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23-585: GSMR may refer to: Great Smoky Mountains Railroad reporting mark GSM-R , railway communication system Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title GSMR . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GSMR&oldid=1027637749 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

46-549: A charter train full of UNC-Chapel Hill fans headed for the NCAA Final Four. Train scenes in the 1999 DreamWorks SKG film Forces of Nature starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock also were filmed on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. The video game Railroader takes place on an alternate history version of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, diverging from the real-world timeline in

69-708: A field in Whittier, NC. No. 777 was retired in early 2020 and No. 711 in early 2022. The railroad owns the Smoky Mountain Trains Museum in Bryson City, North Carolina; located across Greenlee Street from the Bryson City Depot . The museum features a collection of over 7,000 Lionel model engines, cars and accessories, a large model train layout, a children's activity center, and a gift shop. GSMR's No. 1702 steam locomotive

92-400: A new turntable in Bryson City for the locomotive to be turned around. Afterwards, the restoration work of No. 1702 began in mid 2014 and completed in late July 2016 with the locomotive reentering excursion service. GSMR also owns another 2-8-0 built by Baldwin, Southern Railway Ks-1 No. 722 , which worked on the former Murphy Branch from 1904 to 1952 and later operated from 1970 to 1980 in

115-595: A team of investors, the MacNeils secured the lease only 48 hours before the Norfolk Southern would be dispatching work trains to the Murphy Branch to begin dismantling the track. The full tourist route originally operated further west to Andrews and Murphy, North Carolina . Service between Andrews and Murphy ended in 1995. Regular service between Nantahala and Andrews ended by 2001. In late 1999,

138-534: A total of 4,257 GP9s produced when Canadian production ended in 1963. The GP9 was succeeded by the similar but slightly more powerful GP18 . EMD designed the GP9 as an improved version of the GP7, with an increase in power from 1,500 hp to 1,750 hp, and a change in prime mover to the latest version of the 567 engine , the 567C. Externally, the GP9 strongly resembled its predecessor. Most were built with high short hoods, but

161-632: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Great Smoky Mountains Railroad The Great Smoky Mountains Railway (GSMR) owns 53 miles (85 kilometers) of the Murphy Branch , a former branch line of the Southern Railway between Dillsboro and Nantahala, North Carolina. It began operations in 1988, through a lease agreement between the NCDOT and Malcom & Joan MacNeill. With help of

184-498: The GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, incorporating a new sixteen- cylinder engine which generated 1,750 horsepower (1.30 MW). This locomotive type was offered both with and without control cabs; locomotives built without control cabs were called GP9B locomotives. EMD constructed 3,626 GP9s, including 165 GP9Bs. An additional 646 GP9s were built by General Motors Diesel , EMD's Canadian subsidiary, for

207-583: The Southern Pacific ordered a number with low short hoods for improved crew visibility. EMD built GP9s at its LaGrange, Illinois facility until 1959, when American production was ended in favor of the GP18. GMD production in Canada continued until August 1963, when the final GP9 was produced. There were 40 GP9M units built that are included in the 3,441 units built for United States railroads. A GP9M

230-549: The 1980s. Canadian National still had 29 GP9RM locomotives in operation, as of 2022. Canadian Pacific had many GP9u locomotives in operation; however, they were all retired in 2015. Several GP9s were rebuilt with a 1,500 horsepower (1.12 MW) CAT 3512 and re-classified as GP15C . The Illinois Central Railroad rebuilt some of its GP9s with their front (short) hood reduced in height for improved crew visibility. The IC designated these rebuilt locomotives GP10 . EMD has rebuilt and continues to rebuild GP9s into what it calls

253-663: The GSMR in spring 2011. However, the engine remained on the B&;ML for two more years. Ultimately, the railroad deemed the locomotive's planned move too costly and instead sold it to the Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tennessee . In 1990, the GSMR considered importing a newly-built China Railways SY steam locomotive for use in their operations, but for unknown reasons, they never placed an order. In 2020 and 2022,

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276-405: The GSMR retired GP9 No. 777 and GP7 No. 711, respectively. The two units were purchased by YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson (best known as MrBeast ), who used No. 777 in a train vs. tank stunt for a YouTube video. He used 711 for a different stunt in a later video. Both videos were uploaded to YouTube in 2022. No. 777 was scrapped soon after the video it was featured in, and No. 711 was left abandoned in

