Gatlinburg, Dupont & Western Railroad

The Gatlinburg, Dupont & Western Railroad was a 3-foot narrow gauge railroad company that ran from Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Dupont, Tennessee with a spur track that ran towards Wears Valley and onto Townsend, Tennessee where it connected with the Little River Railroad.

History
The Railroad began construction in 1886 with only one locomotive, a 2-6-6T Mason Bogey purchased second hand from the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad, a few pieces of rolling stock, and a passenger car, baggage car, and caboose (All of which was delivered to Crosby, Tennessee via the Smoky Mountain & Atlantic Railroad and then to Gatlinburg by horse drawn wagon). The railroad also bought the remains of a Porter Bell & Co. 0-6-0 Tender Engine that was destroyed in a boiler explosion from the Carolina & North-Western Railroad in North Carolina. The locomotive was rebuilt with a new boiler from Porter and began service. In 1887, the railroad connected to Dupont and in the following year, construction began towards Wears Valley and a new locomotive purchased second hand from the Denver & Rio Grande arrived.

By 1890, the railroad had connected to Townsend, Tennessee and several logging operations in the mountains. By 1900, the railroad had 9 locomotives under their employ and several pieces of rolling stock. In 1902, the SM&A began its construction towards the mountains and the GD&W supplied the railroad with freshly cut timber and in return, the SM&A took farm produce and dairy products to the markets in Knoxville from the GD&W.

In 1905, the SM&A became the Knoxville & Asheville Railroad and business increased on the GD&W. But as the 1920s rolled on, the timber industry began to decline in the area. In 1932, the railroad filed for bankruptcy. The Knoxville & Asheville Railroad bought the line and converted it to Standard Gauge. The GD&W engines were then sold to the Sheldon, Lake Junaluska & Mount Mitchell Railroad in North Carolina. The line continued operations as the Dupont Branch thereafter. In 1940, the line to Wears Valley and Townsend was closed when the logging operations ceased. Operations to Dupont continued until the late 1950s when trucks began taking most of the work. In 1962, the line finally closed.