Sheldon, Lake Junaluska & Mount Mitchell Railroad

The Sheldon, Lake Junaluska & Mount Mitchell Railroad was a 3 foot narrow gauge railroad that ran from Sheldon, North Carolina into Mount Morris.

History
Around 1905 - 1906, William Trousdale, a local lumber baron, along with his partner, Eugene Walsh, were expanding their business into Mount Morris, northeast of Sheldon, North Carolina. Sheldon, at the time, was an expanding town and had been connected by the Knoxville & Asheville Railroad, the Erwin & Sheldon Railroad, and many other lines. In order to get the lumber out of the woods, it was decided to build a railroad line into the mountains.

In early 1907, ground breaking began on the new line at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina and headed northeast towards Mount Morris. It was decided that the railroad should be built as a 3 foot narrow gauge line. The line's first examples of motive power were second hand locomotives from the Carson & Colorado Railroad, the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, and the United Verde & Pacific Railroad; plus a newly purchased 4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler locomotive straight from Baldwin Locomotive Works.

By late 1907 the railroad was finally complete. In the next year, 6 more locomotives were purchased from the Denver & Rio Grande, the Carson & Colorado, and a new engine straight from the American Locomotive Company. As time would go by, the railroad would expand towards the town of Sheldon by daul tracking the K&A mainline from Lake Junaluska to Sheldon.

In 1913, the railroad purchased its first 2-8-2 mikado.