The Foxfire Magazine and Books are written by High School students in Rabun County, Georgia. Featuring interviews with local personalities by the students, they have tried to capture the history, folklore, music, superstitions and other facets of life in the Southern Appalachians. Foxfire 10 tells the story of the effect of the coming of the Tallulah Falls Railway, the building of Fontana Dam and other changes that brought increased contact with the outside and began the end of the self-sufficiency of the Appalachian folk. It also contains chapters on such crafts as Chairmaking and Gourd Art.

In 1976, Foxfire published a book on the Tallulah Falls Railway titled “Memories Of A Mountain Shortline” edited by Kaye Carver and Myra Queen. Student Kaye Carver is now adult advisor Kaye Carver Collins and wrote the introduction to the first chapter, which is on Transportation. Student Tim Martin took much information from this book and included it in Foxfire 10. The chapter on the TF tells of the history and day-to-day operations. It includes many interviews with surviving crew members, station agents and the like. It includes a minimum of photographs, but a lot on the people who worked on the railroad, rode it, or were affected by it.

Following the Chapter on the TFRR, are Chapters on Tourism and the town of Tallulah Falls, both of which were greatly affected by the railroad. Other Chapters tell about dam building and logging, the WPA and the CCC. The Chapter on the building of Fontana Dam should be of great interest to the railfan, since materials and men were brought into the dam site from the famous Southern Railway Murphy Branch.

The Tallulah Falls Railroad - A Photographic Remembrance 1898-1961, by Brian A. Boyd, Fern Creek Press, 1998.

review by Ruddy Ellis

Brian Boyd has assembled a great collection of over 125 black & white photographs of the famous Tallulah Falls Railway, known locally as "The Total Failure." He has added enough text to tell the history of the railroad and caption each photograph. He has authored a number of books about the Northeast Georgia mountains, including “The Chattooga-Wild & Scenic River", "Hiking Guide To Georgia’s Rabun County" and "Waterfalls Of The Southern Appalachians".

From the cover photograph of steam locomotive 78 pulling a freight on the famous curved trestle into Clayton, GA to the last photo inside the book of the rear of caboose X5 disappearing into the sunset, Boyd has included photos from the Georgia Dept. of Archives & History, the Georgia Power Company and numerous private collections.

The book begins with a map of "The Old TF" with a line or two about each of the 21 towns served along the 58 mile route from Cornelia, GA to Franklin, NC. Next are several pages on the construction and early history, followed by a chapter on the namesake town of Tallulah Falls, GA with its spectacular Gorge and Falls.

Included in the next section on passenger service are photos of ticket stubs, a timetable and a last day cover when RPO service was discontinued on July 31, 1946. The demise of the line is in the next chapter, followed by chapters on Engines & Rolling Stock, the 42 trestles on the line, Legendary Wrecks, Depots, Scenes Along The Way, and Faces In The Crowd.

The final two chapters are about the two Hollywood movies made on the TF and what is left and attempts to preserve the memories of the TF. At only $11.95, this book is a bargain for any Railfan's collection.