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Smoky Mtn. RR combine 102 and boxcar 504 at Knoxville
Smoky Mtn. RR combine car #102 and boxcar #504 at Knoxville terminal. (Photo courtesy Mr. Jerry Dowling.)

Rolling Stock

The Smoky Mountain Railroad's small roster of vintage rolling stock was nearly as distinctive as its stable of iron horses. Early on, during the KS&E; and K&C-eras;, the railcars were seemingly well-maintained. Employees appeared proud to pose for numerous photographs beside their equipment. Yet, like the line itself, the material condition of the fleet deteriorated during the Smoky's long years (1938 - 1957) under Midwest Steel Corporation ownership. Despite the employees' best efforts at upkeep, management's avoidance of capital reinvestment resulted in deferred maintenance. Available manpower and funds were dedicated to keeping at least one of the locomotives in operation at all times.

Unlike the Smoky's near-legendary locomotive roster, a lack of company records prevents us from compiling an "all-time" rolling stock listing. However, rosters such as the one that follows from the Official Railway Equipment Register give us periodic "snapshots" of the railroad's holdings over the years:


1923 Knoxville & Carolina (K&C) Railroad Rolling Stock Roster*

Car # Type Outside Length
101 Combine ?
103 Coach ?
104 Coach ?
200 Brill passenger railcar 50'
126 Flatcar 41' 5"
127 Flatcar 41' 5"
128 Flatcar 41'
129 Flatcar 41'
130 Flatcar 41'
131 Flatcar 34' 6"
132 Flatcar 40'
200 Gondola, flat bottom 34' 6"
500 Boxcar 34' 8"
501 Boxcar 34' 3"
502 Boxcar 34'
503 Boxcar 34' 6"
504 Boxcar 34'
505 Boxcar 34'
506 Boxcar 34'
507 Boxcar 34' 2"
508 Boxcar 34'
509 Boxcar 34' 4"
510 Boxcar 34'
511 Boxcar 34' 2"
512 Boxcar 34' 3"
700 Stock Car 36' 9"

*As Reported In The February 1923 Official Railway Equipment Register (Courtesy Mr. Jerry Dowling)


As compared to the K&C-era listing, above, what follows is a roster of the Smoky Mountain's rolling stock during its last days of operation. It was compiled using available records and photographic analysis:


1961 Smoky Mountain Railroad Rolling Stock Roster

Car # Type Outside Length Remarks Click for image
100 Combine Approx. 45' Sold (trucks only?) for $200 to C.F. Reedy, Sr., St. Augustine, Florida, for Henry Flagler Rambler restoration project. Car body sighted lying on its side at Sevierville as late as 1972 and probably scrapped. Click here for image
102 Combine Approx. 50' Sold for $500 to C.F. Reedy, Sr., St. Augustine, Florida. Believed cannibalized for Henry Flagler Rambler restoration project. Click here for image
1?? Flatcar Approx. 40' Last used as a derailment tool flatcar. Car number was likely between 126 and 132. Disposition unknown. Click here for image
502 (2nd) Boxcar Approx. 36' Converted watermelon or produce car. Disposition unknown. Click here for image
504 Boxcar Approx. 36' Believed used as a roadside billboard for short-lived Petticoat Junction narrow-gauge tourist railroad near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Burned at that location by Halloween pranksters October 31, 1964. Click here for image
506 (2nd) Boxcar (double-door) Approx. 40' Last SMRR "express" car purchased (mid-1950s) from the Southern Railway due to deterioration of Nos. 502 and 504. Click here for image
508 (2nd) Caboose Approx. 32' Purchased from abandoned Emory River RR circa 1958. Click here for image


100
Tennessee & North Carolina combine #100 crossing Ford Valley Road
Tennessee & North Carolina Railway combination car #100 crossing Ford Valley Road in South Knoxville. (From the McClung Collection)



102
Smoky Mtn. RR combine #100 at Sevierville
Smoky Mtn. RR combination car #102 at Sevierville. (Photographer unknown)



102
Smoky Mtn. RR derailment tool flatcar at Knoxville
Smoky Mtn. RR derailment tool flatcar at Knoxville. (Photographer unknown)



502
Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #502 at Knoxville
Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #502, a converted watermelon car, at Knoxville. (Photographer unknown)



504
Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #504 at Knoxville
Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #504 at Knoxville. (Photographer unknown)



506
Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #506 at Knoxville
Smoky Mtn. RR boxcar #506 at Knoxville. (Photographer unknown)



508
Smoky Mtn. RR (ex-Emory River RR) caboose #508 at Sevierville
Smoky Mtn. RR (ex-Emory River RR) caboose #508 at Sevierville. (Courtesy Mr. John Hewitt)



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