Sequatchie Valley Railway Village

Artist rendition of future Railway Village.

Render by Austin Groot (Groot Productions).

Welcome

The Sequatchie Valley Railway Village is a soon-to-be depot/museum and interactive railway park for everyone to visit, from students to railroad enthusiasts and beyond. This Heritage Park will offer educational and cultural value, bringing the past to life for visitors. The Village, built in Bledsoe County’s Pikeville, Tennessee, will have a railroad depot/museum with side tracks and railcars to tell the story of the railroad that supported the Valley’s mining industry of the 1800s and 1900s.

About us

The Sequatchie Valley Railway Village is dedicated to preserving the historical heritage of the railroad and mining operations that significantly contributed to the development of the Tennessee Sequatchie Valley region. The Village is located in Bledsoe County, which is one of nine economically distressed Tennessee counties, as designated by the Appalachian Commission Region. It has also been designated as an IRS 501(c)(3) Non-profit organization.

History

The first train rolled into Pikeville on the evening of June 30, 1891. By 1921, the Sequatchie Valley Branch was offering service all the way into Chattanooga over the lines of its parent, the NC&StL, the junction with these being at Bridgeport, Alabama.

Pictured here in 1940, the Pikeville Depot was located across from the Cranwell-Lee Hosiery Mill (now Old Mill Farm and Feed) on Railroad Avenue and served a busy railroad line.

Steam Locomotive in Pikeville

Fox Roberson, left, and depot drayman Jeremiah Brown Thompson at the Pikeville Depot on June 16, 1957

Locomotive at the Dunlap, Tennessee Depot with Engineer Clint Kilgore and crew. The locomotive is ready to head down the valley to Bridgeport.

Track gang on the Nashville Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad in the Sequatchie Valley near Daus, Tennessee.

Section crew working on Orme, Tennessee Branch in the 1940's.

Rare historic photo in Bledsoe County as a steam locomotive pulling a passenger train and mail car head south towards Dunlap, Tennessee on the Nashville Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad (Sequatchie Valley Branch). This image taken around 1899 just above Pailo, near Cannon Creek in the Lusk Community. In the background is the Atpontley area of the Cumberland Plateau.

Miners at Atpontley

Atpontley Miners

Our Organizers

are individuals with deep family ties to the railroad industry. Our mission is to create a space where history is both celebrated and explored.

Isaiah is a local entrepreneur that owns and operates Tennessee Valley Productions. He is an avid collector of railroad memorabilia and active outdoorsman from Pikeville, Tennnessee.

Isaiah Knowles

President

Ron is a retired engineer from Saudi Aramco and grew up in Bridgeport, Alabama. Ron participated in a weeklong Polish tourist program that allowed him to drive a 60-mile passenger steam train in Poland.

Ron lee

Vice President

Elizabeth is a Tennessee Stenographic Reporter. She is also a descendant of a line of railroad engineers and depot agents for the Sequatchie Valley Railroad.

Elizabeth White

Secretary/Treasurer

years of railroad operation to Pikeville

Miles from Bridgeport, AL to Pikeville, TN

number of Depots & Passenger sheds

approximate number of operational coal mines

cONTACT US

Inquire about our project or make a donation. All donations are greatly appreciated, including railroad and mining memorabilia and photographs.

Checks can be mailed to:

Sequatchie Valley Railway Village

115 Knowles Drive

Pikeville, TN 37367

423-368-9393

sequatchie valley railway village

coming soon

Donate. Give. Support.

Please consider supporting the Railway Village with a donation. Your contribution is essential to our mission of serving the valley. We truly appreciate your generosity.

Donate