Tennessee Trains, Towns, Whiskey and Tears

Planning to visit Chattanooga, we found that roads were closed for a triathlon beginning in the park we planned to explore. Always flexible, we decided to leave the city for another time and headed west under low clouds that filled the valleys.

Nickajack Lake was a fine stop to stretch and get ideas at the Visitor's Center for places to visit in Tennessee.

Cowan had a little railroad museum in and around the town depot. Unfortunately, we arrived before the museum was open for the day. Check the Cowan Railroad Museum website for current open days and times.

A 1920 Porter steam engine along with a couple of rail speeders are on display outside.

The station board doesn't have any trains listed since passenger service stopped serving Cowan in the 1970's.

This bay window caboose here sports the N C & St L logo. Living in North Carolina, I jumped to the conclusion it stood for North Carolina and St Louis RR. I should have thought about where we are first. N is for Nashville and C is for Chattanooga.

The mainline is still very active with freight operations. Diesel locomotives are staged here to help push trains over Cumberland mountain towards Chattanooga. You can listen to railroad communications on a low power rebroadcast by tuning your radio to 87.9 FM. The engineer waved to us as this helper engine rolled past the museum.

Small towns always draw us off the highway, especially when they are a county seat. We stretched our legs in Winchester, TN where the Franklin County Courthouse boasts a stainless steel tower and clock.

Shops in the square surrounding the courthouse were in great condition. The Oldham movie theatre is now used for live performances.

Making for a walking history tour, the town installed great plaques on downtown buildings. This was one of our favorites.

Long parking spots on the main street made for easy parking. We need to stop again when shops and restaurants are open.

Back in the 1980's, Ernie Boyce,  the Engineering Director where I worked was a big Jack Daniel's fan. We often talked about visiting the distillery together some day. Seeing the distillery was on our way, we went on-line and signed up for a tour. Here's a souvenir photo of our group. Our enthusiastic tour guide is beside Beth.

Jack Daniel's makes just about every ingredient, even the charcoal used in mellowing. Here you can see the wood being readied for burning down into charcoal.

Things get a little hot when charcoal production is underway.

This is where Darren and Tracy sit to watch the fire progress. Note the whiskey container for use as a fire starter.

More modern trucks are parked off site, but this vintage fire engine sits near the charcoal fires.

Jack Daniel stands with us in Cave Spring Hollow where spring water emerges from the ground on its way to becoming whiskey.

The old office contains Jack's desk and the legendary safe that became his downfall. Having trouble with the combination, Jack kicked the safe, hurting his foot. Infection followed leading to the eventual loss of his foot and, eventually, his life.

The distilling building was closed to tours for safety concerns since one of the big stills was being replaced.

Spring water that isn't diverted to whiskey making flows through this pond. The ducks here are retirees from Memphis's famous Peabody Hotel.

Grain is sifted through these big hoppers.

Fermenting takes place in huge stainless steel containers. Later in the tour, where photos weren't allowed, we passed by similar sized tanks where the whiskey dripped through charcoal. Our tour guide lifted the padlocked tank top enough that our noses could confirm without a doubt that it was whisky percolating through.

Barrels of whiskey are aged in big metal buildings like the one near the top of the hill in this photo.

Distillery No 1 is on the building, because it was the first distillery licensed in Tennessee.

Though we took a dry tour, tasting is  available in beautiful rooms like this one surrounded by glass. The distillery is in a dry county and liquor sales aren't allowed on Sunday in Tennessee. Despite these rules, Jack Daniel's can offer tastings for "educational" purposes.

Barrels are made by skilled craftspeople here at the distillery. They contribute to the unique taste of this whiskey and are only used once. Used barrels are in great demand for aging wine, beer and rum. When we were touring the Bacardi Distillery in the Bahamas, they pointed out that the rum was aging in Jack Daniel's barrels.

The tour was definitely worth the $15 charge. Whiskey and legends are a part of the Tennessee heritage worth learning about.

Downtown Lynchburg was within walking distance of the distillery. Cute shops and restaurants are geared for tourism. With 91 degree temps, we opted for an overpriced ice cream.

Leaving Lynchburg, we chuckled at this sign hanging outside a restaurant.

David Crockett State Park was our choice for overnight camping. The Trail of Tears passes through and we had just enough time to walk a segment before sunset.

Shoal Creek splashed over layers of limestone as it passed through the park. Crockett had a powder mill, grist mill, and a distillery along the creek banks.

Campsites had been recently renovated. All were level with nice picnic tables. The bathhouse was new and had showers with entrances separated from the bathrooms. We were in site 56 and paid $36.72 for a site with electricity and water though we didn't need either one.