Howdy Mr. Shoestring! Doe River is a beautiful place. That's the old Tweetsie Line which ran from your home base in Johnson City Tn. to Boone N.C. It carried freight and passengers during its lifetime. The #12 "Tweetsie" engine ran that line during her service. The ET & WNC Railroad Club operate the equipment there and as a member of the club you can come and ride up to bridge, which is on up the line. They would love to have new members and you can find them or UA-cam. You will have a great time up in the gorge.
As a volunteer and summer staff at Doe River Gorge Ministries, I know that the camp operates everything here (except the odd speeder or cart brought by a guest). and no others have any authority. I'm curious about this railroad club.
@@aroadtonowhere Been out of the club for several years now, but you may be able to contact Johnny Graybeal. Sorry I don't have any contact info besides the name. The club is the ET&WNC R.R. Historical Society. Hope this helped.
@@rickcooper6817 OK, that is the only group related to Tweetsie things I have hears of before. They visit the gorge once a year but I haven't noticed any visits besides that in my 2 years. Thank you for the information.
@@flir67man84 No, it is just 2.5 miles of track ending just past the original milepost 18. Boone was at the end of the 66 miles and the theme park Tweetsie was built a few miles south on new right of way.
Thanks for this interesting video Shoestring !! For 50 years now, I have always dreamed of traveling by night in a boxcar across America with two or three other experienced regular hobos for company, but I never had the chance !!
When I was younger I seen a tag on a pole down by the train station and it read Shoestring, I always wondered why someone would write that word and now I know, maybe one day I’ll see u down by the tracks. P.S love the vids
Good day shoestring! Always puts a smile on my face to see a new video from you. What a gorgeous steamer. They don't make em like that anymore. Such a shame. If only diesels looked that good, maybe amtrack wouldn't be constantly bankrupt. There's just something special about taking a ride on one of those old steam engines that brings out the inner kid in people, and makes us long for simpler times.
Yes that is a tulip poplar you was looking at, sassafras has three different shaped leaves. One leaf will be oval-shaped the next one will be oval shaped with a notch and the other will be oval shaved with three notches
Watching you two walk along and talking reminds me of when I was young in East Alton and my friend Wally would walk the rails around town. We would use the rails as shortcuts to different places in town. But the talking to him is what I miss the most.
You ever get the chance Shoe check out the movie The Grey Fox about a train robber Bill Miner known as the gentleman robber and was said to be the first to have used the term Hands Up. True story.
This was an interesting little track here and the mountains in the distance were really nice to see you could hear the breeze blowing through the trees,very nice out here and glad to see you back Thanks Shoestring.🤠👍 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🇺🇲💨
Yeah buddy! My A-4 car has a 4 cylinder ford engine in it. Industrial version of the engine they put in the Ford Pinto...anytime you buy parts for it, you get the same parts for a 78 Pinto! 😆 🤣 😂
That Industrial Pinto engine was used in many corrosive applications in chemical and waste plants. It was cloned in thermoset plastic to use Ford's internal motor components.
Larry was ready to go lol. He seems great to hang around with but I'm not sure if he would be able to keep up with shoestring. Great to see a guest nevertheless beautiful area!! Looking forward to the next video and hopefully a fish dinner.
What an interesting little line shoestring. It looks like it would be fun to ride down the line on a little homemade rail car. Thanks for sharing this. love the steam engine 😊
Just the other day I saw a grainer go by, and guess what I Saw? Hobo shoestring murial on the side of it! Went by too fast to get a picture. But maybe you'll catch it out there one day.
You should buy it, turn it into Hobo Disney land, with a thriller type ride through the hills with bulls popping out and random jumpscares as you ride the roller coaster train , maybe with a guest conductor... ALLLLLLL ABOARD!
