ET&WNC - Elizabethton Depot

ET&WNC - EAST TENNESSEE AND WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA RAILROAD DEPOT

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This photo of the Elizabethton Depot from the East Tennessee AND Western North Carolina Railroad Historical Society Collection, 1883-2005 is dated 1895.  While there are some discrepancies as to the actual date the depot was built, by the 1880s the "Tweetsie" ran a regular route through Elizabethton, which was an important stop for the ET&WNC.  A description of the depot is given in Along the ET&WNC Volume III by Johnny Graybeal, as the most modern, due to indoor restrooms instead of "privys located elsewhere."  As with many depots of the time, there were separate waiting rooms for black and white passengers.  Graybeal states that in 1920, as the community grew, a new 25'x36' section was added with a waiting room, two bathrooms, and and office space.  In 1926, phone service was installed from Elizabethton to Bemberg.

FORMER SOUTHERN RAILWAY DEPOT

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The 1902 Sanborn Map shows the ET&WNC depot located between E and D streets on the opposite side of the railroad tracks.  In 1924, the maps indicate the ET&WNC depot at the corner of Johnson Avenue near Watauga Extract Company.  As the photograph indicates, ET&WNC began using the former V&SW Depot, later Southern, in 1940. 

The 1941 Elizabethton Directory, provided by the Elizabethton-Carter County Public Library, lists the address for Southern Railway as 201 North Pine Street (intersection of East E Street & North Pine Street).  The 1946 Directory lists the same address for ET&WNC.

This depot is built in the Gothic Revival style with raking eaves.  The windows are square, two-over-two with no peak.  The front has a partial platform fronting the freight and passenger exit door. The bay ticket window features a separate roof under the main roof and separates two entrance doors. 

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This photo shows the back of the depot which has a ramp platform, three small windows, and four two-over-two windows, an entrance, a freight door, and two chimneys.

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A taller, wider section has been added in this undated photo with an arched entrance door and two solid paned windows on each side.  The old platform and two freight doors are still visible.

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This undated photo of a renovated freight depot prominently displaying an ET&WNC sign.  A freight door has been cut into the end, and the ticket office has been removed.  The newest section is visible on the far right.

An article entitled, "Tweetsie Continues to Live in History," in the Feb. 14, 2005, issue of the Elizabethton Star, stated that passenger service ended for the ET&WNC in 1950 "due to weather-related damage to rail lines and increasing use of automobiles."  Business was never the same after the boon during World War II.

BEMBERG DEPOT

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The first Bemberg Depot was housed in a boxcar "set on blocks beside of the tracks."  In the book, Along the ET&WNC Volume III, Johnny Graybeal states that the boxcar was "equipped with a telephone and telegraph system."  This boxcar would suffice as the center of operation for the next three years.

The Bemberg passenger and freight station was built in 1929.  While the depot was mainly for servicing the American Bemberg and North American Rayon Corporations, passenger service accomodated plant workers, locals, and high school students.  This service ended after World War II.

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This photo of the Bemberg Depot in 1993, is sided with white stucco.  There are two, inset six-over-six windows, with concrete piers on each side.

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The Bemberg Depot has ten concrete piers on the side with six, six-over-six windows with shutters.  Two, three-paned windows are on the left side of the entrance door, which has matching six-over-six.  The roof is tile with one chimney.

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The front of the Bemberg Depot facing the tracks eight concrete piers with five, six-over-six windows and two entrance doors.  The protruding central portion is the former ticket window with two, two-over-two windows on each side.

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The Bemberg Depot is featured at the bottom right on this 1940s postcard of North American Rayon Corporation from the Ridley Wills East Tennessee Postcard Collection.

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The name of the station was changed to Port Rayon during World War II when the government took over the factories.

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This depot was operational until 1997 when North American Rayon ceased operations.

The building, now closed, still stands in Elizabethton on West Elk Avenue (US 321).

Though the rails are now gone, the memory of "Tweetsie" lives on with the Tweetsie Trail which follows the railroad corridor for 9.6 miles between Johnson City and Elizabethton.  

ET&WNC - Elizabethton Depot