Great Smoky Mountains Railroad

in 2008 The Great Smoky Mountains Railway (GSMR) owns of the Murphy Branch, a former branch line of the Southern Railway between Dillsboro and Nantahala, North Carolina. It began operations in 1988, through a lease agreement between the NCDOT and Malcom and Joan MacNeill. With help of a team of investors, the MacNeils secured the lease only 48 hours before the Norfolk Southern would be dispatching work trains to the Murphy Branch to begin dismantling the track. The full tourist route originally operated farther west to Andrews and Murphy, North Carolina. Service between Andrews and Murphy ended in 1995. Regular service between Nantahala and Andrews ended by 2001. The railroad's owners said they ended the route due to economic reasons. In late 1999, the MacNeills sold the GSMR property to the American Heritage Railways, the owners of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) in Colorado. The railroad also has transported freight via an interchange with the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad in Sylva near Jackson Paper Manufacturing. In 2004, GSMR debuted its "Polar Express" train ride, based on the newly released movie and licensed through Warner Brothers. This ride has been an annual major economy boost for the railroad and the town of Bryson City. In 2019, GSMR broke all attendance records, with more than 91,000 people riding the Polar Express excursion alone. In 2007, due an unresolved dispute with the Dillsboro Town Council, the GSMR decided to relocate its headquarters from Dillsboro to Bryson City and close the Dillsboro depot. However, the Tuckasegee River excursions between Dillsboro and Bryson City continued, with the trips originating in Bryson City and laying over in Dillsboro. However, they resumed on June 4, 2020, with provisions for public health such as social distancing. ==Equipment==

Locomotives GSMR had a current operational diesel locomotive roster of seven 4-axle (B-B) units, as any 6-axle (C-C) unit would be too big for the tunnels, and too long for some the line's tight or sharp curves. All of the current units were built by The Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD). GSMR has two GP9s, Nos. 1751 and 1755, a GP30 No. 2467, two GP38-2s Nos. 2668 and 2335, an F9A No. 4210. GSMR owns one operational steam locomotive; S160 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type No. 1702, which was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in September 1942 for the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1991, it was purchased by the GSMR, and it operated until 2004, when it was taken out of service, due to firebox issues. Afterwards, the restoration work of No. 1702 began in mid 2014 and completed in late July 2016 with the locomotive reentering excursion service. GSMR also owns another 2-8-0 built by Baldwin, Southern Railway Ks-1 No. 722, which worked on the former Murphy Branch from 1904 to 1952 and later operated from 1970 to 1980 in the Southern Railway's steam excursion program. The GSMR purchased it in late 2000 and planned to restore it to operating condition by 2026. The locomotive will be converted to burn oil like No. 1702. During 2010, GSMR purchased a third steam locomotive, a former Swedish State Railways 4-6-0 No. 1149, in Union City, Tennessee. In 1990, the GSMR considered importing a newly-built China Railways SY steam locomotive for use in their operations, but for unknown reasons, they never placed an order. In 2020 GSMR retired GP9 No. 777 and GP7 No. 711 was retired in early 2022 respectively. The two units were purchased by YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson (better known as MrBeast), who used No. 777 and No. 711 for a stunt in a later video. The video were uploaded to YouTube in 2022. No. 777 was scrapped soon after the video it was featured in, and No. 711 was left abandoned in a field in Whittier, NC. Current locomotive roster Retired locomotives No. 777 was retired in early 2020 and No. 711 in early 2022. ==Towns and attractions served==

• Dillsboro • Whittier • Bryson City • Fontana Lake • The Nantahala Outdoor Center ==Smoky Mountain Trains Museum==

The railroad owns the Smoky Mountain Trains Museum in Bryson City, North Carolina; located across Greenlee Street from the Bryson City Depot. The museum features a collection of over 7,000 Lionel model engines, cars and accessories, a large model train layout, a children's activity center, and a gift shop. ==Popular culture==

GSMR's No. 1702 steam locomotive was featured in the 1966 film This Property Is Condemned, starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, and Charles Bronson. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad was used in the filming of 1996 Warner Brothers comedy My Fellow Americans starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner; they stumble onto a charter train full of UNC-Chapel Hill fans headed for the NCAA Final Four. Train scenes in the 1999 DreamWorks SKG film Forces of Nature starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock also were filmed on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. ==Incidents==

• On August 22, 2017, No. 2467 collided into a Georgia Military College coach bus at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, injuring the bus driver and eight passengers. ==See also==