In 1961, Grover and Harry Robbins built another theme park called "Rebel Railroad" in the Smoky Mountains near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Originally featuring a Civil War theme in connection with the war's centennial, the park was re themed in 1966 as the Wild West "Goldrush Junction", very similar to Tweetsie Railroad. The Robbins brothers sold Goldrush Junction in the late 1960s, and it subsequently went through various owners. In 1976, Jack and Pete Herschend of Branson, Missouri bought the park and redeveloped it as "Silver Dollar City". In 1986, country music star Dolly Parton became a part owner with the Herschends and the theme park became today's Dollywood. The railroad continues to run as the Dollywood Express.

Tweetsie Railroad is located on US 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Tweetsie Railroad's Wild West themed operating season is from April to October. The park is open on weekends in the spring and autumn, and Thursdays through Mondays (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) from Memorial Day weekend until mid August. In addition, the park is open on Friday and Saturday nights from late September through the month of October for the popular "Ghost Train" Halloween event. The park then closes for daytime operations, then re opens on select evenings after Thanksgiving for "Tweetsie Christmas", which runs through the month of December. Other special events are held throughout the season, including a large fireworks display on the Fourth of July, and Railroad Heritage Weekend in August, which focuses on the history of Tweetsie Railroad's narrow gauge locomotives. In addition to the Wild West train adventure and the amusement rides, Tweetsie Railroad has a variety of live entertainment shows. The park hosts numerous special events each season, including Letterland themed days in May for school groups, a week long "Day Out With Thomas" event in June featuring Thomas the Tank Engine and a nighttime "Ghost Train" Halloween event in October.

Tweetsie Railroad has its own locomotive workshop to maintain its two locomotives as well as providing repair, parts and overhaul services for other narrow gauge steam locomotives from several different theme parks such as Walt Disney World, Busch Gardens, Six Flags and Dollywood. In addition, Tweetsie Railroad also currently handles parts, restoration and service of steam locomotives built by Crown Metal Products, having purchased the necessary tooling, jigs, inventory and rights in 2004.