Our “Beneath the Waters” series has earned thousands of views, covering Lake Norman, Lure, Jocassee, and Murray. Tonight, we will cover Kerr Lake. The lake is no different from the others in terms of roads, and former structures were flooded to make way for it, but it does have a secret lying on the bottom, about fifty feet below the surface.
Kerr Lake straddles the border of North Carolina and Virginia, and some may be surprised that it’s home to a ghost train.
Many years before the lake was created in 1952, a tall railroad trestle crossed the former body of water known as Nutbrush Creek.
In 1918, Engine Number 2 chugged down the tracks with two brothers on board, piloting the train. As the train engine went across the trestle, it collapsed, killing both men. A forest fire in the area had weakened the trestle.
The train was never moved from the wreckage site, and today, the train engine, tender, and three railcars sit submerged in the depths of Kerr Lake.
Written By John G. Clark Jr.