Cowan Depot was moved to a new home across the tracks in 1976
Mountain Goat Train crossed Nashville line at the Cowan Tunnel
Making a run on the Mountain Goat line
Narrow pass for the Mountain Goat Train
Cowan Depot is now a popular railroad museum
photo by John Wilson
Back of the Cowan Depot
photo by Wes Schultz
Switch engine
photo by Wes Schultz
Viewing stand for train watchers
photo by Wes Schultz
Log cabin served as first courthouse for Franklin County
photo by Wes Schultz
Part of the Cowan business section
photo by Wes Schultz
Chris McDonough starts out on the Mountain Goat Trail
photo by Wes Schultz
Mountain Goat Trail's first section goes from Sewanee to Monteagle
photo by Wes Schultz
Bridge for the Mountain Goat Trail
photo by Wes Schultz
Green strip at Monteagle was route for the Mountain Goat Train
photo by Wes Schultz
When the train made regular runs to Tracy City
Reminder of the railroad days at Tracy City
photo by John Wilson
Cowan, Tn., officials made a wise decision in 1976 when they made the effort to save their 1904, two-story railroad station, though it meant jacking it up and hauling it across the busy track from Nashville to Chattanooga. With passenger service ended, the railroad offered the town the property if it would move it.
The depot now stands on the opposite side of the track, and it has been converted into a popular train museum. It includes a number of interesting train photos, model railroads and artifacts as well as a diorama of a railroad employee in his office. One prized object is a large upright antique hand-made oak “cabinet of drawers” used for storing large railroad maps. A scanner alerts guests to the approach of upcoming trains, and a covered train viewing area was constructed on the business block side.
Just outside the depot is a 1920 Porter steam locomotive on a track. It is hooked to a flatbed car and caboose. Nearby is an old NC&StL switch locomotive. Several restaurants operate in the old business section across the track, with many of the patrons having come for the railroad history.
The site selected for a tunnel to reach the lush valley leading to Sherwood and Stevenson, then on to Chattanooga, was just outside Cowan. This tunnel through Cumberland Mountain was started in 1849 with workers outfitted mainly with hand tools digging their way through solid rock. The arduous task was not completed until 1852, though work was carried on night and day. At the time, it was the longest railroad tunnel in the world at 2,228 feet. It somehow escaped damage from the armies during the Civil War. To this day, a pusher engine is still used to help in the steep ascent to Cowan.
Cowan got a second railroad line when plans were made to build a railroad the nine steep miles to a coal mining operation at Sewanee.. This railroad began at the Cowan Depot and trestled over the Nashville line at the top of the tunnel. This stone arch bridge is said to be the only instance of a branch line trestling atop a main line tunnel. The line was the steepest railroad in the world at the time, gaining 1,200 feet of elevation in seven miles. It was given the name Mountain Goat Train.
The line was extended from Sewanee to Monteagle, then on to Tracy City. It eventually stretched to Palmer, Tn., in Grundy County. Passengers on the section from Cowan to Sewanee enjoyed dramatic mountain and valley vistas, and there was one viewing platform.
It is still possible to walk along the old Mountain Goat Line from Cowan to Sewanee. A five-mile segment of what is called the Mountain Goat Trail opened in 2015. The paved trail connects Monteagle to Sewanee. Proponents want to eventually create a multi-use recreational greenway along almost 40 miles of the abandoned right-of-way, reaching all the way to Palmer.
The stone Sewanee depot for the Mountain Goat Line still stands, and is in use as a hair salon.