Cowan Pusher District and Tunnel

The Town of Cowan, located east-southeast of Winchester, the county seat of Franklin County, developed around the N&C railroad station in the early 1850's when this little Tennessee village was a passenger stop on the main line between Nashville and Chattanooga. It also was a spur line for rail service to Tracy City, Sewanee and Monteagle, and a base for the Cowan-Sherwood Pusher District. A pusher engine was a helper engine that gave assistance to the overburdened locomotives as they ascended the Cumberland Mountain to reach the tunnel. Cowan was the last stop before approaching this tunnel. It is 2,228 feet in length and one of the earliest and the longest in the state. This tunnel is indispensable to rail transportation and serves the CSX Railroad today.