Thats definitely an awesome one! Its amazing this thing is still in great shape considering its just artificially made into a hill that steep. Really cool man. Thanks for the video
On a good note, my daughter 24 is an ICU Nurse, cares for people, gave her every cent I had, she getting married, thought I was in the clear, nope, have to change diapers on 24 yr old, glad to do it, cause, we both know the system is sick
Like it, Hobo take a fishing trip next time and tell us how in the olden days, trainhoppers like you got food from nature on their way, berries and vegetables, also for medicinal purposes when there was no shops on their time on every corner
There were remnants of a narrow gauge railroad on some property mu Brother had bought in the 80's. Including a bridge. I have some lanterns and things here that he had stored at my Mothers home and never came back for. He died from throat cancer about 5 years ago. He was in Iraq working for Haliburton in a green zone but there were so many oil wells burning over there. That's what the doctors think happened.
Sir, you have so many views now I am so happy for you. I have a question if you happen to see my comment I would feel lucky to receive a reply. My question is, do the trains leak cargo very often? Did you hear about the train that lost it's haul of fertilizer between Wyoming ( I think) and Saltdale, Ca? I just thought I would ask, maybe you know more about that then I do, I am always thinking it was stolen for bad purposes but I would like to think it is simple mistake.
Scenic narrow gage RR and nice hike in the mountains, looked like a 4-4-2 wheel arrangement on steam engine, like Larry's NS SRR GE ES44AC HU shirt. Have a good time camping 🏕!🛤🚂
If a ttain derail there they will probably just leave the cars and what it's hauling where they fall. It's a ugly site seeing old rusty detailed train cars littering beautiful scenery.
I like to check out your videos every now and then. I get to see places of America I would probably never see otherwise. I want to do a longboard road trip around the country, so I can go fishing everywhere. You keep me inspired to continue to stay on my chosen path. You are awesome!! Thank you
I was watching one of Stobe's old vids and I saw one of Shoestring's tags in Lincoln. Wonder if it's still there? 16:16 of this video: ua-cam.com/video/o-dpvtdDu10/v-deo.html
Man, like me, you are you and I am me, then, we got the planet, and everyone else, live and let live, dude, you have the voice of reason in your head, unless the coppers try to bust your head, Lord forbid, love you shoestring, guy brought up to only get, if lucky, one new pair of shoes each year aka shoestring
That is the old narrow gauge line that used to run between Hampton and the micro town of Blevins. It was never fully completed and the trestles further up the line are totally rusted out with the timbers falling into the river. Many years ago it was still being used as an amusement park there on the "Doe River Gorge". I rode that train when I was a kid in elementary school on a field trip back in the 1960's when I was in the third grade. The narrow gauge steam train use to go a mile or so up the tracks until you got to the trestle that crossed the river and then straight into a short tunnel and then another trestle over the Doe River. The train would stop there and then back all the way back to the starting point in Hampton, where they were inspecting the steam engine at right before that tunnel they walked through. The train had to stop and back all the way back because the trestles were not safe to cross even back in the 60's. The "Doe River Gorge" amusement park had a few circus type rides and I have a photo of myself that appeared in the Bristol Herald Courier news paper on the Ferris Wheel with another student from my 3rd grade class. Many years later in the 1980''s and 90's I kayaked that gorge anytime the water levels permitted, as it is an exciting and pretty hard core White water run at high levels, but very hard to catch it with enough water. It was cool seeing it again in this video all these many years later. Brings back a lot of memories for sure.
Fine old locomotive and maintained in pristine condition. I would be worried sick about mindless vandalism and lack of security but hopefully it's not a thing in those parts. Actual reason for my comment though is to enquire as to the rail gauge!
Forgot to mention that that amusement park was advertised as "Hillbilly World-Git Ur Kicks in the Sticks!" A friend's dad bought that property in the 70's and had the steam engines. I got to inspect them at one point. For years the tracks were gone & I hiked that right of way many many times enjoying the sounds of the river.
