East Tennessee Railway
- 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.
East Tennessee Railway, Connecting with Today’s CSX
Photo: ETRY delivering cars in Elizabethton TN. This portion of the line was abandoned. Today, it is the Tweetsie Trail.
The East Tennessee Railway (ETRY) is a modern short-line railroad that serves as a successor to a much larger and more storied predecessor: the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC). The original ET&WNC, nicknamed the “Tweetsie” for the sound of its steam whistles, was a narrow-gauge mountain railroad chartered in 1866 to transport iron ore from Cranberry, North Carolina. Navigating the rugged Appalachian terrain, the Tweetsie expanded its network, hauling both freight and passengers, and later added standard-gauge tracks for interchange with larger railways.
After facing declining business and severe flooding in 1940, the narrow-gauge operations ceased in 1950. The remaining standard-gauge segment between Johnson City and Elizabethton, Tennessee, continued to operate under the ET&WNC name until 1983. This is when the modern ETRY was born.
ET&WNC becomes ETRY
In 1983, Green Bay Packaging Company purchased the assets and reorganized the line as the East Tennessee Railway. The ETRY’s operations centered on the 11-mile standard-gauge line connecting Johnson City and Elizabethton, primarily serving local industries. However, following the closure of major industries, the line to Elizabethton was abandoned in 2003 and later converted into the popular Tweetsie Trail.
The ETRY today exists as a small, vital terminal switching operation owned by Genesee & Wyoming. Operating out of Johnson City, it serves industries along its short trackage and provides crucial interchange services with major railroads, CSX and Norfolk Southern. Though just a remnant of its former self, the ETRY continues the region’s long railroading legacy and plays an essential role in local freight transportation
ETRY Stats
- Reporting Mark: ETRY
- Began Operation: 1983
- Operated: 1983 to present as primarily a switching spur for CSX and NS. Until 2003 there was also a spur to Elizabethton TN.
- Owned by: Genesee & Wyoming
- Predecessors: East Tennessee & Western North Carolina and CSX spurs in Johnson City TN
- Length: 10+ miles
- Tracks: Johnson City CSX Yard to Downtown Johnson City to the Carnegie Section of Johnson City. The Johnson City to Elizabethton segment was closed in 2003 and is now the Tweetsie Trail (rails-to-trails). Several of their tracks are the old 3Cs roadbed, as well as the old Clinchfield mainline.
- Primary Cities: Johnson City, and previously Elizabethton TN
- Freight: Serves several small industries in Johnson City, plus does interchange work for CSX and NS.
- CSX Clinchfield Connection: Johnson City TN
ETRY Map
Map Credit: Genesee & Wyoming
ETRY Locomotives
ETRY operates two EMD SW1200 switcher locomotives.
Photos: Cy Crumley Collection, StateOfFranklin.net
Links for More Information
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
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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.
3Cs Websites
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