Interchanges and Connections of the Clinchfield Railroad
- Home Page
- History: Summary | Design | Surveys | Railroad Battles | Construction | Clinchfield Coal
- Predecessors: Summary | CRRR | 3Cs | OR&C | S&W | CC&O
- Leaders: George L. Carter | M.J. Caples | John B. Dennis
- Floods: Floods and Clinchfield/CSX Reconstruction
- The Clinchfield: Maps | Mileposts | Stations | Connections | Branches/Spurs | Yards | Sidings | High Line | Bridges | Tunnels | Grades | Loops | Santa Train
- Locomotives: Summary | Diesels | Steam | Challengers | No.1 | CRR 800 | CSX Heritage Unit
- Operations: Summary | Freight | Passenger | Timetables | Wrecks | Dispatcher’s Sheet
- Corporate Couplings: Summary | Family Lines | Seaboard System | CSX | 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
Clinchfield Railroad Connections, Interchanges, and Junctions
Since the Clinchfield was the last Class 1 railroad to be built, its connections were many. This section of Clinchfield.org will outline the current and past connections, interchanges, and junctions of the Clinchfield. In the days ahead, we will also add their respective traffic inbound and outbound and details about their interchange operations.
Click on the links below for specifics on each connection.
Also, on the Frisco Junction page, Ron Flanary and David DeVault provide an excellent overview of that very busy connection.
- Atlantic Coast Line (1900-1967)
- Black Mountain Railroad (1907-1955)
- Charleston & Western Carolina Railway (1896-1959)
- Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (1869-1973)
- Chessie System (1973-1987)
- East Tennessee Railway / Genesee & Wyoming (1983- )
- East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad (1881-1983)
- Frisco JCT
- Haysi Railroad (1970-1983)
- Interstate Railroad (1896-1960)
- Louisville & Nashville Railroad
- Norfolk Southern (1982- )
- Norfolk & Western Railway (1881-1982)
- Piedmont & Northern Railway (1914-1989)
- Seaboard Air Line Railroad (1900-1967)
- Seaboard Coast Line (1967-1983)
- Southern Railway (1894-1982)
- Yancey Railroad (1955-1985)
Clinchfield Railroad Interchanges
- Elkhorn City – C&O (Chessie System)
- St. Paul – L&N and N&W (Norfolk Southern)
- Miller Yard – L&N and IRR (Norfolk Southern)
- Frisco Junction/Kingsport – Southern (Norfolk Southern)
- Johnson City TN – ET&WNC and Southern (East Tennessee Railway & Norfolk Southern)
- Kona NC – Yancey Railroad
- Marion NC – Southern (Norfolk Southern)
- Bostic NC – Seaboard Air Line (Seaboard Coast Line)
- Spartanburg SC – Southern (Norfolk Southern), Charleston & Western Carolina (Atlantic Coast Line/Seaboard Coast Line), and Piedmont & Northern
Clinchfield Railroad Connection Mileposts (1960s)
| Chesapeake & Ohio Railway @ Elkhorn City KY | 0.5 Miles |
| Haysi Railroad @ Haysi VA | 11.6 |
| Norfolk & Western @ St. Paul VA | 42.2 |
| Louisville & Nashville and Interstate Railway @ Miller Yard | 52.5 |
| Southern Railway @ Frisco | 88.2 |
| Southern Railway and ET&WNC @ Johnson City TN | 121 |
| Yancey Railroad @ Kona NC (Black Mountain Railroad) | 173 |
| Southern Railway @ Marion NC | 218.5 |
| Seaboard Air Line @ Bostic NC | 245 |
| Southern Railway, Atlantic Coast Line, and Piedmont & Northern @ Spartanburg SC | 277.3 |
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: Carolina Clinchfield Chapter National Railway Historical Society, Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society, George L. Carter Railroad Historical Society, Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society
- 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,’ and Young: ‘Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads in Color.’ Volume 1: Kentucky, Volume 2: Virginia
- Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
- Newspaper Articles – Newspapers.com
- Online Article – 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
