In the 1870s it was decided that a railroad would be needed to haul iron out of the small isolated community of Cranberry North Carolina. The original ET&WNC Railroad would go bankrupt shortly after beginning construction. The remnants of the railroad grade, and equipment would then be acquired by the management of the East Broad Top Railroad, Located in Orbisonia Pennsylvania and financed by their primary financier Mr Ario Pardee. Construction on the ET&WNC Railroad would restart in 1880 with the first trains arriving in Cranberry in 1882. 

Today this railroad can still be seen and ridden as part of the Doe River Gorge Ministries summer camp. This is where my life of working with 100+ year old railroads first got started. As a high school senior needing an outlet, who was also a fan of old steam trains working as a volunteer on the ET&WNC was a natural choice. I have been working with this old railroad ever since. Starting out with the track maintenance crew, eventually working my way to Conductor, and helping restore their three historic steam locomotives! I look forward to sharing many stories and updates as work continues. However my next stop on my Historic railroad journey will be The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad of Skagway Alaska where I will be working as a Brakeman on their world class excursion trains!