Little River Railroad Museum

he Little River Railroad Museum was formed in 1982 to preserve the history of the Little River Lumber Company and its associated railroad lines. The company existed for four decades, building 150 miles of railroad lines in eastern Tennessee. Producing 560 million board feet of timber, the company grew to be one of the largest commercial logging operations in southern Appalachia. The Little River Railroad employed a variety of interesting steam locomotives designs to move rough and finished timber by rail, and when tourist flocked to resorts in the region the railroad responded by offering scheduled passenger service with stops in Maryville, Walland, Kinzel Springs, Townsend, Line Springs, Wonderland Park, and Elkmont. In 1925, the state of Tennessee purchased 500 acres of Little River Lumber land to establish the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The mill operations were closed in 1938 and the railroad was abandoned the following year. Today the small museum in Townsend includes the former Walland depot building, a gift shop, a restoration facility, and Shay locomotive #2147 on display.