A Norfolk Southern Railway General Electric Dash-8 diesel-electric locomotive assisted by an EMD GP50 crosses North Fork Creek between Willits-Ochre Hill and Addie on on the Murphy Branch. (2002)

The historically important Murphy Branch is the western most part of what was the Western North Carolina Railroad, later the Richmond and Danville, Southern Railway and today the Norfolk Southern Railway. The branch runs between Asheville, North Carolina in the east and Andrews in the west. It roughly follows Interstate 40 and the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway. The railroad branch was constructed with convict labor between 1881 and 1894. Today the section of the branch between Asheville and Sylva is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The tracks between Dillsboro and Andrews are owned and operated by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, a tourist excursion railroad. Although the Murphy Branch is today divided between two separate companies, it is still a continuous rail line between Asheville and Andrews. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 392 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (536 × 819 pixel, file size: 194 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A Norfolk Southern General Electric Dash-8 diesel-electric locomotive assisted by an EMD GP50 crosses North Fork Creek between Willits-Ochre Hill and Addie... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 392 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (536 × 819 pixel, file size: 194 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A Norfolk Southern General Electric Dash-8 diesel-electric locomotive assisted by an EMD GP50 crosses North Fork Creek between Willits-Ochre Hill and Addie... Norfolk Southern Headquarters Norfolk, Virginia. ... “GE” redirects here. ... Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. ... The Western North Carolina Railroad was a 19th Century railroad that ran from Salisbury to Murphy. ... The Southern Railway (AAR reporting mark SOU) was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894. ... Norfolk Southern Headquarters Norfolk, Virginia. ... Not to be confused with Ashville. ... Andrews is a town located in Cherokee County, North Carolina. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (abbreviated I-40) is a major west-east interstate highway in the United States. ... The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway is a four lane, divided highway in southwestern North Carolina that runs between exit 27 off of Interstate 40 near Canton in Haywood County in the east to Murphy in Cherokee County in the west. ... Not to be confused with Ashville. ... Sylva is an incorporated town located in central Jackson County, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States of America. ... Dillsboro is a unincorporated community located in Jackson County, North Carolina. ... Andrews is a town located in Cherokee County, North Carolina. ... The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is a heritage railway with depots and attractions in Dillsboro, NC and Bryson City, North Carolina. ...

The tracks between Andrews and Murphy are still in place but have not been in use since the late 1980s after Norfolk Southern decided to close the leg because of a lack of freight traffic. When the railroad began eying the rest of the Murphy Branch past Dillsboro for closure the state of North Carolina stepped in and purchased the tracks to keep the right-of-way alive. It later sold the tracks to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad which had leased them from the state for a number of years. This section of the Murphy Branch has the distinction of being the first stretch of track the state ever purchased in modern times and began a long running practice for the state of North Carolina that eventually became the state's "Rails to Trails" program which maintains railroad rights-of-way for future use. Murphy is a town located in Cherokee County, North Carolina. ...

The Murphy Branch was extremely important to Southwestern North Carolina in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as it opened up the isolated and rural mountains west of Asheville to the outside world allowing easy travel and improved commerce. It can easily be said with confidence that these tracks made Western North Carolina what it is today.

Towns, Cities and Communities Along the Route

The Waynesville Train Depot sometime in the 1890's

• Asheville (Beginning point)
• Murphy Junction
• Emma
• Enka
• Hominy
• Chandler
• Hominy
• Canton
• Clyde
• Waynesville
• Hazelwood
• Saunook
• Balsam Gap- Junction of Hwy 74 & Blue Ridge Parkway
• Balsam
• Willits-Ochre Hill
• Addie
• Beta
• Sylva
• Dillsboro
• Wilmot
• Whittier
• Ela
• Bryson City
• Almond
• Nantahala
• Topton
• Andrews (End point Today)
• Marble
• Murphy (End point until 1985)

Image File history File linksMetadata WaynesvilleDepot. ... Image File history File linksMetadata WaynesvilleDepot. ... Not to be confused with Ashville. ... Canton is a town located in Haywood County, North Carolina. ... Clyde is a town located in Haywood County, North Carolina. ... Location in North Carolina Country United States State North Carolina County Haywood County Incorporated 1871 Mayor Henry Foy Area    - City 20. ... Waynesville is a town located in Haywood County, North Carolina. ... Balsam Gap (el. ... Balsam is an unincorporated community located in the Scott Creek township of Jackson County, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States of America. ... Sylva is an incorporated town located in central Jackson County, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States of America. ... Dillsboro is a unincorporated community located in Jackson County, North Carolina. ... Whittier was a small town in western North Carolina, founded in 1881 by Clark Whittier when he purchased 60,000 acres (240km²) of land in the area. ... Bryson City is a town located in Swain County, North Carolina. ... Andrews is a town located in Cherokee County, North Carolina. ... Murphy is a town located in Cherokee County, North Carolina. ...

Commodities Shipped/Received on the Murphy Branch

The Murphy Branch still plays a vital role in the industrial economy of western North Carolina. The rail line serves two paper mills: Blue Ridge Paper Company in Canton and Jackson Paper Manufacturing Company in Sylva. There are a number of small concrete mixing facilities that receive sand. Woodchips are loaded at T&S Hardwoods in Addie, about 4 miles east Sylva. Liquefied petroleum gas is delivered to a transfer facility a few miles outside of Sylva in the community of Beta. A feed mill located in Andrews is served by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad and receives carloads of grain. Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... Blue Ridge Paper Products is one of Americas largest producers of packaging for milk cartons and produces a variety of papers for envelopes, cups and other uses. ... Canton is a town located in Haywood County, North Carolina. ... Sylva is an incorporated town located in central Jackson County, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States of America. ... This article is about the construction material. ... Sylva is an incorporated town located in central Jackson County, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States of America. ... 45 kg LPG cylinders Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, LP Gas, or autogas) is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles, and increasingly replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce damage to the ozone layer. ... Sylva is an incorporated town located in central Jackson County, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States of America. ... Andrews is a town located in Cherokee County, North Carolina. ... The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is a heritage railway with depots and attractions in Dillsboro, NC and Bryson City, North Carolina. ...

External links

• Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
• Norfolk-Southern