COPPERHILL, Tenn. — An illegal road crossing on the Old Line Railroad threatened to delay scenic trips through the Hiwassee Gorge and to Copperhill scheduled for later this month.
But the Copperhill man who put in the crossing has removed it, Tennessee Overhill Director Linda Caldwell said.
The popular trips on Tennessee Valley Railroad trains “are back on,” Mrs. Caldwell said.
She said officials with the Chattanooga-based Tennessee Valley Railroad found the illegal crossing on a recent inspection trip. A crossing used during the area’s copper mining and acid production days had been reopened to access property along the Ocoee River, she said.
“It was not a road but a private drive,” Mrs. Caldwell said.
Crossings are regulated and inspected because they can affect the integrity of the rail line.
An unapproved crossing could cause federal inspectors to shut down the line, she said.
Steve Freer, a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Railroad, said the owner of a private rail line may decide whether to allow a crossing.
Mrs. Caldwell said the crossing was built by local resident Keith Roberson. He did not return several telephone calls last week to his home or his business, Cougar Express Market in Copperhill.
Shyam Nunley, special projects coordinator for Tennessee Overhill, said news of possible rail cancellations worried business owners in Copperhill.
“We notified them and everybody connected with the trips when we knew the trips were on,” Ms. Nunley said.
The Tennessee Overhill Association owns the rail line, but the Tennessee Valley Railroad schedules the trips, sells tickets and provides the rail equipment.
The full-day Copperhill trips include a two-hour stopover when visitors may shop, eat at local restaurants and tour the city.
The railroad also hosts shorter trips through the Hiwassee Gorge to the Bald Mountain Loop.
