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The
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is one of
western North Carolinas main tourism attractions,
carrying upwards of 200,000 passengers annually.
The railroad operates on the Murphy Branch
line, originally constructed in 1891 by
the Western North Carolina Railroad Company.
The rail line played a very important roll
in promoting commerce as well as creating
industries in logging, manufacturing and
mining in Western North Carolina. Today
the rail line hauls freight and carries
visitors along three rivers, into river
gorges, across fertile valleys and through
tunnels carved out of mountains along its
53 miles of track running from Dillsboro
to Andrews, NC. The Great Smoky Mountains
Railroad offers seven different rail excursions
as well as a number of special events including
a Day Out With Thomas. The railroad owns
and operates four diesel electric locomotives
and one Baldwin Steam locomotive, No. 1702
and is well known today as the setting for
major motion pictures including The Fugitive,
My Fellow Americans and Forces of Nature.
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