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[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Charles Grattan Price Jr. Collection on Tweetsie and the Shenandoah Central Railroad, 1916-1997 (bulk 1948-1956), SC 0327, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
The collection was donated to Special Collections in July 2021 by C. Grattan "Butch" Price III, son of C. Grattan Price Jr.
All photographs (not including photograph negatives) and W. Graham Claytor's video recording of his family's visit to the Shenandoah Central have been digitized and are available online via
Special Collections staff provided the donor with archival folders prior to transferring materials. The collection was largely received in foldered groupings (correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings) by the donor. Much of the correspondence was received grouped together according to correspondent and bound with staples, likely an arrangement kept by C. Grattan Price Jr. These groupings as well as the staples were left intact to maintain original order.
Duplicate copies of magazines were not retained.
Photographs with affixed labels or extensive writing on the backs are interfiled with paper to prevent bleeding onto surrounding photographs. Photograph titles are based largely on the descriptions provided by C. Grattan Price Jr. All photographs (not including photograph negatives) and W. Graham Claytor Jr.'s video recording of his family's trips to the Shenandoah Central are digitized. Duplicate copies of photographs and postcards were not scanned.
At the suggestion of Don W. Thomas, president of the Chesapeake Western Railway, C. Grattan Price Jr., Harrisonburg insurance agent and railroad enthusiast, wrote to the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina (ET&WNC) Railroad in August 1952 about purchasing a narrow gauge steam locomotive and tender as well as narrow gauge cars. Price, along with fellow railfans Wade W. Menefee Jr. and Dr. Paul S. Hill, intended to build a narrow gauge railroad on Hill's farm in Penn Laird, Virginia as a scenic operating museum line. Narrow gauge railways differ from standard railways in that the distance between rails is 3 feet compared to the standard 4 feet, 3 1/2 inches.
Dr. Paul S. Hill (1907-1986) was a surgeon in Harrisonburg. He attended Washington & Lee University and graduated from the University of Virginia Medical School. Hill served as a major with the Medical Corps during World War II. Wade W. Menefee Jr. (1924-2004) was a graduate of Virginia Tech and a World War II veteran. Upon his return from military service, Menefee managed W. M. Menefee & Son, a local feed, fuel, and general supply company. Charles Grattan Price Jr. (1919-1996) graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was a veteran of World War II during which time he served as a railway shop superintendent and was a member of the U.S. Army's military railway service in France. Price was a partner in the insurance firm C. G. Price & Sons, Inc. until his retirement in 1978. He also authored
In November 1952, Price, Menefee, and Hill entered into a partnership agreement forming the Shenandoah Central Railroad. Hill served as Shenandoah Central's president, Price was vice president and general manager, and Menefee was secretary-treasurer. Soon after its formation, Shenandoah Central purchased Tweetsie (aka Locomotive #12), a historic narrow gauge steam locomotive, and two narrow gauge passenger cars from ET&WNC. Prior to its purchase by Shenandoah Central, Tweetsie was a working engine from 1917 to 1950 in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, plying the area's Great Smoky Mountains. Shenandoah Central purchased a third car from Pennsylvania's East Broad Top Railroad. After several failed attempts to locate and acquire rail, Chesapeake Western Railway loaned Shenandoah Central the necessary rail to build the one-mile scenic track which would be known as the Tweetsie Route. Norfolk & Western provided the ties and ballast.
Shenandoah Central Railroad held its Golden Spike Ceremony on May 29, 1953 to mark the official opening of the Tweetsie Route and the inaugural run of the Stonewall Jackson train. The Stonewall Jackson comprised a coach, a combination car, and a screened observation car with Tweetsie pulling the cars. During the Stonewall Jackson's first run, Dr. Paul Hill was Tweetsie's conductor, C. Grattan Price Jr. was engineer, and Wade W. Menefee Jr. was fireman. The ceremony included remarks by Don W. Thomas, president of the Chesapeake Western Railway; F. S. Baird, vice president of the Norfolk & Western; Sherman Pippin, retired ET&WNC engineer who was the engineer on Tweetsie's last run in 1950; and C. Grattan Price and Wade Menefee Jr. on behalf of the Shenandoah Central Railroad among others. Music was provided by the Harrisonburg High School band and included the songs "Dixie" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Major General Carl R. Gray Jr, Administrator of Veterans Affairs, drove the golden spike.
After two operating seasons, which saw more than 15,000 visitors, the partners were forced to place Tweetsie and the cars up for sale due to insufficient patronage and resulting loss of money. Additionally, flooding from Hurricane Hazel which hit Virginia in October 1954 damaged the track and roadbed beyond what was financially feasible for the partners to repair.
