I was recently fortunate enough to take a long weekend to explore the tunnels on the Southern Loops and the Clinchfield Loops in western North Carolina. Throughout construction steel was used in erecting bridges, not wood (unless it was a temporary structure), tunnels featured dimensions of 18-feet across and 24-high (much larger than standard designs called for), and the road's chief engineers wanted the line set to a maximum grade of just 1.2% when the standard mountain grades of the era were commonly set to 2%.The Clinchfield Loops defined this high level of engineering. Even more fascinating is the fact that to keep grades at 1.2%, the loops feature 29 railroad miles when in fact they only travel an actual 12 miles from north to south.
Carter would eventually win this fight in the courts and later established an interchange with the C&O at what became the Clinchfield's northern terminus in Elkhorn City.
Restored in 1968 in the Erwin Machine Shop, the engine continued operating as an excursion train through 1979. All photos and videos, copyright individual owners/organizations. By 1908 the S&W had built 35.8 miles of new railroad to Marion, North Carolina giving it a main line of 98.2 miles. Under the new direction of then-CEO and President E. Hunter Harrison, CSX re-opened the old Clinchfield as a through route.
Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his © Copyright 2007-2020 American-Rails.com. Part of Harrison's plan called for fewer hump yards which shifted traffic patterns on CSX. The Clinchfield lost its identity in the mid-1970s when it came under the "Family Lines System" banner, a marketing name for Seaboard Coast Line, L&N, and several smaller railroads.
As a result, several were closed and CSX's traffic patterns changed. However, the right-of-way was so well laid out and constructed that it turned the Clinchfield into a very profitable coal-hauling road in the years to follow. During a two-year period, from 2015-2017, the loops and the former CC&O main line was closed as a through corridor.That all changed with E. Hunter Harrison became CSX's president on March 7, 2017. Thanks to an initial strong financial backing the CC&C was able to quickly build more than 150 miles of railroad connecting Marion, North Carolina to Camden, South Carolina by 1889.The road was working on its northern extension into Kentucky during 1890 when a major bank financing the project failed and forced the line into bankruptcy. The Clinchfield Railroad began operating the line December 1, 1924, and for many years it was leased jointly by the At the end of 1925 the railroad operated 309 miles of road and 467 miles of track; mileages in 1970 were 312 and 501. Discussions related to a transportation route from the Ohio river to the South Atlantic was during a convention held at Estillville, Virginia in 1831. The loops, and the railroad in general, were incredibly expensive to build featuring literally miles of tunnels and bridges. This 4-6-0, 55.6 ton locomotive was one of the longest-operating steam engines in America. Warren Calloway photo.Along the southern edge of the system Clinchfield SD40 #3001, U36C #3602, and SD40 #3008 have their freight at the yard in Spartanburg, South Carolina as a crewman rides the pilot steps during February of 1972.
Unfortunately, the view from the parking area is completely obscured, but I could hear the trains passing by below, so the tracks are still in use today. The Clinchfield is remembered for is its famous "Santa Claus Special" that debuted in 1943 from encouragement from several Kingsport businessmen and ran the length of the Clinchfield's main line between Elkhorn City and Most of their traffic was coal trains, but the Clinchfield did operate a few scheduled Freight Trains.
Date: 04/20/05 05:01 Railfanning at Clinchfield Loops, North Carolina Author: HarrisA. A Weekend in the Loops of Western North Carolina. Carter believed that the railroad should be constructed to a very high standard, which was especially difficult considering it would be built through the southern Appalachians. When it was finally completed, the CC&O was one of the last major mountain railroads opened in the United States.
1, known as "Old Number One", began service in 1882. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. Warren Calloway photo.A grimy Clinchfield F7A, #813, and other power layover at the engine terminal in Erwin, Tennessee on April 3, 1971.
The 35-mile segment from Dante, Virginia, to Elkhorn City, opening up the coal lands north of Sandy Ridge Mountains and forming a connection with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway at Elkhorn City, was completed in 1915. This brought new life to the Clinchfield. For the small town in Georgia, see The Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad (1886-1893)Revenue freight traffic, in millions of net ton-milesRevenue passenger traffic, in millions of passenger-milesThe Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad (1886-1893)