Giving Back #2 - The Tennessee Central RR Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

The Seanachai: Greetings from Geocaching.com,

While we feel that Geocaching.com should hold the location for you for a reasonable amount of time, we cannot do so indefinitely. In light of the lack of communication regarding this cache it has been archived to free up the area for new placements. If you haven’t done so already, please pick up this cache or any remaining bits as soon as possible. If you are in the process of replacing or repairing your cache please e-mail me in response to this archival and, if possible, I will unarchive your cache.

I want to thank you for the time that you have taken to contribute in the past and I am looking forward to your continued contributions to the sport of Geocaching.

The Seanachai
Geocaching.com Volunteer Cache Reviewer

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Hidden : 12/8/2008
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

At my 1000th cache event I was given 20 cache containers by my fellow cachers. I have set out to give them all back. This is the 2nd of the 20. It is a small lock-n-lock. One of the things I have enjoyed about this hobby is learning forgotten pieces of history.

By the late 1800's Tennessee had many strong railroads serving it. However most of them ran primarily North and South. The L&N ran from Louisville through Nashville to Birmingham. It also Branched off at Bowling Green to serve Memphis. It built through the Cumberland Gap through Knoxville to Atlanta. The N.C.& StL. R.R. Ran from Nashville through Chattanooga to Atlanta. It was also involved in building a line to Memphis (the only east-west line) from Nashville. Southern R>R. ran from Virginia through Knoxville to Atlanta. It also had purchased the Memphis and Charleston R.R. that Ran east-west through Florence to Memphis along the southwestern corner of the state. Several people believed the state needed a direct route from Knoxville to Nashville serving the coal rich area of the Cumberland Plateau. In 1884 Alexander Crawford chartered the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad Company. By 1894 the line was built from Lebanon, TN to Monterey, TN. By 1900 the line was finally completed to its end at Emory Gap, TN where it interchanged with the Southern R.R. Up to this time it interchanged with the N.C.& StL. R.R. at Lebanon. Jerre Baxter (who had become the force behind the conglomeration of small railroads making up the line) formed the Tennessee Central Railway Company to build a line from Lebanon to Nashville. This line was finished in 1902 and paralleled the N.C.& StL. R.R. line for most of the journey (the current line is the old TC and the N.C.& StL. roadbed has been abandoned, parts of it now are city streets). About 1901 all of the small roads were bought by the Tennessee Central Railway Company and finally made one. By 1904 the western Division to Hopkinsville, KY was finished and the line was complete. Through the history of the line it was always struggling. The L&N R.R. saw it as a potential loss of revenue and kept it out of the Union Station which hurt iits ability to exchange freight and passengers. It saw times of profit through World War 2 and after TVA opened the coal plant in Kingsport. And it was a life line for many plateau towns for many decades. However by 1968 it was bankrupt for the final time. Hopkinsville to West Nashville was sold to the ICG R.R. The belt line from West to east was bought by the state and today is I-440. From a point just west of this cache to Crossville it was purchased by the L&N R.R. And the Crossville to Emory Gap was purchased by Southern R.R. Eventually the ICG abandoned its line, the US Army took over from Hopkinsvile to Fort Campbell. The Ashland City to Nashville line has been operated by several shortline (today its the Nashville and Western). L&N abandoned and removed much of the Algood to Crossville line by the early 1980s. The Nashville and Eastern took over operations in 1985 from the point just below you to Algood. In 2008 the line was rebuilt up to Monteray and freight traffic resumed. Southern abandoned its line to Crossville in the mid 1980s and the mining company in Crab Orchard took over operations from its mine to Emory Gap to deliver its product to the NS R.R. Just below the cache area is the Vine Hill yard. This was where the TCRR interchanged freight with the L&N and NC & StL. Just west of this yard it crossed the L&N main line to Birmingham on its way to what is now I-440. Today CSX RR delivers freight for N&E RR to ship East to DuPont in Old Hickory or others out toward Lebanon, Cookeville and Monterey. N&E RR Drops freight here for CSX to pick up. You can get a view of the yard and hopefully be here when something is happening. But DO NOT GO DOWN THE HILL AND ENTER THE RAILROADS PROPERTY!

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