Nashville & Eastern Railroad
The NERR provides freight service over former Tennessee Central Railway trackage owned by the Nashville & Eastern Railroad Authority, a council composed of Wilson, Smith, and Putnam counties to preserve and improve rail service in the Upper Cumberland region. The NERA owns approximately 110 miles of track from a connection with CSX at Nashville (Vine Hill) to Monterey, TN, including two branches: 8 miles from Donelson to Old Hickory, and 7 miles from Gordonsville to South Carthage. The lines currently operated are Nashville to Algood, 95 miles, the Old Hickory Branch, and a few miles of the Carthage branch. Passenger excursion service is operated by the Tennessee Central Railway Museum, which is located in east Nashville on the site of the old TC yard.
Heritage
The entire trackage was a part of the Tennessee Central Railway, which extended at its zenith from Hopkinsville, KY to Harriman, TN. In 1968 the TC was parceled out by a bankruptcy court judge to the Illinois Central, Louisville & Nashville, and Southern Railroads. The Nashville-Harriman line was split between the L&N and Southern, with the L&N getting Nashville-Crossville. Since there was no initiative to continue through service on the line, the portion from Monterey to Crossville was abandoned and dismantled in 1981. The remainder of the line was sold in 1986 by the Seaboard System to the NERA.
Images
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TCRM Nashville-Cookeville excursion train, eastbound at Tennessee Tech (approx. MP 91.2 from Nashville) on 04/09/1999.
TCRM Nashville-Cookeville excursion train, at same location on 10/28/2000.
