The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad might return to Dillsboro. A draft agreement exposed by the Sylva Herald proposes the following terms:

  • Jackson County and the TTA would pay one-half of the expenses of moving the 1913 Swedish #1149 steam engine and train set from Belfast, Maine, to GSMR’s repair shop in Dillsboro. GSMR would pay the remaining half, with the total expected to be approximately $430,000.
  • The town of Dillsboro will apply for a Golden Leaf Foundation Grant for $200,000 to construct a turntable on the property belonging to the Clark family that’s adjacent to GSMR’s tracks. The document states that David and Betty Huskins would administer that grant. . . .
  • Finally, the draft agreement says the Jackson County TTA agrees to support the GSMR steam service by appropriating an unspecified sum for marketing and advertising.