[Dukeis#1]

I thought I would post some good news regarding Tweetsie Railroad:

<a href='http://www.mountaintimes.com/mtweekly/2007/0405/tweetsie.php3' target='_blank'>Tweetsie Railroad Stays On Track for 50th Anniversary.</a>

The park has managed to renew the land lease in question for another four years, though what will happen after that is still up in the air.

In addition, four new rides (A Free-Fall Ride, a Pirate-themed dark ride, a Round Up, and a Tornado) will be added for the 2007 season.

<a href='http://www.tweetsie.com' target='_blank'>www.tweetsie.com</a>

[bgwfreak]

That's good news!

I wonder where they will put the new rides. The only place I can think of is at the very top of the mountain.

[Jay]

Awesome. We should have a CC outing there one of these days...

[wdwspider]

Anyone have more details on the Pirate dark ride? That seems out of place to me.

[Dukeis#1]

I drove by Tweetsie Railroad yesterday [6/16/07] and snapped some quick pics of the construction that is going on.

The bulldozed site will be for the new "Hacienda” themed area. It will contain the Den of Lost Thieves dark ride, an outdoor theater, and a new picnic pavilion. Tweetsie is aiming for the area to be ready by the end of the summer. (Some more new attractions will be added to the area in the future)

From the parking lot, looking up at the construction area. The road leads to the train trestle and a private community up in the mountains behind Tweetsie. The entrance to the park is up the hill to the right:


This picture illustrates where the area will be in relation to the rest of the park. A new pathway will connect it to Main Street:


Looking towards the Ticket Office:


Most of the deep cut that the train entered after curving out of the station has been bulldozed off. This area was previously an old pasture from the farm that was located on the site before Tweetsie Railroad was built:


One last shot from across the parking lot. The haze is actually smoke from where the train had chugged out a few minutes earlier:


BTW, Tweetsie's other new rides in the Country Fair area are now operating. B)

[deaconnor]

The free fall ride is operating?

[wdwspider]

Interesting.

I know Tweetsie has high hopes of staying, but doesn't that seem like a lot of investment when you don't really know if you will be moving or not?

I am very happy for Tweetsie and Ghost Town btw. They are making NC proud.

[Dukeis#1]

I was thinking the same thing when I saw all the land work. Perhaps they feel they have the upper hand on the leases?

I've got suspicions that Tweetsie has actually got quite a bit of capital saved up. The park has went nearly 20 years without a new ride, but as far I as can tell it isn't losing money. I believe one of the reasons the management hasn't put much into the park over the years was the fear that they would have to move. (Though the Robbins family has quite a bit to do with it too...)