Jessica Webb
editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com
On Monday morning, two cars of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad could be seen sitting idly beside the tracks in Almond with several company trucks nearby. The trucks had been there since Saturday when the trip to Nantahala derailed.
Although no one was injured, it was the first incident of its kind for the railroad. The passengers were transported by train or vehicle back to Bryson City.
The cause of Saturday’s derailment is under investigation, with the railroad hoping for its Nantahala route to be fully operational again promptly.
October is the busiest season as Western North Carolina is packed with leaf lookers. The railroad operates four excursions a day on weekdays in the month and five on weekends, according to its schedule posted online at gsmr.com.
GSMR’s Vice President Kim Albritton provided the following statement about the derailment via email Tuesday morning:
“On October 9, 2021, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad experienced a derailment of passenger cars on one of its daily excursion trains. No passengers were injured, and everyone was transported safely back to Bryson City by bus and train. No major damage occurred and GSMR is hopeful that all repairs and inspections will be completed by the end of day on Tuesday. The exact cause of the derailment is still being investigated. GSMR is still currently operating a train from Bryson City to Dillsboro which is unaffected and departing daily.”
She had not responded to any further questions as of press time.
The Federal Railroad Administration has just two previous incidents filed for GSMR in the past several years (railroads.dot.gov). On Aug. 22, 201, there was a highway-rail crossing collision with a tour bus in Nantahala Gorge. The train was traveling at 9 miles per hour and 9 people were injured with $24,000 in damage reported. The second incident on file occurred Oct. 17, 2018, when the train was traveling 15 miles per hour. It was an obstruction issue and caused $42,000 in damage.