Balsam Mountain:
a trip up North Carolina's
highest railroad line

Climbing out of Waynesville west of Asheville, the former Southern Railway's Murphy Branch elevates to Balsam Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway – at 3,348 feet the highest point of any railway line still in operation in the state.
The village of Balsam once claimed the highest railroad depot east of the Rockies.The station house is gone, but the Balsam Inn is still in service, overlooking the spot.
Actually, the eastbound climb from Sylva to Balsam is longer than the westbound climb from Waynesville. The photos shown here were made on a sunny August afternoon in 2001. The eastbound Norfolk Southern freight consisted of two four-axle engines pulling hard to carry about a dozen cars up and over the mountain.
The train crosses Scott Creek and Skyline Drive as it heads uphill out of the Sylva valley.
The Balsam Mountains rise above the line on both sides. Numerous peaks in this region top 6,000 feet.
Nearing the summit, the train crosses Dark Ridge Road and Dark Jones Creek.
The three scenes above show the train approaching the summit where Balsam's depot once stood. Up the hill to the right is the Balsam Inn, restored some years ago and still in operation.