Challengers of the Clinchfield Railroad
- Home Page
- Flood Recovery: Clinchfield/CSX Reconstruction | Interactive Map
- History: Summary | Design | Surveys | Battles for the Rivers | Construction | Clinchfield Coal
- Predecessors: Summary | CRRR | 3Cs | OR&C | S&W | CC&O
- Leaders: George L. Carter | M.J. Caples | John B. Dennis | James A. Blair
- The Clinchfield: Maps | Mileposts | Stations | Connections | Branches/Spurs | Yards | Sidings | High Line | Bridges | Tunnels | Grades | Loops | Santa Train | Car #100 | Business Car #1
- Locomotives: Summary | Diesels | Steam | Challengers | No.1 | CRR 800 | CSX Heritage Unit
- Operations: Summary | Freight | Passenger | Timetables | Wrecks | Dispatcher’s Sheet
- Corporate Couplings: Summary | CC&O Lease | Family Lines | Seaboard System | CSX | 2015 Closure/Reopening
- CSX/CRR Today: Summary | CSX Kingsport Sub | CSX Blue Ridge Sub
- Railfanning: Summary | Restaurant Guide
- Destinations: Summary | Elkhorn City | Breaks | Dante | Speers Ferry | Kingsport | Johnson City | Erwin | Nolichucky Gorge | Spartanburg | and more
- Model Railroads: Summary
- Resources: Books | Scholars | Museums
- Clinchfield.org: Editor | Site Map
- Related Websites: Appalachian-Railroads.org | Southern-Railroads.org
The CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision, the old Clinchfield line south of Erwin is now reopen after the extensive damage from Hurricane Helene. The first revenue freight train ran on September 21st, and two coal trains followed on September 25th. Ribbon cutting photo by Mark Loewe. . Use this link to see Designs in Orbit’s exceptional video updates with drone footage. Also, Train Chaser Elliot provides wonderful coverage. Click here to read about the monumental CSX rebuilding efforts on Clinchfield.org. In the weeks ahead we will add much more content chronicling the events of the past year.
Clinchfield Challenger 4-6-6-4 Locomotives
The Clinchfield had a total of 18 Challengers, but in the time before they were purchased, CRR had owned and operated many articulated engines. These larger engines allowed the Clinchfield to move longer and heavier coal trains across the mountains. The Challengers were the largest and most memorable.
Clinchfield purchased the Challengers between 1942 and 1947, but all were retired by 1954 due to Clinchfield being an early adopter of an all diesel fleet.
Clinchfield Challenger Timeline
- E-1: 8 engines, delivered in 1942/43
- E-2: 4 engines, delivered in 1947
- E-3: 6 engines bought from the Denver & Rio Grande (D&RGW) in 1947
- As the diesels were added beginning in 1948, the Challengers were used as pushers for the coal trains.
- All were retired by 1954, and many were scrapped in 1955.
- Several of them sat dormant in the Erwin yards for quite a few years, as late as 1962, until their amortization on the Clinchfield financial books was complete.
- Click here to see details on the Clinchfield Challengers at SteamLocomotive.com.
Clinchfield Challenger Roster
| Number | Class | Built | Retired |
| 650 | E-1 | 1942 Alco | 1954 |
| 651 | E-1 | 1942 Alco | 1954 |
| 652 | E-1 | 1942 Alco | 1954 |
| 653 | E-1 | 1943 Alco | 1954 |
| 654 | E-1 | 1942 Alco | 1954 |
| 655 | E-1 | 1943 Alco | 1954 |
| 656 | E-1 | 1943 Alco | 1954 |
| 657 | E-1 | 1943 Alco | 1954 |
| 660 | E-2 | 1947 Alco | 1954 |
| 661 | E-2 | 1947 Alco | 1954 |
| 662 | E-2 | 1947 Alco | 1954 |
| 663 | E-2 | 1947 Alco | 1954 |
| 670 | E-3 | 1943 Alco (bought from D&RGW in 1947) | 1953 |
| 671 | E-3 | 1943 Alco (bought from D&RGW in 1947) | 1953 |
| 672 | E-3 | 1943 Alco (bought from D&RGW in 1947) | 1953 |
| 673 | E-3 | 1943 Alco (bought from D&RGW in 1947) | 1953 |
| 674 | E-3 | 1943 Alco (bought from D&RGW in 1947) | 1953 |
| 675 | E-3 | 1943 Alco (bought from D&RGW in 1947) | 1953 |
Challenger Drawing – E1
N Scale Clinchfield (UP) Challenger Pulling Santa Train
Clinchfield.org Sources and Resources
The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Clinchfield Railroad. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Clinchfield.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.
- Associations:
- Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
- Archives of Appalachia – ETSU, Johnson City TN
- Books:
- Beach: ‘The Black Mountain Railway,
- Drury: ‘The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
- Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield’ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield
- Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City
- Helm: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad in the Coal Fields
- Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter
- King: ‘Clinchfield Country’
- Marsh: “Clinchfield in Color’
- Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina
- Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century’
- Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine’
- Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains’,
- Wolfe: ‘Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line‘ and ‘Southern Railway Appalachia Division,’
- Young: ‘Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads in Color.’ Volume 1: Kentucky, Volume 2: Virginia
- Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
- Newspaper Articles – Newspapers.com
- Online Articles:
- Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
- Classic Trains: ‘Remembering the Clinchfield Railroad‘
- Railway Age: ‘This Coal Road Is Also A Speedy Bridge Line,’ Sept 1, 1952 edition
- ‘Railway Signaling and Communications‘
- Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘
- Flanary: ‘Men Against Mountains, Running Trains on the Clinchfield‘ October 2001
- Online Videos – Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1, Ken Marsh on railroads and region’s history Video #2:
- Websites:
- Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads,
- Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net,
- RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City and for Erwin, The Radio Reference Wiki
- SteamLocomotive.com
- VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
- Multimodalways.org
Contact Us at Clinchfield.org
Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the Clinchfield or Model Railroads.
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Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