299-487: The GSMR route use a route passing through "fertile valleys, a tunnel and across river gorges" in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. Tourist excursions use the line between Dillsboro and Bryson City (16 miles or 26 km in length) and the line between Bryson City and Nantahala (22 miles or 35 km in length). The GSMR eventually would become one of the most popular tourist railroads in

322-854: The MacNeills sold the GSMR property to the American Heritage Railways, the owners of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) in Colorado. Additionally, the bright and colorful blue, yellow and red "circus train" livery was dropped in favor of the new Tuscan red and gold stripe livery. On March 9, 2000, the Great Smoky Mountain Railway was renamed to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad . Tourist trains of

345-422: The Southern Railway's steam excursion program. The GSMR purchased it in late 2000 and planned to restore it to operating condition by 2026. The locomotive will be converted to burn oil like No. 1702. During 2010, GSMR purchased a third steam locomotive, a former Swedish State Railways 4-6-0 No. 1149 , from the defunct Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad . This locomotive was originally slated to be moved to

368-602: The United States with about 200,000 passengers each year. The railroad also has transported freight via an interchange with the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad in Sylva near Jackson Paper Manufacturing. In 2004, GSMR debuted its " Polar Express " train ride, based on the newly released movie and licensed through Warner Brothers. This ride has been an annual major economy boost for the railroad and

391-400: The late 1940s. Players take on the role of rebuilding the railroad after it is abandoned by the company who owned it. 35°25′46″N 83°26′55″W  /  35.4294°N 83.4485°W  / 35.4294; -83.4485 EMD GP9 The EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1959. The GP9 succeeded

414-448: The line's tight or sharp curves. All of the current units were built by The Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD). GSMR has two GP9s , Nos. 1751 and 1755, a GP30 No. 2467, two GP38-2s Nos. 2668 and 2335, an F9A No. 4210, and a GP35 No. 1009 which is now for sale despite still being operational and on the roster as of 2024. GSMR owns one operational steam locomotive ; S160 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type No. 1702 , which

437-672: The town of Bryson City. In 2019, GSMR broke all attendance records, with more than 91,000 people riding the Polar Express excursion alone. In 2007, due an unresolved dispute with the Dillsboro Town Council, the GSMR decided to relocate its headquarters from Dillsboro to Bryson City and close the Dillsboro depot. However, the Tuckasegee River excursions between Dillsboro and Bryson City continued, with

460-481: The trips originating in Bryson City and laying over in Dillsboro. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak caused the GSMR to suspend operations. However, they resumed on June 4, 2020, with provisions for public health such as social distancing. GSMR had a current operational diesel locomotive roster of seven 4-axle (B-B) units, as any 6-axle (C-C) unit would be too big for the tunnels, and too long for some

483-597: Was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in September 1942 for the U.S. Army during World War II . In 1991, it was purchased by the GSMR, and it operated for them until 2005, when it was taken out of service, due to firebox issues. In 2012, the GSMR made an agreement with Swain County of North Carolina donating $ 700,000 to construct a new steam locomotive workshop for the restoration of No. 1702 and installing

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506-660: Was built with parts from another older EMD locomotive, either an F unit or a damaged GP7. The use of parts from these older locomotives caused the GP9Ms to have a lower power rating than a GP9. This would be either 1,350 horsepower (1.01 MW) if the donor locomotive was an FT / F2 or 1,500 horsepower (1.12 MW) from F3 / F7 / GP7 locomotives. Many rebuilt GP9s remain in service today with shortline railroads and industrial operators. Some remain in rebuilt form on some major Class I railroads , as switcher locomotives although most Class 1 railroads stopped using these locomotives by

529-516: Was featured in the 1966 film, This Property Is Condemned , starring Natalie Wood , Robert Redford , and Charles Bronson . The famous train wreck scene in the 1993 Warner Brothers blockbuster movie The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones was filmed in Dillsboro along the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad was used in the filming of 1996 Warner Brothers comedy My Fellow Americans starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner ; they stumble onto

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