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The Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce presented the historic train display located next to the former Chamber of Commerce building to the City of Elizabethton during the City Council meeting on Thursday.

The exhibit contains three train cars, a Southern Railroad caboose, an East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (Tweetsie) boxcar, and a North American Rayon Steam Engine, each representing the different railroad history of Carter County.

The train was given to the Chamber of Commerce many years ago. With the Chamber’s recent move to downtown, it would have been more difficult to keep an eye on and take care of the train, so they gifted it to the City of Elizabethton.

“We are delighted to gift this icon to the City for safekeeping as we complete our move,” said Chamber Executive Director Joy McCray. “We hope tourists and train enthusiasts will continue to come and see it.”

The decision to give the train to the City made sense, seeing how the Chamber and the City work closely.

“With the move of our Chamber office and Visitor Center, we had no place or resources to relocate the train,” said Chamber Board President David LeVeau. “We are happy to present the City of Elizabethton with the historical train and give it a permanent home.

“We thank City Manager Daniel Estes, Mayor Alexander, and City Councilmen for being such a great partner with the Chamber over the years. We look forward to continuing building that relationship in promoting business, education, workforce development, and tourism to Elizabethton and Carter County.”

The train display is located on the side of U.S Highway 19E.