Most people think of music when the topic turns to Nashville. Music City, USA, after all, is a great music destination. But, railfans need not be fooled. It is a great town for watching trains.
The Tennessee Central Railway, which at its heyday operated a line between Harriman and Hopkinsville, Ky. Like other railroads in the latter half of the 19th century, the Tennessee Central grew after combining a slew of smaller short lines, many of which bore the name “Tennessee Central.”
After the Tennessee Central wrapped up its operations on Aug. 31, 1968, some of the railroad’s locomotives were parked in Hopkinsville, Ky., news accounts suggest. The next day, the Illinois Central assumed the line’s operations between Hopkinsville and Nashville, Tenn.
More than a dozen times on weekends throughout the year, a long string of vintage passenger coaches whisk passengers away from the bustle of Music City and into the rural Middle Tennessee landscape.
After the end of the Civil War, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad offered to operate the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad, which was unable to repair the road.
The Tennessee Central Railway connected Nashville, Tenn., and Hopkinsville, Ky. The railroad operated until it went bankrupt in 1968. It was taken over by the Illinois Central Gulf, which operated trains through Clarksville until the early 1980s.