Rick & Jennifer join us and we visit the BIG SOUTH FORK SCENIC RAILWAY

 

May 17, 2021

 

After we left the rally in Sevierville, TN, we traveled to Corbin, KY, where Rick & Jennifer VanNorman joined us. We are going to travel together the rest of the summer. They have never traveled this long, or this far, so friends back in Little Rock have laid bets as to how long they last before heading home again. It should prove interesting as to how they adapt to being away from home this long.

 

BIG SOUTH FORK SCENIC RAILWAY

 

“The Kentucky & Tennessee Railway once stretched over 25 miles into the big South Fork River valley and operated 12 steam locomotives. It served as the primary passage not only for timber and coal, but also for workers and supplies going to camps along its line. The K&T, like many short line railroads, operated steam locomotives several years after the mainline railroads had switched to diesel power.

 In the 1950’s, the Stearns Company closed several coal mines and the K&T discontinued passenger service. By 1976, the Stearns Coal & Lumber

  Company had sold its mining operations to Blue Diamond Coal Company. The company’s vast land holdings transferred to the National Forest, the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area and private ownership. Coal mining ceased along the K&T in 1987.”

 

Today the RR is strictly a private enterprise, it travels from Stearns to the old mining town of Bethell. The train ride takes about ½ hour, then we had 2 hours to explore the town, mines and eat lunch.

 

The tracks run through lush greenery, following a shallow creek to the old mining town.

Another thing I learned to do at the rally was how to work with Pic Collage. What do you think? It's a lot more time consuming to do it this way!!