Thompson - Mammoth Cave and the Kentucky Cave Region

A TRIP TO MAMMOTH CAVE, C. 1908. The L&N Railroad started passenger rail service between Louisville and Nashville on October 31, 1859. Two main stops were at Cave City and Glasgow Junction, which is known today as Park City. Here a school party boards the train at Glasgow Junction. The Mentz Hotel can be seen on the right.

GLASGOW JUNCTION, C . 1914. The L&N Railroad brought passengers within 10 miles of Mammoth Cave in 1859. From there they traveled by stagecoach to the cave. The top photograph shows the arrival of the L&N train at the Glasgow Junction Depot. Tourists started traveling on the Mammoth Cave Railroad Dummy Train (bottom) from the depot to the cave in 1886.

BELL TAVERN, 1908. Bells Tavern was across the road from the Glasgow Junction Depot, and just to the right of the Mentz Hotel. Built in the 1820s, this famous old inn served as a resting place for travelers to Mammoth Cave up until the Civil War. Work began in 1860 to update the exterior and interior in order to make the inn a world-class establishment. Unfortunately, work stopped when the Civil War began, and never resumed. Only the remains of the tavern can be seen today.

THE MENTZ HOTEL, 1905 AND 1908. The Mentz Hotel was directly across from the Glasgow Junction Depot. If it was too late in the day to catch a train to Mammoth Cave, guests would often spend the night here. C.H. Smith of Bowling Green built the hotel in 1885. E.H. Mentz purchased it from Schuler Renfro in 1905. The photograph above, entitled The New Mentz Hotel, was taken soon after Mentzs purchase. E.H. Mentz is seen in the 1908 photograph below; he is standing in front of the hotel, outside the gate. After Mentz, Hade Burnett and Mrs. O.H. Fishback operated the hotel. In 1946, the building was run as a boarding school for boys. The building was also an apartment house in 1954, and a nursing home between 1955 and 1966. Today the hotel is a private residence.

THE DINKEY TRAIN, 1906. An 8.7-mile railroad extension was completed from the Glasgow Junction Depot to the Mammoth Cave Hotel in 1886. Stops were made between the depot and cave at Diamond Caverns, Grand Avenue Cave (on a branch line), Chaumont Post Office, Union City, Procters Hotel, Sloans Crossing, and Ganters Hotel.

MAMMOTH CAVE DINKEY, C. 1910. The first passenger to ride on the Mammoth Cave Railroad was a man named W.F. Richardson on November 8, 1886 (ticket no. 1350) at a cost of $3. Besides passengers, the Mammoth Cave Railroad carried food and supplies to the hotel at the cave and had a contract to carry United States mail.

THE DINKEY TRAIN, 1909. The Mammoth Cave Railroad purchased four secondhand dummy-type Baldwin locomotives for use on its railroad line. A dummy engine is a locomotive with condensing engines, and therefore it operates without the noise of escaping steam. An advantage of the quieter engine was that it did not scare the horses. The Hercules (#3) claimed the greatest fame among the four locomotives. The train carried a three-man crew that included the engineer, conductor, and fireman. One of the best-known engineers was Pat Moran (in front). Robert Hatcher (in rear) was one of the best-known conductors. The handwritten message on the back of this postcard reads, This is the train Papa and I rode on up to the cave yesterday only it had two more cars on it. We went about as fast as you could drive with an old horse and buggy.

MAMMOTH CAVE TRAIN, C. 1905. This was not one of the better days for the train, as there is only one passenger for at least seven railroad employees. Notice the water tank in the photograph. Water tanks were necessary for the steam engines and were located at Glasgow Junction and at Mammoth Cave.

MAMMOTH CAVE TRAIN, C. 1920. The Mammoth Cave Train could carry as many as 200 guests per trip. Because of the way the railroad was built, top speed for the train was only 35 mph. The last steam-driven locomotive traveled over the Mammoth Cave Railroad in the 1920s and was replaced by a railbus until September 1, 1931, when service was discontinued. Engine #4, shown above, made the last trip in the fall of 1931 and can be seen today at Mammoth Cave National Park.