Marshall McClung
A few years ago, the Graham County 4-H Club decided to start a program to get young children off the couch where they spent much time texting on their phones and into the woods.
A hiking club was started with guided hikes by 4-H leaders, extension service and volunteers.
Local areas visited in Graham County have included waterfalls, grassy balds and areas of historic interest. In so doing, these young people have visited areas they didn’t know existed – and likely would never have seen. In the meantime, they have also learned some local history.
Such was the case on a recent hike in July when they walked a three-mile section of an old logging railroad grade from near I.U. Gap (“Indian Union”) to the Cornsilk Branch community in the Snowbird area.
Construction of this railroad began in 1912 when Graham County provided a $50,000 bond for Whiting Lumber Company to grade a railroad bed from Topton to Robbinsville, down Tallulah Creek. Whiting never completed the work and Bemis Lumber Company purchased their holdings and completed the railroad bed to Robbinsville in 1922. The first engine and rail cars reached Robbinsville on July 4, 1925.
Work began shortly thereafter to construct the railroad on to Big Snowbird Creek, to haul logs to the mill at what is now Milltown. From Milltown, the railroad went up Atoah Creek, through I.U. Gap, on to Cornsilk Branch and up Big Snowbird Creek, with a separate extending into the Buffalo area.
At a point now known locally as “The Junction,” the railroad switched from standard gauge to narrow gauge. When the railroad reached steeper terrain up the creek, switchbacks were used to gain in elevation: meaning that part of the time the train ran backward, then forward as it made its way through a series of these switchbacks.
When even steeper terrain was encountered in the very upper reaches of the area, an incline railroad was used to pull rail cars with a large cable to where the logs had been stockpiled. The loaded car was then let down the incline track to where it was connected to other rail cars.
My father Clyde McClung helped build the railroad and later was part of the train crew. My mother said that in the wintertime, he would often come home with his overalls frozen stiff from the waist down.
Once he slipped and fell on some slick logs, and either bruised or fractured some ribs. Even though he was in much pain, he continued working.
The railroad crossed some of the McClung property on Atoah. In fact, the driveway to my brother Sam McClung’s home was part of the railroad bed. I recall seeing old crossties, spikes and pieces of coal along this section as a young child.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He is retired from the U.S. Forest Service and can be reached via email, mcclungs828@gmail.com.