The Thanksgiving Ride the Rails Event, featuring a scarce opportunity for the public to ride on or behind historic restored railroad maintenance motor cars on a five mile round trip from the Mineral Bluff Depot, will be offered on the two days after Thanksgiving, Friday and Saturday November 24 and 25 with hourly trips starting at noon and the last trip at 3 p.m., on both days.
Also being offered for a $2 donation per person/per trip is the always fun hand pump car. Propel yourself down the track and back as track inspectors did in the olden days. Then look inside the oldest public building in Fannin County, the beautifully restored brick depot which houses a large HO Scale model railroad representing the “Old Line” of the L&N Railroad running from Marietta, Georgia, through Ellijay, Georgia, to Blue Ridge, McCaysville/Copperhill to Etowah, Tennessee, including the branch line from Blue Ridge, through Mineral Bluff, to Murphy, North Carolina.
Free parking and free entry into the Depot to see the beautiful restoration work and also this Museum Quality Model Railroad.
Donation to ride Motor Cars is $15 for adults 13+ and $5 for children 2 through 12. Donations are used for Depot maintenance, continued construction on the model railroad and for maintenance on our 2.5 miles of railroad. Tri-State Model Railroaders, are located at 150 Railroad Avenue, Mineral Bluff. More information is available by visiting tsmri.org , by calling 423-299-3914 or by mailingtsmri@yahoo.com.