Locomotives 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 Locomotives
A Railfan’s Dream
The Clinchfield Railroad was a railfan’s dream when it came to locomotives. Wow, what a parade of pulling power they had.
For most of the steam years, almost half of its steam roster were mallets. There were also ten-wheelers, Mikados, Pacifics, and Challengers. Well past the steam era, the Clinchfield’s venerable 4-6-0. #1 continued running on the railroad and across the country as a very successful marketing campaign until 1979.
Click here for a complete Clinchfield Steam Roster.
1948: The First Clinchfield Diesels
Unlike its coal-hauling competitors, it began to dieselize early, adding Covered Wagons (F3s) and Geeps (GP7s). In the mid-60s, the second generation diesels were added, including GP-38s, SD-40s, and SD-45s. For all but a few of the diesel years, the Clinchfield had an all-EMD roster.
In the days ahead, we will add more pictures and information about the Clinchfield locomotives.
Clinchfield’s SD-40 by Ron Flanary
Photo and Narrative by Ron Flanary
Armed with the news that the Clinchfield Railroad was purchasing its first new motive power since the initial wave of new units in the late 40s and 50s, my friend Benny Adams and I drove to Erwin, Tennessee on Saturday, October 15, 1966 for a look.
Our efforts only turned up a single new SD40–No. 3005. However, we had a good time and saw several older units and a few trains.
No. 3005 is shown at the old servicing facilities on the east side of the yard, just south of the old general office building. It was matched up with three F-units in the power set for northbound hotshot No. 97 later that evening.
The Clinchfield Challengers
Click here for more information on the Clinchfield 4-6-6-4 Challengers.
CRR Locomotive Rosters & Galleries
- Steam Locomotives & Roster
- Diesel Locomotives & Roster
- Steam Gallery
- Diesel Gallery
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
