The Laurel Fork Railway was a small,

standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

logging

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that operated entirely in

Carter County, Tennessee Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton. The county is named in honor of Landon Carter (1760-1800), an early settler active in the "Lo ...

from 1912 to 1927. Built by the Pittsburgh Lumber Company to serve a double-band

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

at Braemar, in present-day

Hampton, Tennessee Hampton is an unincorporated community and Census-designated place in Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Located a few miles southeast of Elizabethton and northwest of Roan Mountain, Hampton is surrounded on all sides by the Unaka Mountains ...

. The Laurel Fork Railroad at its peak totaled no more than of rail. Lines and spurs carried

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

from 12,000 acres (48,000 km²) of the mountainous watershed of the Laurel Fork of the

Doe River The Doe River is a tributary of the Watauga River in northeast Tennessee in the United States. The river forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park, and flows to Elizabethton. Hydrography The D ...

that was estimated to contain 150 million board feet (350,000 m³) of

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

. A proposed interchange with the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad failed over inability to negotiate rates favorable to both companies. As a result, the Laurel Fork was incorporated as a common carrier and a six-mile (9.6 km) line into

Elizabethton, Tennessee Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both th ...

was built to carry finished lumber to an interchange with the Virginia and Southwestern Railway. A June 13, 1924,

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

on the

washed away much track and roadbed along the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

. Coupled with diminished production from the mill, this led to a November 7 filing for abandonment that year with the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

. Some operations continued after the flood, but all virtually all logging along the Laurel Fork ceased by 1927. Parts of the railroad grade are used by the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

in the Pond Mountain Wilderness Area through the Laurel Fork valley between Dennis Cove and Hampton.

Laurel Fork Railway rolling stock

The Laurel Fork Railroad locomotive roster included three 70-3 Shay

geared steam locomotive A geared steam locomotive is a type of steam locomotive which uses gearing, usually reduction gearing, in the drivetrain, as opposed to the common directly driven design. This gearing is part of the machinery within the locomotive and should not ...

s, road numbers Nos. 1, 2, and 3 c/n 2390, 2391, and 2760, respectively. Two smaller Shays have been incorrectly identified by several authors as being owned by the Laurel Fork. Conversion work on c/n 187 was performed at their shops for another owner. The Laurel Fork has been mistakenly identified as owner of c/n 2195 due to a Lima clerical error. The equipment roster for the rail company also included two log loaders; a steam shovel; 40 flat cars; 12 service cars; and a

Model T Ford The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

on dump car wheels that was used for inspection trips. As a freight-only carrier, the Laurel Fork Railway owned no passenger equipment.

References

*Waskiewicz, Fred. "Logging Along the Laurel Fork.
National Railway Bulletin
Vol. 63, No. 1, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurel Fork Railway Defunct Tennessee railroads Logging railroads in the United States Transportation in Carter County, Tennessee Railway companies established in 1912 Railway companies disestablished in 1927 1912 establishments in Tennessee Hampton, Tennessee 1927 disestablishments in Tennessee