Construction of the Clinchfield Railroad
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- George L. Carter | M.J. Caples | John B. Dennis
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- Clinchfield Model Railroads
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- Related Websites: Appalachian-Railroads.org | Southern-Railroads.org
Clinchfield Railroad Construction
Researched and Chronicled by Scott Jessee and Sandhi Kozsuch
Clinchfield Construction Stats
- Construction Began: 1902 as the South & Western Railway initially planning to use lesser construction standards (more curves, more grades)
- Construction Standards Updated: 1905 with fewer curves and minimized grades. Goals were 0.5% grade, and 6 degree curves.
- Contractor: Meadows Company
- Cost – Dante VA to Spartanburg SC: $30M+, almost $125,000 per mile.
- Completed – Dante VA to Spartanburg SC: 1909
- Construction Began – Elkhorn City KY extension: 1912
- Cost – Elkhorn Extension: $5 million
- Completed to Elkhorn City KY: 1915
Clinchfield’s Two Chapters
The Clinchfield was not the first railroad to have the vision of building a coal and manifest railroad through the widest point of the Central Appalachians. The 3Cs, Charleston Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad had a similar vision, but construction fell far short, a testament as to just how challenging this vision could be.
However, George Carter and his team were able to complete the formidable task. The design and construction took 13 years, and can be divided into two distinct chapters.
Clinchfield (S&W) Design – Pre 1905
The first chapter was from 1902 to 1905 where George L. Carter was trying to piece together a new railroad from segments of failing or defunct railways. He wanted to create a singular line that would carry his coal from southwest Virginia to an Atlantic port and to other southern markets. Buying and rehabilitating these existing railroads would have created a sub-par rail line, inefficient and costly to operate. His initial design and construction was underway, but Carter eventually ran out of funding.
Clinchfield Design & Construction – 1905 and After
The second chapter began in 1905 when two key players joined Carter’s team: John Blair and his Blair and Company investment bank providing extensive funding and investment, and Martin J. Caples was the gifted engineer and operational genius who persuaded them to build a railroad of high engineering standards with low grades and minimal curves.
The primary years of construction were 1906 to 1908 and 1912 to 1915, delivering the costliest (per-mile) U.S. railroad built to date, the 277 mile Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio Railway that would soon become the Clinchfield Railroad. And even though it was an expensive railroad to build, it also became one of the most profitable railroads in the U.S.
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
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.
3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org