Dr. Strangelove
Senior Member
My great grandfather worked as a narrow-gauge engineer on the logging lines around the Asheville/Brevard/Cashiers area in WNC in the late 1800's to about the 1930's. They actually lived in a cabin (now a reproduction) in the "Pink Beds" which is now part of Pisgah National Forest. Visit the "Cradle of Forestry" if you'd like to see the cabin.
My grandfather taught me how to pick out the old RR beds where these lines used to run while he taught me to trout fish. If you see an unusually level and straight line of ground compared to the surrounding topography, that's likely part of the old RR bed. Usually near streams as that was the easiest and cheapest place to build, but you can also find some old rock blasting points if you know what to look for.
Many of the current Forest Service roads and trails in WNC run on the ghosts of the old logging RR tracks, particularly in the more inaccessible/hard to grade areas.
My grandfather taught me how to pick out the old RR beds where these lines used to run while he taught me to trout fish. If you see an unusually level and straight line of ground compared to the surrounding topography, that's likely part of the old RR bed. Usually near streams as that was the easiest and cheapest place to build, but you can also find some old rock blasting points if you know what to look for.
Many of the current Forest Service roads and trails in WNC run on the ghosts of the old logging RR tracks, particularly in the more inaccessible/hard to grade areas.