Chattanooga Railroad Series: Stevenson, Ala.

Stevenson, Ala., like its neighbor Bridgeport, has remained a sparsely-populated outpost despite the fact that both are important points on the railroad.

Tiny Stevenson is especially important because it was a stop on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and it also was the ending point for the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The latter line never built its own tracks into Chattanooga, but shared tracks with the Nashville train - for a fee.

The trains have long discontinued stopping at the Stevenson depot, but they still frequently whiz by. Loretta Barbee, the faithful custodian of the interesting Stevenson depot, is right in the middle of the train traffic. The Nashville and Chattanooga line is right beside one side of the depot and the old Memphis and Charleston track right by the other side of the station.

She says, "You ought to hear it when they are coming from both sides."

When the line converges nearby to a single route on to Bridgeport and Chattanooga, she notes that the old Nashville and Chattanooga has the priority unless the old Memphis line "has a hot load."

She oversees the 1872 depot that now serves as a railroad museum. There are also many Native American artifacts, many of which were collected by her brother.

It was an objective to build the railroad from Nashville to Chattanooga within the confines of Tennessee, but geography dictated otherwise. It was necessary, because of the mountains, to route it below South Pittsburg into Alabama. The stop was named for the railroad's president, Vernon K. Stevenson. He was a close friend of Chattanooga railroad promoter Col. James A. Whiteside. The N&C also wound up for a short distance across the line in Georgia before reaching Chattanooga.

The Stevenson depot was built in 1872 to replace the original 1852 version that was a victim of the Civil War.

Next door, just a few feet away, is the quaint old Stevenson rail hotel. It is now used to host meetings.

Stevenson has a long section of interesting brick buildings across from the depot, though only a few are in current use. Some fine old homes are on the hill behind them. From the residential section, a narrow bridge crosses the busy railroad line.

Ms. Barbee notes that there are historic homes on either end of town that served as Civil War hospitals. A local judge has restored one of these that was in shambles.