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Wrapping up our look at the area small town railroad depots, we go south to Franklin County, which like Bedford County, had its share of depots for the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad. Thankfully, one of them has been preserved and is accessible as a museum with limited hours.

The mineral springs at Estill Springs and nearby Winchester Springs made the town of Estill Springs a hot spot for visitors wishing to soak in the therapeutic waters. Estill Springs (the town) being on the route of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad gave it special significance as a destination. As such, Estill Springs had hotels and a railroad depot.

Looking around in Estill and driving back and forth across the tracks, it was unclear where the depot had been located. However, Jerry Limbaugh at the Franklin County Historical Society came to the rescue. He provided a 1997 newsletter article by Dr. William Dickens that revealed that the Estill Springs depot was on the west side of the tracks, just north of the Bethpage Road crossing. He states that the depot was a combination freight and passenger depot, the north end being the freight end.

Moving southward, we come to Decherd, also on the NC&StL line, with its two depots, one on each side of the tracks and just north of the Main Street crossing. The passenger depot is on the west side of the main track. Note in the photo from the late 1930s that there are a few tracks that look to either be abandoned or little used, though there are also active switches and there’s a fairly large number of people at the passenger depot.

Cowan’s depot is the one still existing, and it now houses the Cowan Railroad Museum. Cowan was an important location on the NC&StL line, mostly because of its location at the base of the mountains. Coal trains went through Cowan and were often stored at the Cowan yard prior to being moved toward their final destination. Additionally, “pusher engines” worked from the Cowan yard, helping to push heavily laden coal trains up the mountain and toward Chattanooga. Cowan was also the terminus for the Tracy City Line, so Cowan saw a great deal of activity. The large number of tracks in the accompanying tower photo attests to that fact.

Except for the pusher engine, all images: John W. Barriger III Photos. Barriger National Railroad Library at UMSL. As last week, give credit for much of the information on these photos to railway aficionados who commented on specific photographs of the Barriger collection on Flickr.

Do you have sharp pictures and interesting stories from Tullahoma’s or Coffee County’s past? If so, reach out to me at alanmayes@lighttube.net.