Actor and singer-songwriter Gene Autry inquired about purchasing Tweetsie and related equipment in April 1955. He intended to use the locomotive and equipment in his television and movie projects. Autry even planned to come to Harrisonburg in the spring of 1955 to finalize the arrangements, a visit that was eagerly anticipated by community members and local press. However, by the end of August 1955, the Autry Deal was dead due to the cost to transport the locomotive and equipment from Virginia to Autry's Melody Ranch in California as well as the cost to lay the rails.
During the spring of 1955, singer, musical actor, and automobile enthusiast James Melton also expressed interest in Tweetsie for display in his antique automobile museum, James Melton Autorama, in Hypoluxo, Florida.
Grover C. Robbins Jr. of Lenoir, North Carolina ultimately purchased the Tweetsie locomotive and equipment on August 25, 1955 for $17,000. The Tweetsie Railroad is still in operation in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
The Charles Grattan Price Jr. Collection on Tweetsie and the Shenandoah Central Railroad, 1916-1997 (bulk 1948-1956), comprises correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, printed articles, and promotional materials concerning the purchase of Tweetsie, narrow gauge locomotive #12, and related equipment by the Shenandoah Central Railroad in 1952; the opening of the Tweetsie Route in Penn Laird, Virginia in 1953; and the eventual sale of Tweetsie and equipment in 1955.
Photographs primarily document Tweetsie and the Stonewall Jackson train on the Tweetsie Route in Penn Laird and include passengers and railroad workers.
The collection is arranged into three series. All series are arranged chronologically.
Two books were removed from the collection and cataloged individually as part of Special Collections rare book holdings: Mallory Hope Ferrell's
Series 1: Correspondence, 1916-1997 (bulk 1948-1956), primarily comprises correspondence relating to the purchase and subsequent sale of the Tweetsie narrow gauge locomotive, cars, and related equipment and infrastructure. One file of legal and financial documents containing annual reports, agreements, and tax documents is also included. The correspondence is arranged chronologically and according to correspondent.
The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina (ET&WNC) Railroad Company correspondence file also includes bills of lading, inspection and repair reports, and designs for locomotive #12. A souvenir program celebrating ET&WNC's 85th anniversary is also included.
The Shenandoah Central Railroad file contains correspondence as well as the railroad's first annual report, a contract between George W. Anderson of Bridgewater and Shenandoah Central Railroad for railroad ties, and a list comprising the guests of honor attending the Golden Spike Ceremony on May 29, 1953 as well as a list of contributors and non-contributors.
Correspondence between Price and cartoonist and railroad enthusiast Carl Fallberg concerns Fallberg's 1953 cartoon drawing of the Shenandoah Central Railroad commissioned by Price. Mulitple copies of the cartoon are included.
Correspondence with Gene Autry concerns Autry's intended option to purchase the Tweetsie locomotive for use on his California ranch and in movies. Autry ultimately backed out on the purchase agreement due to the cost to transport and erect the narrow gauge locomotive and equipment. Financial agreements, legal documents, telegrams, and memoranda concerning the Autry Deal supplement the correspondence.
Additional correspondence includes Price's offer to various movie studios including Warner Brothers, Republic Productions, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Walt Disney to purchase Tweetsie and their respective responses. The new theme park Disneyland was undergoing construction at this time and Price was advised that Walt Disney might be interested in purchasing the locomotive and cars to incorporate into the new theme park. Disney responded that all of the locomotives and trains were being built on-site and scaled down to 5/8 the size. Price also wrote to Los Angeles-area newspapers urging them to write a human interest story about Tweetsie.
A single file of legal and financial documents is included in this series and filed after the correspondence. Shenandoah Central's first and second annual report, legal agreements, and tax documents are included.
Series 2: Printed and Promotional Materials, 1952-1997, comprises magazine articles, printed news stories, and newspaper clippings concerning Tweetsie, the Tweetsie Route, and the Shenandoah Central Railroad. Press releases, promotional ephemera, brochures, and invitations and name tags for the Golden Spike Ceremony are included. A 1997 print of Gil Reid's 1954 watercolor "Tweetsie," created to support Rockingham Public Library's capital campaign fund, is included
Of particular interest is a five-minute home video documenting the Claytor family's trips to Penn Laird to visit the Shenandoah Central Railroad and ride the Tweetsie Route in 1953 and 1954. The footage is narrated by W. Graham Claytor Jr., Price's friend and fellow railroad enthusiast, and features Claytor's wife Frances, and children Murray and Graham III.
