The Sequatchie Valley Railway Village is a soon-to-be depot/museum and railway park 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. The vision for the Village was from Pikeville residents Isaiah Knowles and Ron Lee with hopes to create the first railroad museum in Tennessee’s Sequatchie Valley. Along with their leadership, railroad and mining enthusiasts throughout the Valley supported the project with their resources and knowledge. This beautiful site nestled in the Sequatchie Valley will feature a railway yard, depot/museum, and railcars to provide an enjoyable learning experience pertaining to the long-gone mining and railroad history of the Valley. It will also offer an insight into the Village’s construction, which includes locating, transporting, and tracklaying authentic Sequatchie Valley rail that dates as early as 1903. Our goal is to allow visitors an opportunity to experience and learn about an early life in the Valley that was driven by mining and transporting coal and ore. The Village is located just three miles from Historic Downtown Pikeville, two miles from the original railroad (1891-1984), and is located on a scenic hilltop next to the Sequatchie River with views of the Cumberland Mountains to the East and West. We look forward to welcoming visitors to tour the Village construction progress, see the different rail used on the Sequatchie Valley Railroad, walk through a caboose, see photos of the depots that inspired the Village depot, and ring an original Southern Railroad steam engine bell that dates to 1912.
our work
The Village is a work-in-progress that began August 2024. Presently, it is still in the first stages of
construction. With the foresight and tireless work of its organizers, the Village will capture the
historic setting for its depot/museum, side tracks, and its first caboose.
In our efforts to preserve local railroad history, we will be constructing a recreation of the
Historic Pikeville Depot to give our visitors an authentic Sequatchie Valley Railroad
experience. The design of the depot will stay true to the original Pikeville Depot, which was the
NC&StL Railroad’s (Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis) depot design for the valley in the late 1800s.
Locating original Sequatchie Valley rail was a challenging endeavor. Through months of searching with no results, an opportunity arose. The rail obtained dates as early as 1903 and is an essential part of preserving local history and creating an authentic rail yard. The track was manually laid by our organizers during the fall of 2024, and the overall scope of work on this project to date has spanned 500+ hours. The caboose placed on site was formerly located in Crossville, Tennessee and purchased in December 2024. With the help of heavy haulers from Lebanon and Crossville, TN, it was successfully relocated to the Railway Village. The caboose was originally an SCL|L&N (Seaboard Coastline | Louisville & Nashville) railcar, #0689. Restoration of the caboose has started and will continue into the summer months.
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.
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.
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.
