SEVIERVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND CITY OF SEVIERVILLE TO OFFICIALLY DEDICATE “TRACKS OF TIME” SCULPTURE ON MAY 10 IN DOWNTOWN SEVIERVILLE

What: The Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and City of Sevierville will officially dedicate a new sculpture, “The Tracks of Time.” This media event will offer comments about the new public art from Chamber and City officials as well as opportunities to take photographs and video of the new sculpture.

When: May 10, 2022, at 1pm

Where: Bruce Street Gazebo Park (136 Bruce Street, Sevierville, TN)

About: The “Tracks of Time” is a sculpture made from the original railroad tracks that once ran the length of Bruce Street. Created by Brian Tomlinson of Sevierville, the artwork is a gift to the city from the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. The creation is a nostalgic representation of a by-gone era in downtown Sevierville when the train shared the roadways.

In addition to the sculpture, a display of the original train tracks on the lawn of the Sevier County Heritage Center and the decorative replica of the tracks embedded down the center of Bruce Street will be dedicated as a tribute to Sevierville’s historic railroad.

Sevierville’s first train was the Knoxville, Sevierville, and Eastern (KS&E). It was notoriously behind schedule and quickly earned the nickname “Old Slow and Easy” because the train averaged only 11 miles an hour due to its many stops along the route.

The first train arrived in Sevierville in 1910. Initially, the tracks stopped west of the river but in 1916 a trestle was constructed, and the tracks continued along and beyond Bruce Street. The line ran past Pigeon Forge and south to McCookville, about halfway to Gatlinburg. It never reached Newfound Gap as originally planned.

Throughout its financially rocky history, the line operated under four different names: Knoxville, Sevierville, and Eastern (1909-1921), Knoxville & Carolina (1921-1926), Tennessee & North Carolina (1926-1938) and Smoky Mountain (1938-1961).  Founder William J. Oliver envisioned selling his new railroad to the growing Southern Railway System, but the sale never happened.

During its era, the Smoky Mountain Railroad operated unique steam locomotives and wooden passenger and freight cars. The line aided the economic growth of Sevier County and proved essential to the construction of Douglas Dam during World War II. A branch line was constructed to the dam site and the railroad hauled most of the materials and equipment used to construct the dam.

In its final years, the railroad’s track and trestles deteriorated making derailments commonplace. The rise in personal motor vehicle use sealed the line’s fate. The final train ran in January 1961.

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Amanda Marr

amarr@scoc.org