NCStL #710 - Copperhill, TN

I didn't think I'd ever see an NCStL locomotive out in the wild, but I saw this EMD GP7 parked in a train yard outside of Copperhill, TN. I'd like to think I just happened to stumble across a vintage locomotive that just happened to be sitting around. Realistically, that kind of thing doesn't happen too often.

As it turns out, this locomotive is used by the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum based out of Chattanooga. One of their excursions called the Hiwassee River Rail starts from Gee Creek near Etowah and occasionally goes all the way to Copperhill.

During the years the GP7 was made, NCStL purchased 37 of them. Before acquired by TVRM, it spent several decades with Amtrak.

Georgia/Tennessee State Line

There's a small town divided by the border between Georgia and Tennessee. Step on the left side and you're in McCaysville, GA in Fannin County. Move over to the right and you're in Copperhill, TN in Polk County. Through town, a blue line is painted on the street to point out the division.

Where the border meets main street is this nice sign labelling GA and TN. While the sign makes it look like the border is a river, it's not. However, the Toccoa or Ocoee river passes through town, and changes names at the state line. The sign here is also relatively new. Based on other pictures I've seen, it's newer than 2008 as older pictures have a simple GA and TN divided by a dotted line.