Publication Date
4-1-2021
Abstract
JOHNSON CITY – The George L. Carter Railroad Museum, located in the Campus Center Building of East Tennessee State University, will recall the era of diesel-powered railroading this Saturday, April 24.
With COVID-19 safety protocols in place, visitors will be welcomed to “Diesel Daze,” a day of internal-combustion trains dating from 1935 through 1970. Steam trains will be in operation on exhibits devoted to older reference points, but “usurpers to the throne” of horsepower will be on the HO and N scale displays.
The event places emphasis on unique earlier designs, stylized and painted for eye-catching beauty.
“Today, the special diesels that helped renew Depression-era interest in passenger travel are nearly as exotic as the steam engines that they replaced,” said Geoff Stunkard, the museum’s Heritage Days program coordinator. “Due to aggressive trade-in programs by the manufacturers in the 1960s era, many forms survived as only an example or two. The layouts at the museum allow visitors to see them in action again.”
Mountain Empire Model Railroaders club and the George L. Carter Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society volunteers will also attend, bringing a mix of personal and rarely-seen trains. Two of four operating model layouts will feature these trains in action, though all layouts will operate during this free event.
In addition to “Diesel Daze,” the museum is organizing a “Tweetsie Time Celebration,” June 4-5, with activities and seminars for railroad enthusiasts as well as regional history and geography buffs. It is being held in lieu of the annual BIG Train Show, canceled a second year due to COVID-19 and ongoing renovations to the ETSU Ballad Health Athletic Center (Mini Dome).
“We truly regret not being able to host the BIG Train Show for 2021,” said Museum Director Fred Alsop. “As an institution of higher learning, we are now preparing a group of special events to happen in its place over those dates. This event may have to be limited to registered attendees but will cover a great deal of information on both the prototype and our model of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina operation. The museum will be open during its normal hours as well.”
Additional details for “Tweetsie Time” will be made public as they become available and through the museum’s website www.etsu.edu/railroad/. The museum is also seeking artifacts for display dedicated to the former “Tweetsie” line, the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad.
The Carter Railroad Museum is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and includes model railroad layouts, a special child’s activity room and ongoing programs. There is no admission fee, but donations are welcome for its upkeep.
The museum can be identified by a flashing railroad crossing signal at the back entrance to the Campus Center Building. Visitors should enter ETSU’s campus from State of Franklin Road (at the traffic light) onto Jack Vest Drive and continue south to David Collins Way (then left) to John Roberts Bell Drive at end, then right and then next left on Ross Drive (176) to end, adjacent to the flashing RR crossing sign.
For more information about the museum or Heritage Day events, contact Fred Alsop at 423-439-6838 or alsopf@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, please call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.
Document Type
News Article
