"The Shrine Of Shortline Railroading"

Unfortunately, financial and/or legal troubles plagued the line's entire existence, and both its name and ownership changed through the years. Its first sale resulted in its renaming as the Knoxville & Carolina Railroad. Then came the Smoky Mountain Railroad, itself a holding company which leased the route as the "Knoxville Division" of the larger Tennessee & North Carolina Railway. For its final two decades of operation, the line operated as the Smoky Mountain Railroad, the name by which it is most commonly known today.

Regardless of its corporate name, however, the railroad's "Slow & Easy" moniker stuck. In fact, many longtime residents of South Knoxville and Sevier County still use that nickname in referring to the long-abandoned route.

For the sake of completeness, it should also be pointed out that, from 1919 until 1929, the railroad extended beyond Sevierville and Pigeon Forge to McCookville. This extension, constructed mostly to haul timber and iron ore out of the area, was operated by a separate, but affiliated, company, the Pigeon River Railroad (not to be confused with the Pigeon River Railway of North Carolina. Once those two natural resources were depleted, the Pigeon River segment was abandoned.

From the mid-Forties until its 1961 abandonment, railroad authors, photographers, and railfans in general took considerable notice of the struggling "Slow & Easy." While most Class I railroads were already operating diesel locomotives and streamlined passenger cars, the Smoky Mountain stuck to light steam locomotives until 1955. Its antique, wooden rolling stock was of the type one might expect to see in a Hollywood Western movie. Most notably, though, the employees of this independent shortline exhibited an indomitable spirit and great pride in their work, even while laboring continously to keep one daily round-trip train running on uneven tracks and rotting trestles.

Of the many known book chapters, theses, and articles written about the "Slow & Easy," one Trains Magazine piece summed it up best. Author William H. Schmidt, Jr., after riding the Smoky Mountain Railroad and visiting with its dedicated employees, declared the property to be "the Shrine of Shortline Railroading."

Much to our regret, visible remnants of the abandoned line are rapidly vanishing...and vanishing forever. Dozens of new subdivisions and houses in the Seymour and Boyds Creek areas, along with massive tourism-related developments northwest of Sevierville, have obliterated miles of once-pristine roadbed. Compounding this problem are the dense weeds and undergrowth which obscure the remaining segments from view (except in the dead of winter). Only those sections which existed in older neighborhoods and communities of south Knox County remain readily identifiable to visiting railfans. So, if you plan on touring the Smoky Mountain Railroad, do so just after the leaves fall this autumn. Do not procrastinate, for the "Slow & Easy" is fast-disappearing, and photograph every remnant you spot!

2007 marked the founding centennial of the Knoxville, Sevierville & Eastern Railway Company. The centennial of the first train to arrive in Sevierville will be observed in 2010. This website is presented in commemoration of the "Slow & Easy's" 4-year long centennial and as a permanent memorial to the line. Please bookmark this page as a favorite and browse it often. New pages will be added frequently.

Centennial logo - logo commemorating Sevierville's railroad centennial, complete with the Sevier County Courthouse steeple.

Welcome, visitor number , as counted by