@@nuntius1933 It is a Narrow Gauge line is all I know for sure, I have hiked back in there a number of times long ago. I do not know what the actual width of the track it's self is. Shoestring probably knows the actual gauge of those narrow tracks it was bound to be some standard size. The Doe Gorge is amazingly secluded and almost seems like you entered another World far from civilization even though you really are not that far removed from urban areas. I think a Church owns the land where the engine is parked now and they own part of the gorge as well I think. I think they use the land as a church camp. Back when I kayaked a lot we once came down the doe gorge and rounded a bend in the river, and to our shock there was a group from the church seated on benches by the water and the preacher was performing a baptism... it was too late for us to stop on the strong currents and we ended up paddling behind the preacher while the entire congregation watched. The preacher did not realize we were passing behind him until after we were going over the next drop into the last set of rapids at the exit to the gorge. It was a little embarrassing and funny at the same time. 🤣
@@jamesrathschmidt3660 Oh yes, I remember that slogan now... Totally forgot that, but then again we are talking like over 50 years ago now. Thanks for adding that. Actually I watched the other video that Shoestring linked in his show notes about the history and learned a lot more than I ever knew. I did not know the line went all the way to Asheville originally, or that it was part of the original Tweetsie line. I kayaked the gorge many times back in the 80's and 90's during high water in the Winter and Spring rains and have walked the Tracks from both ends a number of times through the gorge long ago. Most of the timbers were missing from the bridges even back then, and we were fools probably to cross them. But we were young and fearless. It truly is a beautiful Gorge and seems like you have entered a wormhole to another time.
I definitely needed a new shoestring video today.. thanks mark for reading my mind... been a long week already
Goodday mark . I am happy you are out in about. Ps everytime i see your videos make my day well
👍👍☕️☕️🙏..🇨🇦
Howdy Mr. Shoestring! Doe River is a beautiful place. That's the old Tweetsie Line which ran from your home base in Johnson City Tn. to Boone N.C. It carried freight and passengers during its lifetime. The #12 "Tweetsie" engine ran that line during her service. The ET & WNC Railroad Club operate the equipment there and as a member of the club you can come and ride up to bridge, which is on up the line. They would love to have new members and you can find them or UA-cam. You will have a great time up in the gorge.
As a volunteer and summer staff at Doe River Gorge Ministries, I know that the camp operates everything here (except the odd speeder or cart brought by a guest). and no others have any authority. I'm curious about this railroad club.
@@aroadtonowhere Been out of the club for several years now, but you may be able to contact Johnny Graybeal. Sorry I don't have any contact info besides the name. The club is the ET&WNC R.R. Historical Society. Hope this helped.
Oh kewl.. does the line still connect to tweestie at all?
@@rickcooper6817 OK, that is the only group related to Tweetsie things I have hears of before. They visit the gorge once a year but I haven't noticed any visits besides that in my 2 years. Thank you for the information.
@@flir67man84 No, it is just 2.5 miles of track ending just past the original milepost 18. Boone was at the end of the 66 miles and the theme park Tweetsie was built a few miles south on new right of way.
Thanks for this interesting video Shoestring !! For 50 years now, I have always dreamed of traveling by night in a boxcar across America with two or three other experienced regular hobos for company, but I never had the chance !!
God Speed..please send cooler weather to Missouri..thanks
In a week, you'll want it warmer.
I think you are on the old East Tennessee and western North Carolina. The" Tweetsie".
When I was younger I seen a tag on a pole down by the train station and it read Shoestring, I always wondered why someone would write that word and now I know, maybe one day I’ll see u down by the tracks. P.S love the vids
Good day shoestring! Always puts a smile on my face to see a new video from you. What a gorgeous steamer. They don't make em like that anymore. Such a shame. If only diesels looked that good, maybe amtrack wouldn't be constantly bankrupt. There's just something special about taking a ride on one of those old steam engines that brings out the inner kid in people, and makes us long for simpler times.
Yes that is a tulip poplar you was looking at, sassafras has three different shaped leaves. One leaf will be oval-shaped the next one will be oval shaped with a notch and the other will be oval shaved with three notches
GOD'S COUNTRY , a good place for one of his favorite son's to be.
I'm a big fan of little rails. There's a narrow gauge around here that I had forgotten to ride this year. Just got too busy I suppose.
Silly guy!! ***LUV U MARK RIP!***
Beautiful place String!!! Gives me peace to walk through this with you! THANKS!
Leave it to shoe he knows how to make rootbeer! I love that.
Hopefully your plans do not get derailed!
don't go off track
Nice
I see what you did there.😊
RIP Mark... The friend I never met. So I salute a fellow veteran and wish Godspeed... Thanks for all you have given!
