East Tennessee and Western North Carolina 12
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 No. 12 at the main depot on October 26, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad 12, also known as Tweetsie Railroad 12, is a narrow-gauge 10-26-D class 4-6-0 "Ten Wheeler" type steam locomotive located near Blowing Rock, North Carolina. It is preserved and operated by the Tweetsie Railroad.
History
No. 12 was built in February 1917 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad.[2] After retirement in 1940, the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad ceased operations in 1950 and No. 12 is the only one of the railroad's narrow-gauge engines still in existence, it would be put into storage for the next twelve years.[2] It was sold to the Shenandoah Central in 1952 where it was restored in 1953 and continued to operate in service until its second retirement in 1954.[2]
No. 12 was put up for sale again and was later sold to the Tweetsie Railroad theme park in 1957, where it received a full restoration and began pulling excursion trains around the park on July 4, 1957.[2] Today, No. 12 continues to operate at the Tweetsie Railroad along with former White Pass and Yukon Route 2-8-2 No. 190.[2] On August 17, 2024, No. 12 was taken out of service to undergo a major rebuild, it is expected to return to service again for the 2025 operating season.[3][4][5]
The locomotive became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Laura A.W. Phillips (October 1991). "East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad Locomotive No. 12" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
- ^ Robbins, Chris (August 17, 2024). "Locomotive No. 12 to Undergo Major Restoration" (PDF). Tweetsie Railroad. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
- ^ "Locomotive No. 12 to Undergo Major Restoration". Yahoo Finance. August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
- ^ "Locomotive No. 12 to Undergo Major Restoration". PR Newswire. August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