C. Grattan Price Jr.'s undated draft manuscript "All Steam and a Yard Wide" provides an incomplete historical account Shenandoah Central Railroad, its partners, and Tweetsie.
Five-minute home video documenting the Claytor family's trips to Penn Laird to visit the Shenandoah Central Railroad and ride the Tweetsie Route in 1953 and 1954. The footage is narrated by W. Graham Claytor Jr., Charles Grattan Price Jr.'s friend and fellow railroad enthusiast, and features Claytor's wife Frances, and children Murray and Graham III.
Series 3: Photographs, 1949-1954, primarily comprises black-and-white photographs of Tweetsie and the Stonewall Jackson train along the Tweetsie Route in Penn Laird. Railroad employees and passengers are photographed in the train and inside the depot. Photographs of the May 29, 1953 Golden Spike Ceremony are also included. Six photographs document Tweetsie when it was part of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad Company. Many of the photographs are captioned with people, places, and dates identified. Postcards and color photograph negatives are included. Duplicate copies of photographs and postcards were retained.
Text on photo: ELIZABETHTON, TENN OCT 20, 1949 - handwritten.
Text on photo: "Tweetsie's" crew loved the little train as much as did the mountain people who depended on it for contact with the outside world. Engineer Sherman Pippin was as the throttle of No. 10 and No. 12 for some 20 years before the railroad was discontinued. (N.C. News Bureau Photo) - typed and affixed with tape; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label; NORTH CAROLINA NEWS BUREAU DEPT. CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - stamped.
Text on photo: "Tweetsie" was a familiar part of the rural landscape in Western North Carolina, as this photograph taken near Newland, N.C., shows. (N.C. News Bureau Photo) - typed and affixed with tape; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label; NORTH CAROLINA NEWS BUREAU DEPT. CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - stamped.
Text on photo: The route between Johnson City, Tenn., and Boone, N.C. presented some of the most rugged territory in the Appalachian mountains. Here the railroad skirts the Doe River Gorge on a ledge of solid rock. (N.C. News Bureau Photo - typed and affixed with tape; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label; NORTH CAROLINA NEWS BUREAU DEPT. CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - stamped.
Text on photo: "Tweetsie" went where even a sure-footed burro would fear to tread. Here the little train starts across the Doe River on one of the many bridges built by ET&WNC R.R. Co. (N.C. News Bureau Photo) - typed and affixed with tape; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label; NORTH CAROLINA NEWS BUREAU DEPT. CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - stamped.
Text on photo: "Over the river and through the wood" went "Tweetsie" on her trips from Johnson City, Tenn., to Boone, N.C. in former days. Engineer Sherman Pippin stopped his train so passengers aboard for a day's outing could take pictures like the one above. (N.C. News Bureau Photo) - typed and affixed with tape; NORTH CAROLINA NEWS BUREAU DEPT. CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT P. O. BOX 2719 RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - stamped.
Text on photo: L to R - Hill, Price Menefee - handwritten; THE THREE OWNERS OF THE SHENANDOAH CENTRAL RAILROAD TAKEN ON "GOLD SPIKE DAY" 5/29/53 L. TO R.: DR. PAUL S. HILL (PRESIDENT), C. GRATTAN PRICE, JR. (VICE PRES. & GEN. MGR.), WADE W. MENEFEE, JR. (SEC.-TREAS.) - handwritten and affixed with tape; Property of C. G. Price Jr. Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label; C. Grattan Price, Jr. 531 Ott Street Harrisonburg, Va. 22801 - address label.
Duplicate copy of this photograph has not been scanned.
Text on photo: Dr. Paul S. Hill, Pres. (Conductor) C. Grattan Price, Jr., V.P. & G.M. (Engineer) Wade W. Menefee, Jr., Sec.-Treas. (Fireman) Taken at the end of first run following Golden Spike ceremony May 29, 1953 at "Central Park." - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Duplicate copy of this photograph has not been scanned.
