Lebanon Branch |
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The road from Nashville to Lebanon was completed in the mid 1870's. During the later part of the 19th century, it was the sole conveyor of good and transport in East Davidson and West Wilson County. An interchange with the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad in Lebanon provided a link to the outside rail network. Tourists used the line for visits to President Andrew Jackson's Hermitage as well as a Confederate Soldiers Home on that property. During World War I, the United Sates government built and operated a somkeless gunpowder plant in Old Hickory, TN. The Dixie Line built a line from a point on the branch as Stone River Junction. Many records were set during the construction to supply the plants construction materials and later transported workers and gunpowder. During its peak the plant, operated by I. E. Dupont and Company, manufactured over one million pounds of smokeless gunpowder a month and employed nearly thirty thousand people. The Great Depression and a parallel line to Lebanon belonging to the Tennessee Central Railroad spelled the end of the Dixie Line's Lebanon Branch. The last train ran in 1935 pulled by one of the NC&StL's H class consolidations. Its property in Lebanon was sold to the TC, and its mainline gave way to the growing highway network. Remnents of the line can still be seen as evidenced by pieces of right-of-way, bridge abutments and a water tank foundation in Beckwith. The old Lebanon Depot still exists just off the town square and is used by Shenandoah Mills. The depot at Tuckers Gap was moved to the Fiddler's Grove section of the James Ward Agricultural Center, and has been restored to its original glory. Excerpts from an article by JB Rich A 1919 timetable shows 3 trains each direction operating every day except Sunday. Departures from Lebanon were scheduled at 6:45 am, 12:30 pm and 4:15 pm, while trains left Nashville at 8:45 am, 2:40 pm and 5:45 pm. Stations and stops along the route included Easton, Knapp, Donelson, Hermatage, Green Hill, Mt. Juliet, Silver Springs, Leeville and Tuckers Gap. (Woody Crest, Mill Creek, Mud Tavern, Binkley's Crossing, Travis, Tulip Grove and Lillard were flag stops for all trains.)
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NC&StL Preservation Society, Inc. is in no way
affiliated with the NC&StL Railway or any of it's successors.
As a non-profit entity, NCPS presents these pages to the public purely
for educational and historic interest.
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