I dont know if this is the Tweetsie Railroad near Boone but that brings back a lot of memories from when i was a 5 year old. Loved that train show
It is
Awesome place Shoestring! Sure will make a peaceful camp! Looking forward to seeing the video!👍
Wow what a really cool find Shoestring .Love the little tunnel. KEEP THEM COMING.
And you did the buster?! Dang shoestring you're cu!tured. 🎩
Boy Shoestring Our neck of the woods is to beautiful. It sounds like someone ripped a good one about 15:53 into the video.
Watching you two walk along and talking reminds me of when I was young in East Alton and my friend Wally would walk the rails around town. We would use the rails as shortcuts to different places in town. But the talking to him is what I miss the most.
I'm from Edwardsville. Small world 🌍
Hey neighbor, Collinsville here! @@SmallMartingale
Appreciate your videos Shoe, from a shirt wearing fan, God bless and happy rails 🛤️🚂
You ever get the chance Shoe check out the movie The Grey Fox about a train robber Bill Miner known as the gentleman robber and was said to be the first to have used the term Hands Up. True story.
Here kitty kitty.
This was an interesting little track here and the mountains
in the distance were really nice to see you could hear the
breeze blowing through the trees,very nice out here and
glad to see you back Thanks Shoestring.🤠👍
🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🇺🇲💨
I miss that sound. Odd how I can hear it on video but not in real life
Can I get a keychain for free shoestring
Get ya a hand cart Hobo, like the one that got lost in the quick sand in the movie Blazzing Saddles.😂
Very nice and educational 😮
Yeah buddy! My A-4 car has a 4 cylinder ford engine in it. Industrial version of the engine they put in the Ford Pinto...anytime you buy parts for it, you get the same parts for a 78 Pinto! 😆 🤣 😂
That Industrial Pinto engine was used in many corrosive applications in chemical and waste plants. It was cloned in thermoset plastic to use Ford's internal motor components.
That is the old Tweetsie Rail Road . Used to run through Boone NC.
Larry was ready to go lol. He seems great to hang around with but I'm not sure if he would be able to keep up with shoestring. Great to see a guest nevertheless beautiful area!! Looking forward to the next video and hopefully a fish dinner.
looks like could be bigfoot country , best drive a vehicle into the beast doing 1/4 mile hr
Hey Shoe have fun and be safe 👍
What an interesting little line shoestring. It looks like it would be fun to ride down the line on a little homemade rail car. Thanks for sharing this. love the steam engine 😊
You can still ride on tweetie in Blowing Rock NC. It's a short part of the original track and engine. They have a petting zoo and carnival type rides.
Nice track walk in some beautiful woods. It would be nice to see and hear that old engine chug along. Thanks for the tour Mark.
R.I.P shoestring
At 15:55 I heard a frog and then I heard Shoestring say he say a frog. I definitely heard it croak. Wonder if it smelled?
Boy, you were making me nervous walking so close to the edge like that! 😅
Me too!!!
@@pamwithrow3771 🥶
You should hike a section of the Appalachian trail your not far from it lol
Them dents in the cross ties are from them workers trying to hit them nails and missing em 😂
Just the other day I saw a grainer go by, and guess what I Saw? Hobo shoestring murial on the side of it! Went by too fast to get a picture. But maybe you'll catch it out there one day.
70 Pinto 1st car owned . Rolling gernade, n it was greebn lol HAPPY RAILS
Hi shoestring
First
Grade?
🍪
you show us some interesting things-thanks
Nature love ❤️ 😍
Nice!
I just love old stuff. So much history.
Find any of that ginseng out there in the backcountry ?
You should buy it, turn it into Hobo Disney land, with a thriller type ride through the hills with bulls popping out and random jumpscares as you ride the roller coaster train , maybe with a guest conductor... ALLLLLLL ABOARD!
Looks like a great place to camp, can’t wait to see your campground set up . Thanks Hobo😀👍
October 2nd Monday morning I ng I'm heading there
At timestamp 6:38 your reference was Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. With the minecart chase. 😊
Son of a gun shoestring, still scratching my head trying to figure out this video...lol.