Text on photo: Driving of the Golden Spike, Shandoah Central Railroad, Lakeside Station (Penn Laird, Va.), 4:30 P.M. May 29, 1953 by Major-General Carl R. Gray, Jr., Veterans Administrator of the U.S. (former Vice-Pres., Chicago & Northwestern Ry., and Chief, Military Railway Service, European Theater, W.W.II). L to R - C.G. Price, Jr., Vice-Pres. & Gen. Mgr., Shenandoah Central R.R., W.W. Menefee, Jr., Sect'y.-Treas., Shenandoah Central R.R., L.W. Huncke, Pres., Wm. A. Smith Contracting Co., Kansas City, Kas. (donors of track-laying), F.S. Baird, Vice-Pres. (Traffic), Norfolk & Western Ry., Sherman Pippin, Engineer of last train when E.T.&W.N.C.R.R. abandoned narrow-gauge division in 1950. (Equipment bought by Shenandoah Central R.R.), General Gray, A.W. St. Clair, Gen'l. Mgr., Southern Ry. System - Lines East, C.R. Wilburn, Vice-Pres., Operations, East Broad Top R.R., Dr. P.S. Hill, Pres., Shenandoah Central R.R., (Mr. D.W. Thomas, Pres., Chesapeake Western Ry. temporarily absent when picture taken.) Photo by: N.&W. Ry. - handwritten; Please return to: C.G. Price, Jr. 531 Ott Street Harrisonburg, Va. 22801 - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Crowd before start of ceremony, Photo by Southern Ry. - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
D.W. Thomas, Pres., Chesapeake Western Ry., speaking. Photo by Bob Riley - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Duplicate copy of this photograph has not been scanned.
Text on photo: Harrisonburg High School Band plays as invited guests board first train, after ceremony. 5/29/53 Photo by N.&W. Ry. - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
F. S. Baird, Vice-Pres., Norfolk & Western Ry. Photo by N.&W. Ry. - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Duplicate copy of this photograph has not been scanned.
Duplicate copies of this photograph have not been scanned.
Text on photo: Sherman Pippin, retired E.T.&W.N.C. R.R. engineer. He was engineer on last run of their narrow-gauge division in October, 1950. Taken at S.C.R.R.'s Golden Spike Ceremony May 29, 1953, Photo by N.&W. Ry. - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Duplicate copy of this photograph has not been scanned.
Duplicate copy of this photograph has not been scanned.
Text on photo: Photo by H. Reid 8549 Wayland St. Norfolk, VA. - stamped.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Engineman: C. Grattan Price, Jr., Fireman: M. H. Dofflemyer (Shenandoah Central R.R. No. 12) (1954) - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 531 Ott Street Harrisonburg, Va. 22801 - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Conductor Wade Menefee, Jr. compares time with Engineman Grattan Price, Jr. as Fireman Myron Dofflemyer looks on. Shenandoah Central R.R. No. 12 (1954) - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 531 Ott Street Harrisonburg, Va. 22801 - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Conductor Wade Menefee, Jr. "lifts transportation." - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Conductor Wade Menefee, Jr. at rear end of "The Stonewall Jackson" - America's last narrow-gauge "name" train. - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Photo By Ward Allan Howe 310 Riverside Drive New York, 25, N. Y. - stamped; 5-30-54 - handwritten.
Text on photo: Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: W. E. Warden, Jr. 1216 Shamrock La. Waynesboro, Va. - stamped; August 1954 - handwritten.
Text on photo: Photo by Gorman WSVA-TV - printed on front; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 531 Ott Street Harrisonburg, Va. 22801 - handwritten and address labels; May 71 Railroad Pages 30, 31 #2134.
Text on photo: Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: H. Reid. - handwritten on front; Shenandoah Central R. R. - approaching Massanutten Summit - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on photo: H. Reid. - handwritten on front; Shenandoah Central Railroad "The Stonewall Jackson," pulled by famous "Tweetsie," crossing Cub Run Bridge. - handwritten; Photo by H. Reid - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 531 Ott Street Harrisonburg, Va. 22801 - handwritten and address labels.
Text on photo: Taken on line between Cub Run Bridge and Massanutten Summit May 30, 1954 - handwritten; Photo by Lee-Gitchell Studio - handwritten; Property of C. G. Price, Jr. 276 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, Virginia - handwritten and address label.
Text on postcard: Ride One of America's Last Old-Time Narrow-Gauge Trains! Shenandoah Central Railroad U. S. Route 33 at Penn Laird Six Miles East of Harrisonburg, Virginia - printed; Everett Waddey Company - Richmond, Virginia; printed.
Duplicate copies of this postcard have not been scanned.
Text on postcard: Famous Locomotive "Tweetsie" pulls old-time narrow-gauge train on 1-mile Shenandoah Central Railroad each Sunday and holiday from late May to early October at Penn Laird, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, six miles East of Harrisonburg, Virginia, on U. S. Route 33. Come take a "Trip to Yesteryear." - printed; Hannau Color Productions, 605 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach, Fla. - printed.