Hiwassee Loop Excursion - L&N CSX - Tennessee Fall Colors - TVRM

This video shows most of the excursion operated between Copperhill, TN and Hiwassee State Park near Etowah, TN. This line was originally L&N, and later CSX. The highlight of the trip is travelling the famous Hiwassee Loop where the railroad crosses over itself while making almost two complete circles to handle the change in elevation. This video starts after leaving the town of Copperhill, on the Tennessee / Georgia state line, and runs for about two hours. In addition to seeing the loop, the railroad also passes the Apalachia Dam (operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority); the power house, next to the railroad, is over eight miles down stream. Much of the railroad is next to the Hiwassee River, but leaving Copperhill the railroad spends several miles next to the Ocoee River. The passenger equipment on this trip was three coaches and one dome/observation car. The video was shot from the rear vestibule of the rear car on the return trip (and you may hear passengers talking from time to time). The locomotive was GMTX 2004, a GP38 leased from GATX. Copperhill was once the location of extensive copper mining. When the mine was closed the line faced abandonment by CSX, but the line remains open because of the tailings from the mine. When copper is mined iron is often also present, but usually in quantities that were once uneconomical to recover. Thanks to new processes the mine tailings are now valuable as iron ore and are being hauled out. During the video you will see a string of loaded gondola ore cars stored on a siding. Passengers are bused from the Etowah Depot to the train in Hiwassee State Park. This trip is all in Tennessee, but the Georgia state line is at Copperhill, and Hiwassee Loop is only a few hundred feet from the North Carolina state line. The dam is in North Carolina. Locations 46:20 - Apalachia Dam - Hard to see because of trees - also at 47:00 50:10 - Over the trestle at Hiwassee Loop 54:40 - Under the trestle at Hiwassee Loop 1:42:00 - Apalachia Dam Power Station November 8, 2014 ©2014 Bryan Turner