Sold at foreclosure on Valentine’s Day in 1918, the Tennessee Railway never was a financial powerhouse.
By 2005, it appeared the Tennessee was again doomed when Southern Railway successor Norfolk Southern filed to abandon the line, but thanks to National Coal Corporation, the line was purchased with hopes that the coal mining industry would once again use this route.
National Coal originally selected Watco to manage and operate the line, but only one train ran in 2006.
In 2008, a company known as the New River Railway began operating passenger excursion trains over various parts of the line.
In 2023, R.J. Corman started the process to abandon the line, which was met with resistance by a group to save the railroad.