‘Big Boys’ in miniature to visit Carter Railroad Museum for Heritage Day Saturday

JOHNSON CITY (Aug. 26, 2021) – The “Wild West” is the theme of this month’s Heritage Day at East Tennessee State University’s George L. Carter Railroad Museum this Saturday, Aug. 28.

One of the highlights of this free monthly event at the museum, located in ETSU’s Campus Center Building, will be models of the world’s largest steam engine, the Union Pacific Railroad’s 4-8-8-4 Big Boy design made famous during World War II. This, as well as equipment from other famous operations like the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific and today’s Union Pacific and BNSF super railroads, will make this an event to remember.

“There is actually a Big Boy restored to operation right now, but it is unlikely to make a visit to Johnson City, so we are doing our part to bring ours out,” says Heritage Day Program Coordinator Geoff Stunkard. “We have the curves and long stretches of track on the big Mountain Empire Model Railroaders (MEMRR) club-owned HO scale layout to let them run. Add in some of the unique Cab Forward design steamers of Southern Pacific and well-recalled Santa Fe engines, and we will ‘tame the West’ again on Saturday, at least in miniature.”

The expanses that made up the western United States were a daunting challenge for railroad builders, and rail lines eventually came across from places as diverse as El Paso, Texas, and Minneapolis to reach what would be not simply abundant natural resources but the ports of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. These long distances and mountainous regions required special locomotives, enormous engineering programs and unique solutions.

One often less-remembered fact, Stunkard said, is that poor and scarce water availability in the arid Southwest was a driving factor in dieselizing this area early on, eliminating steam locomotion. In areas like the northern Rockies, it was electrification of the lines that got trains through lengthy tunnels. Regardless, the grandeur of destinations like Yellowstone, Yosemite and Hollywood kept the passenger train business competitive until the 1950s, when the interstate highway system was created.

Today, the remaining lines serve the vital purpose of moving produce, lumber, imported goods and more across the nation, while Amtrak plies its business to some of those original destinations.

“Today, these are the super railroads that still conquer the mountains of the west, and with more horsepower than anything in the past,” notes Stunkard. “Though this HO Scale model layout overall is set in the 1950s Southern Appalachians, you should expect there to be a wide array of trains from the whole era of America’s ‘Wild West’ in operation here on Saturday.” 

One of four operational displays at the museum, the large 24x44 HO scale layout owned and operated by the MEMRR, will be the focus of this event. Other trains will also be in operation on the interactive G scale railroad representing rural logging, the large N-scale display, and the museum’s nationally-recognized ET&WNC narrow gauge exhibit in HOn3 scale. As usual, members of the MEMRR and the George L. Carter Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society serve as hosts during the museum’s operating hours and will be on hand to meet with visitors and explain the exhibits.

The Carter Railroad Museum is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and includes model railroad layouts, a children’s activity room and ongoing programs. Admission is free but donations are welcome and go toward museum upkeep.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all visitors must wear a mask and will be temperature-checked at the museum entrance.

The museum may be identified by a flashing railroad crossing signal at the back entrance of the Campus Center Building. Visitors should enter ETSU’s campus from State of Franklin Road (at the traffic light) onto Jack Vest Drive and continue south to David Collins Way, then left to John Roberts Bell Drive at end, then right and then next left on Ross Drive (176) to end, adjacent to the flashing RR crossing sign.

Due to ongoing construction adjacent to the Carter Railroad Museum, visitors will have to park approximately one block away and walk to the museum. Visitors should not park in the fenced construction staging site that is marked “DANGER, CONSTRUCTION ZONE, DO NOT ENTER.” Visitors parking in the construction zone risk having vehicles impounded or damaged.

For more information about the museum or Heritage Day events, contact Fred Alsop at 423-439-6838 or alsopf@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.