Tracing Tracks Through Time: The : The Abandoned section of the “Hook and Eye”

During the last two decades of the 19th Century, the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad (MNGR) finally reached Jasper, eventually making its way to Knoxville, Tennessee.  Just east of Talking Rock a double reverse curve was built.  The purpose was to allow the train to descend the steep terrain coming from Jasper to Talking Rock.  This section became known as the “Hook” of the railroad.  

The ”Hook” as seen on the 1914 Talking Rock Topographic map

While this section worked as a passenger line, with the advent of the American automobile and improved roads, it wasn’t used as frequently.   When the track was built around 1884 the American automobile hadn’t been invented.  

1889 Train Schedule from the Atlanta Constitution

MNGRR went bankrupt and The Louisville and Nashville Railroad took over.  In 1906, they built tracks west (Marietta, Georgia to Etowah, Tennessee) of the original route, and the “Hook and Eye” became known as the Old Line.  By 1948, the Old Line ceased passenger travel.  In the 1980s, the track of the double reverse curve was removed, and the “Hook” officially ceased to exist. 

1938 USDA aerial photo showing “The Hook” between Talking Rock and Whitestone

Semitransparent 1971 Talking Rock Topographic map showing the Old Railroad Grade in relation to the APD Hwy

To see it, while traveling south from Carns Mill Road headed to Jasper, there is one bridge that crosses Talona Creek before the exit to 136.   Looking west while crossing the bridge, you can still see the clearing for the westernmost part of the “Hook” line.  

The path arcs in a half circle before dead-ending back on the highway in a few hundred yards.   The eastern sections of the line that head towards Whitestone and Talking Rock are overgrown with forest.   You cannot see any of the railbeds from the highway.  However, if you look at aerial photography you can still discern the old section of the railroad path northeast of Talona Creek as it heads towards the RV park on the corner of Carns Mill and Whitestone Rd.

Google Earth image from 1993 showing the old railroad bed (in yellow) between the APD Hwy and Talona Campground

Today the section between Blue Ridge and Copperhill is operated by the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is the only passenger train in North Georgia. For those of you who are curious, “the Eye”, also known as the Hiwassee Loop is a section of track that circles Bald Mountain in Farner, Tennessee one and three-quarter times, before passing under itself.   Of the six total railroad loops of this kind in North America, “the Eye” is the only one east of the Mississippi River.

“The Eye” or Hiwassee Loop near Farner, TN