Got this from the Railspot group at Yahoo: http://www.suntimes.com/output/travel/tra-news-tweetsie29.html Make that trip NOW before it's too late!
It will be interesting to learn how this plays out. There is also still a common carrier operation on part of the old ET&WNC: East Tennessee Railway Boxcab E50
Money is at stake. Tweetsie will die. Case in point. In the Temecula Valley (S. California) there is a road that runs down the middle of the Temecula wine country. I believe there are 23 wineries. Callaway currently holds by far one of the largest tract of land among the wineries, which I believe is 800 acres. Other wineries have around 7 - 20 acres. Since the passing of the Callaway parents, the kids have decided to sell the land to developers instead of the other wineries. The other wineries tried to have the sale stayed but after five months failed. Big deal! Wines from S.Cal But consider this. Wine making has been around much longer in S. Cal than in Napa or Sonoma! And this area has a special micro-climate that is necassary to produce good grapes. Back to my point. Are the Callaway kids concerned about the wine heratige and the damage that housing will cause this fragile area? NOPE!!! Too much $$$$ at stake! Remember that the next time you buy a Callaway golf ball or club! Ahhhh, all the faux crap built in the heart of a beautiful area. Just imagine the $$$ the developers will get!
Yeah, we had some news on that a while back. I am guessing that the railroad will perish. I travel around the state of North Carolina (my home state) a lot for work. I have learned that the mountains are becoming very desirable for retirees and other folks moving in from out of state. A lot of relatively poor or undeveloped areas are suddenly fetching very high prices. The area in question is closer to more developed areas so it is positioned to grow sooner. Harold
All the police from here talk of retiring in N.C. or S.C. There was a running joke on the recent Chief. He moved here from there... The joke being he was living in reverse. Back to rail things...