Thats definitely an awesome one! Its amazing this thing is still in great shape considering its just artificially made into a hill that steep. Really cool man. Thanks for the video
On a good note, my daughter 24 is an ICU Nurse, cares for people, gave her every cent I had, she getting married, thought I was in the clear, nope, have to change diapers on 24 yr old, glad to do it, cause, we both know the system is sick
Hello Shoestring, tell Larry I say hello
Wheel dew
The tulip poplar is the TN state tree.
Shalom
bless you
Don’t get to See Narrow Gauge Railroads too often. 👍🙏
We have a lot of narrow gauge in the uk a lot of it is in old mining areas. Some still run for tourists.
I worked at this camp when I was a college freshman over the summer of 2010!
Have a trained monkey bring you sandwiches
It's nice come across hobo shoestring video R.I.P my friend happy his family haven't took his videos down I still enjoy watching him
Hey Shoestring, I live over in Hazard, Ky., just next door. Why don’t you ever travel down in the Waycross, Folkston area?
Why in the world would anyone choose a pile of sand and hot sunny beach over such beautiful mountian paradise.
Agree 110%
Like it, Hobo take a fishing trip next time and tell us how in the olden days, trainhoppers like you got food from nature on their way, berries and vegetables, also for medicinal purposes when there was no shops on their time on every corner
Thank you so, so very much for sharing, you inspire me, we both suck, but we both have stored up potential, be you, salute, boy
There were remnants of a narrow gauge railroad on some property mu Brother had bought in the 80's. Including a bridge. I have some lanterns and things here that he had stored at my Mothers home and never came back for. He died from throat cancer about 5 years ago. He was in Iraq working for Haliburton in a green zone but there were so many oil wells burning over there. That's what the doctors think happened.
Sir, you have so many views now I am so happy for you. I have a question if you happen to see my comment I would feel lucky to receive a reply. My question is, do the trains leak cargo very often? Did you hear about the train that lost it's haul of fertilizer between Wyoming ( I think) and Saltdale, Ca? I just thought I would ask, maybe you know more about that then I do, I am always thinking it was stolen for bad purposes but I would like to think it is simple mistake.
Yu by a side piece for a bicycle to run on rails. Don't know of the make narrow gauge but you can chop a piece off and weld it. RIP shoestring.
That wasn't a dynamite hole that was a rock snake hole
Very cool place. Thank you for sharing
A friend had a vega back in 1975. Wasn’t really much of a car. Blew the motor first ride!!
Scenic narrow gage RR and nice hike in the mountains, looked like a 4-4-2 wheel arrangement on steam engine, like Larry's NS SRR GE ES44AC HU shirt. Have a good time camping 🏕!🛤🚂
Thanks Brother,Love Your videos!🛤🚂
Nice video, Shoestring. Thank you!
If a ttain derail there they will probably just leave the cars and what it's hauling where they fall. It's a ugly site seeing old rusty detailed train cars littering beautiful scenery.
So beautiful ... imagine what it will look like once the autumn colors hit
Should be some nice trout in that stream.. !
There was alot of hard working folks built all this country's railroads and roads. Enjoy your time in the mountains.
Thanks for uploading Shoestring, I’ll enjoy watching this tonight as I do with all your uploads.
I like to check out your videos every now and then. I get to see places of America I would probably never see otherwise. I want to do a longboard road trip around the country, so I can go fishing everywhere. You keep me inspired to continue to stay on my chosen path. You are awesome!! Thank you
I was watching one of Stobe's old vids and I saw one of Shoestring's tags in Lincoln. Wonder if it's still there?
16:16 of this video:
ua-cam.com/video/o-dpvtdDu10/v-deo.html
Apending some time in west virginia ....cheat mountain salander working my way trying ro deal with all the switch backs
Awesome shoestring very cool thanks for all your awesome work 😀
I am nothing but something, this nothing prays for you, people like you remind me, we the people, can rule this world, possibly
Man, like me, you are you and I am me, then, we got the planet, and everyone else, live and let live, dude, you have the voice of reason in your head, unless the coppers try to bust your head, Lord forbid, love you shoestring, guy brought up to only get, if lucky, one new pair of shoes each year aka shoestring
Nice Video
Hpw come.yoi dont.use shoestring by mel mcdaniels as your them song dude?
u can be the resident ner-dew-well
How could you not like this life!!! We know shoestring did!!!
