The 2027 National Garden Railway Convention concludes on Saturday, June 5 with an optional train excursion from the Tennessee Central Railway Museum in Nashville to Watertown, TN. The Tennessee Central railroad ran from Knoxville, TN to Nashville with Watertown serving as a water stop for steam locomotives. The railroad was built in the 1880s, because businessmen felt central Tennessee was underserved and wanted a railroad to haul coal from the mines in east Tennessee to Nashville for further distribution throughout the rest of the country.

 

 Our day will begin at 8:45 AM at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum where we will view the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576 steam locomotive which is nearly fully restored. Weather permitting the locomotive's fire box will be lit. Those that attended the 36th National Garden Railway Convention in 2021, saw the 576 as it was being disassembled as the restoration was ongoing. 

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At 10 AM the excursion train will depart from the station to start our 45-mile trip to Watertown, TN. The passenger cars on the train are 1950s era streamliner cars manufactured by Budd Manufacturing Company. Many of the passenger cars at the museum ran on historical American trains such as the Chief, the Super Chief, California Zephyr, the Sunset Limited, North Coast Limited and the Congressional. Unfortunately, the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576 locomotive will not be certified to pull a passenger train during the convention. During the two-hour trip to Watertown, concessions will be available on the train.

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During our layover stop in Watertown, there are several small shops to visit and local restaurants where we can get a quick lunch. CSX railroad has donated a 110-foot-long turntable from its Tilford freight yard in Atlanta, GA to the Tennessee Central Railway Museum. This turntable is the only one of four turntables built for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis railroad that still is in existence today. The turntable was built specifically for the Class J3 57 locomotives which includes the 576. The new turntable is much larger than the turntable which existed in Watertown many years ago. A federal grant totaling more than $1 million has been awarded to support the re-location of the turntable from the CSX Tilford freight yard to Watertown and for other improvements to this historical area to support the NC & St.L 576 locomotive. The new turntable will be located near where the old turntable existed. Eventually, the 576 will be housed in Watertown. After the layover in Watertown, we will board the train for our return trip to Nashville, arriving back at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum around 4:30 PM.

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Parking near the Tennessee Central Railway Museum is limited, so we suggest carpooling with friends, using a ride share service or riding a charter 55-passenger bus from the Made in Tennessee Building to the railway museum. Those that ride the bus will be taken back to the Made in Tennessee building at the end of the day.