Elkhorn City Kentucky
- 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
Elkhorn City Kentucky
From 1915 until 1981, Elkhorn City was a busy railroad hub where the Clinchfield Railroad and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway met and exchanged hundreds of freight cars each day. The city was the southern terminus for the C&O Big Sandy line, that followed the river north to Ashland KY and the C&O mainline along the Ohio River. For the Clinchfield, Elkhorn City was the northern terminus, traveling southward through the mountains 277 miles to Spartanburg SC.
Coal of course was a major commodity of the region, with multiple coal loaders lining the sides of the Elkhorn City rail yard. There were also coal trains that originated in the Virginia coalfields, traveling north through the city.
Both railroads also exchanged multiple freight trains each day that included manifest freight, perishable food, auto carriers, chemicals, grain, and other freight. Across multiple decades, as many as 600 or more rail cars would be interchanged between the Clinchfield and C&O.
Elkhorn City became the home-away-from-home for the train crews who slept at the YMCA. After sufficient rest, the crews would return north or south on a return trip to their respective homes, usually to Ashland KY or Erwin TN.
In 1981, the train interchange between the two railroads was moved about 15 miles north to Shelbiana KY, a much larger rail yard. The Elkhorn City yard was limited in size due to the mountainous geography. Trains only stayed a few hours, as there was no room to store them.
By 1986, the two railroads had become part of CSX Transportation. Trains continue to roll through Elkhorn City today, but with less frequency.
Clinchfield Railroad Yard
Click here for additional information about the Elkhorn City Clinchfield rail yard.
Clinchfield Timetables
Click here to view Clinchfield Timetables, with Elkhorn City as its northern terminus.
Elkhorn City Stats
- Coordinates: 37°19′13″N 82°21′08″W
- Elevation: 791 feet above sea level
- Originally known as: Elkhorn, Praise, Cedarville
- Founded: 1912
- Population: 1,035 (2020)
- County: Pike
- Elkhorn City Highlights: CSX/Clinchfield/C&O rail yard, Elkhorn City Railroad Museum, Breaks Interstate Park, white water rafting on the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River.
- First Railroad: Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1912
- Second Railroad: Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio Railway in 1915 (Clinchfield Railroad)
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.
3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
