Monterey Depot

The Monterey Depot is located at milepost 108.4 of the old Tennessee Central Railway route. The town has seen three buildings serve as the depot. It is unknown when the first structure was built, but it burned in 1902. It was not replaced until the late 1920s. Monterey served as the home base for the TC repair shops. The town of Monterey was vital due to its coal mines. The railroad helped the mines to transport their coal across the country. Monterey also was home to a 100,000 gallon water tower as well as a coal hopper. Monterey was important to the TC because it was the central point of the eastern division. This meant that instead of locomotives and other rolling stock having to be taken to Nashville for maintenance, the tasks could be performed at Monterey. Most of the shops were destroyed by fire in 1949. They were replaced by a single metal shed. To get to the coal mines, trains had to take the Crawford Branch Line up to Wilder. The city of Monterey, and their coal mines were not easy to get to, and required trains to double up on locomotives. Monterey also served as a crew change point for mainline freight trains coming from cities such as Nashville, or Cookeville. When the Tennessee Central went bankrupt in 1968, the Louisville and Nashville railroad purchased the Monterey Depot, as well as the Crawford Branch Line. The tracks were removed from Monterey to Harriman, making Monterey the end of the line. At some point along the way, the Depot was demolished. The town of Monterey went without a depot for many years. A sand quarry was formed in the area, with Nashville and Eastern trains hauling sand to and from it. But there was no Depot. Finally, in 2011 ground was broken and a replica of the old depot was completed in February 2012. This new Depot also serves as the Monterey History Museum. While not as unique and stately as the Cookeville Depot, the Monterey Depot is a structure that the citizens of Monterey can be proud of.

Inside the Monterey Depot Museum sits a railway maintenance vehicle. This vehicle would have been used to go down both the main and branch lines and inspect the tracks. 

The Monterey Depot Museum recently acquired an unrestored Tennessee Central Dining Car.

The old Tennessee Central Coal Hopper is still standing.

The old Monterey Depot and the new one bear a strong resemblance.

Stay tuned for more blog posts about tales from Tennessee and beyond, and don't forget to check out the section of the blog devoted to Moore Historical Consulting.