Bridges of the Clinchfield Railroad
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Clinchfield Railroad Bridges
Clinchfield’s Three Miles of Bridges!
By traveling across the mountainous terrain at 90-degree angles to the river valleys and mountain ridges, 79 bridges and viaducts were required to build the Clinchfield Railroad. Those 79 bridges and viaducts totaled 3.1 miles, over 1% of the Clinchfield’s 277 miles of its rail mileage.
The longest bridge was the Broad River Viaduct at 1,360 feet. Second was the Copper Creek Viaduct at 1,091 feet. Other honorable mentions include the Catawba River and Boone Creek Viaducts. Conversely, the shortest bridge is just 18 feet.
Every effort was made build bridges that would stand the test of time and construction technology, focusing on the use of steel. Initially, there were some timber trestles, but most were replaced with earth fills during the first decades of the railroad.
Copper Creek Viaduct at Speers Ferry VA
The bridge that best exemplifies this higher standard of construction is just a few minutes north of Gate City VA across the valley of Copper Creek. As you can see from the picture above, the predecessor of the Clinchfield (the 3Cs Railroad) was initially going to use the lower bridge and roadbed, but once George Carter and M. J. Caples took over, the towering viaduct above eventually became a proverbial monument to their dedication to exemplary railroad design.
Click here to read more about the Copper Creek Viaduct at Speers Ferry, Virginia.
More information about the Clinchfield bridges will be added in the future.
Clinchfield: List of Bridges
Name | Mile Post | Length |
Kentucky | ||
Pool Point | 2.4 | 390 |
Virginia | ||
Skaggs Hole | 7.0 | 473 |
Bartlick Creek | 8.4 | 71 |
Hills Mills | 10.2 | 302 |
First McClure | 17.5 | 315 |
Second McClure | 18.5 | 217 |
Coney Creek | 23.0 | 147 |
Open Fork | 26.8 | 211 |
First Lick Creek | 37.7 | 159 |
Second Lick Creek | 38.0 | 99 |
Third Lick Creek | 38.6 | 117 |
Fourth Lick Creek | 38.7 | 148 |
Fifth Lick Creek | 39.1 | 123 |
Crooked Branch | 39.5 | 18 |
Sixth Lick Creek | 39.9 | 123 |
Seventh Lick Creek | 41.1 | 148 |
Eighth Lick Creek | 41.7 | 60 |
First Clinch River | 42.7 | 246 |
Second Clinch River | 47.9 | 302 |
Bull Run | 49.2 | 60 |
Guest River | 51.2 | 121 |
Wolfe Branch | 53.6 | 60 |
Little Stoney Creek | 55.1 | 60 |
Stoney Creek | 64.6 | 95 |
Cove Creek | 67.9 | 60 |
Third Clinch River | 70.2 | 372 |
Copper Creek Viaduct | 78.8 | 1,091 |
Speers Ferry | 80.0 | 321 |
Tennessee | ||
North Fork Holston | 90.3 | 497 |
U.S. 11 W | 90.6 | 120 |
West Sullivan Street | 92.8 | 143 |
Reedy Creek | 92.9 | 181 |
Mad Branch | 94.7 | 76 |
South Fork Holston | 96.5 | 611 |
Kendrick’s Creek | 98.8 | 80 |
Hemlock Underpass | 100.0 | 42 |
Boone Creek Viaduct | 112.4 | 841 |
Southern Railway & McKinely Rd. | 117.5 | 100 |
Southern Railway (Embreeville Branch) | 117.9 | 90 |
Greenwood Drive Underpass (highline starts) | 118.5 | 130 |
Southwest Avenue Underpass | 119.6 | 130 |
North Indian Creek | 130.7 | 180 |
Martin’s Creek | 137.2 | 20 |
Asheville Highway | 138.1 | 47 |
Nolichucky River | 139.9 | 684 |
Devil’s Creek | 142.5 | 60 |
North Carolina | ||
Toe River | 147.9 | 529 |
Pigeon Roost Creek | 155.1 | 120 |
Brummitt’s Creek | 155.6 | 70 |
Big Rock Creek | 158.2 | 90 |
Cane Creek | 166.2 | 151 |
Rebel Creek | 174.3 | 60 |
Snow Creek | 177.3 | 60 |
Big Bear Creek | 179.7 | 60 |
Toe River | 185.1 | 130 |
First North Fork Catawba | 202.3 | 130 |
Second North Fork Catawba | 212.8 | 154 |
Catawba River Viaduct | 216.7 | 921 |
Marion Underpass | 218.4 | 44 |
Mead Underpass | 221.4 | 46 |
North Fork Muddy Creek | 224.6 | 60 |
First Second Broad River | 233.7 | 116 |
Second Second Broad River | 234.8 | 90 |
Third Second Broad River | 236.3 | 124 |
Fourth Second Broad River | 236.7 | 90 |
Fifth Second Broad River | 238.7 | 150 |
Sixth Second Broad River | 242.1 | 151 |
Robinson Creek | 245.3 | 160 |
Seventh Second Broad River | 247.4 | 380 |
U.S. 74 Underpass | 247.9 | 45 |
Floyd Creek | 253.1 | 270 |
Broad River Viaduct | 257.6 | 1,360 |
South Carolina | ||
Pacolet River | 268.7 | 686 |
I-85 Underpass | 270.2 | 363 |
Lawson’s Fork | 275.4 | 300 |
Southern Railway Whitney Spur | 276.1 | 40 |
Southern Railway Whitney Passing Track | 276.1 | 40 |
Southern Railway Whitney Yard Track | 276.1 | 40 |
I-585 Underpass | 276.4 | 200 |
Cleveland Street | 276.8 | 123 |
Clinchfield.org Sources and Resources
- Personal Maps & Memorabilia – Documents, maps and track charts that I have from the CRR, CC&O, and S&W
- Archives of Appalachia
- Book – Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
- Book – Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield’
- Book – Goforth: ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield’
- Book – Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City’
- Book – Helm: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad in the Coal Fields’
- Book – Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter’
- Book – King: ‘Clinchfield Country’
- Book – Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color’
- Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
- Book – Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century’
- Book – Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine’
- Book – Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains’
- Article – Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘
- Article – Flanary: ‘Men Against Mountains, Running Trains on the Clinchfield‘ October 2001
- Video – Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1
- Video – Ken Marsh on railroads and region’s history Video #2:
- Articles – ‘Johnson City Comet‘
- Article – Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
- Article – Classic Trains: ‘Remembering the Clinchfield Railroad‘
- Article – Railway Age: ‘This Coal Road Is Also A Speedy Bridge Line,’ Sept 1, 1952 edition
- Article – ‘Railway Signaling and Communications‘
- Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website – StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot
- Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City and for Erwin
- Website – The Radio Reference Wiki
- Website – SteamLocomotive.com
- Website – Clinchfield Railroad 1982 Track Chart at Multimodayways.org
- Website – Newspapers.com
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3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org