I had an Astra ,pontac
& then a mercury Bob cat .all good 4 75000 mi.
i wonder if they ever fire that train engine up knew the place was there but didn't know you could walk the tracks
That is the old narrow gauge line that used to run between Hampton and the micro town of Blevins. It was never fully completed and the trestles further up the line are totally rusted out with the timbers falling into the river. Many years ago it was still being used as an amusement park there on the "Doe River Gorge". I rode that train when I was a kid in elementary school on a field trip back in the 1960's when I was in the third grade. The narrow gauge steam train use to go a mile or so up the tracks until you got to the trestle that crossed the river and then straight into a short tunnel and then another trestle over the Doe River. The train would stop there and then back all the way back to the starting point in Hampton, where they were inspecting the steam engine at right before that tunnel they walked through. The train had to stop and back all the way back because the trestles were not safe to cross even back in the 60's. The "Doe River Gorge" amusement park had a few circus type rides and I have a photo of myself that appeared in the Bristol Herald Courier news paper on the Ferris Wheel with another student from my 3rd grade class.
Many years later in the 1980''s and 90's I kayaked that gorge anytime the water levels permitted, as it is an exciting and pretty hard core White water run at high levels, but very hard to catch it with enough water. It was cool seeing it again in this video all these many years later. Brings back a lot of memories for sure.
Fine old locomotive and maintained in pristine condition. I would be worried sick about mindless vandalism and lack of security but hopefully it's not a thing in those parts. Actual reason for my comment though is to enquire as to the rail gauge!
Forgot to mention that that amusement park was advertised as "Hillbilly World-Git Ur Kicks in the Sticks!" A friend's dad bought that property in the 70's and had the steam engines. I got to inspect them at one point. For years the tracks were gone & I hiked that right of way many many times enjoying the sounds of the river.
@@nuntius1933 It is a Narrow Gauge line is all I know for sure, I have hiked back in there a number of times long ago. I do not know what the actual width of the track it's self is. Shoestring probably knows the actual gauge of those narrow tracks it was bound to be some standard size. The Doe Gorge is amazingly secluded and almost seems like you entered another World far from civilization even though you really are not that far removed from urban areas. I think a Church owns the land where the engine is parked now and they own part of the gorge as well I think. I think they use the land as a church camp. Back when I kayaked a lot we once came down the doe gorge and rounded a bend in the river, and to our shock there was a group from the church seated on benches by the water and the preacher was performing a baptism... it was too late for us to stop on the strong currents and we ended up paddling behind the preacher while the entire congregation watched. The preacher did not realize we were passing behind him until after we were going over the next drop into the last set of rapids at the exit to the gorge. It was a little embarrassing and funny at the same time. 🤣
@@jamesrathschmidt3660 Oh yes, I remember that slogan now... Totally forgot that, but then again we are talking like over 50 years ago now. Thanks for adding that. Actually I watched the other video that Shoestring linked in his show notes about the history and learned a lot more than I ever knew. I did not know the line went all the way to Asheville originally, or that it was part of the original Tweetsie line. I kayaked the gorge many times back in the 80's and 90's during high water in the Winter and Spring rains and have walked the Tracks from both ends a number of times through the gorge long ago. Most of the timbers were missing from the bridges even back then, and we were fools probably to cross them. But we were young and fearless. It truly is a beautiful Gorge and seems like you have entered a wormhole to another time.
Now I own 30 plus pairs of worn out shoes, and only have one spare pare of shoe strings, who knows if they'll fit the worn out shoes?
Q. What do you want on your Tombstone?
A. Pepperoni.
You inspire me, to support the underlings, wtg simple man, not so simple man, freedom til u get busted cowboy
Indiana Jones
Nice
Finally a new Shoestring. I need my Shoestring talk on the regular or I get ill.
Nice looking place to get away