Clinchfield Railroad Dispatcher’s Sheet

Tuesday, March 18th, 1980

Researched and Chronicled by Scott Jessee and Sandhi Kozsuch

The Dispatcher’s Sheet (aka ‘Record’) is a detailed summary of the operations of the Clinchfield Railroad for each day, 12AM through 11:59PM. Minute-by-minute during their eight hour shifts, the dispatchers filled out the sheet with individual data points, which by the end of the day resulted in hundreds of bits of information that became a formal record for the railroad. The actual sheet is roughly 2’x4′.

On this Tuesday in May of 1980, you will be able to see that the Clinchfield Railroad had…….

• Rain overnight on the north end, clear skies the entire line by 12N.
• 18 southbound trains, 20 northbound trains
• 18 trains on the south end (Erwin TN to Spartanburg SC), 38 trains on the north end (Elkhorn City KY to Erwin TN)
• 5 time freights: #92. #93, #94, #95, and #97 (Florida Perishable)
• 8 trains on the branches: 4 on the Freemont, 2 on the Nora, and 2 on the Haysi
• 5 trains originating from the L&N Railroad, 2 trains originating from the Southern Railway (SOU), 2 coal trains delivered to the N&W
• 18 yard shifts: 4 Dante VA, 6 Kingsport TN, 2 Johnson City TN, and 6 Erwin TN
• 1 work train at Thermal and Brice NC

Full-Width Dispatcher’s Sheet

Scott Jessee, who provided the dispatcher’s sheet, has also created a how-to guide on reading and understanding the document. Click here for the train dispatcher’s guide.

As you view the following images, the first will be the full-width of the dispatcher’s sheet. To help you to better read the hundreds of data points on the web, we have cropped sections of the sheet into sub-sections such as southbound trains, northbound trains, branches, work trains and yard crews, delays and remarks.

For greater detail and clarity, use your computer’s browser zoom controls, or zoom in on you mobile device. It may take 200% to 500% to read the details.

Southbound Trains

Northbound Trains

Branches

Work Trains and Yard Crews

Delays and Remarks

North End Highlights for March 18, 1980 by Scott Jessee

Coal Traffic arriving Dante

Time	Train	Cars	Notes
1215pm	2nd Mine	39	Coal off L&N Misc. Train at Boody
110pm	Nora Turn	51
425pm	1st Moss	82
605pm	Ex 3023 South	54	Extra South from Elkhorn-Erwin
910pm	Rex Turn	50
510am	2nd Moss	80
530am	Elkhorn Turn	40
Total		396

Coal Delivered to St. Paul N&W

• 3625 2nd Mine Run at 935am  99 loads
• 4605 3rd Mine Run at 405pm 113 loads, Total of 212 N&W Loads

L&N Trains

Coal Trains from Loyall:

• 3577 arrived Boody 555am with 55/7 Misc. Coal
• 7040 arrived Boody 230pm with 72 Wheelwright
• 8000 arrived Boody 925pm with 70 Terrell

Empties to Loyall

• 3577 1015am to N&W at South St. Paul with 0/121
• 3611   345pm to N&W at South St. Paul with 0/118

CRR Coal Trains

• Extra 3625 departed Dante 335pm with 48 loads, pick-up L&N Unit Train at Boody, arrived Erwin 815pm with 120 loads
• Extra 3023 departed Dante 945pm with 100 loads, pick-up 10 at Boody, arrived Erwin 425am
• Extra 3023 departed Elkhorn 350pm with 52 weigh coal for Dante, 605pm/655pm Dante, worked as Shifter South at Boody, Kingsport, Johnson City, arrived Erwin 235am

Extra Norths

• Extra 3015 departed Erwin 700am with 0/140
• Extra 3626 departed Erwin 120pm with 24/133, work JC, KPT, and Castle
• Extra 3010 departed Erwin 935pm with 14/114, work JC, KPT, Castle & Boody

Merchandise Trains

• #92 departed Elkhorn 855pm, arrived Erwin 225am, Kingsport 25” set off
• #97 departed Erwin 305am, arrived Elkhorn 740am, Kingsport 15” head through passing track
• #93 departed Erwin 725pm. arrived Elkhorn 225am, Johnson City 20” pick-up, Kingsport ’30” pick-up, Boody 1’20” set off

Southern Railway Kingsport/Frisco Shifter

• SOU Engines #2721 and #2763
• Departed Kingsport 135am with 5/46, arrived Frisco with same
• Departed Frisco 450am with 27/1, arrived Kingsport 510am with same

Kingsport Penn Dixie Rock Train Engine 6005

• Departed Kingsport 1045pm, worked Frisco, arrived Speers Ferry 1250am
• Departed Speers Ferry 210am, picked-up Frisco, arrived Kingsport 500am

South End Highlights for March 18, 1980 by Scott Jessee

CRR Coal Train

• Extra 3017 departed Erwin 725am with 115/0, arrived Spartanburg 1230pm.

Extra Norths

• Extra 3010 departed Bostic 455am with 41/32
• Extra 3619 departed Spartanburg 505am with 11/41
• Extra 3017 departed Spartanburg 1135pm with 14/84

Merchandise Trains

• #92 departed Erwin 1105am and arrived Spartanburg 410pm, CX (Abbreviation for Marion, refers to Clinchcross) 40” #95
• #94 departed Erwin 645pm, arrived Sptbg 1225am, Spruce Pine 15” Set off, North Cove 10” Set off, Marion 20” set off and pick-up, TH (Thermal)  20” #97, BY (Bostic) 25” Set off
• #95 departed Sptbg 1145am, arrived Erwin 625pm, CH (Chesnee) X3017 South, Brice 35” pick-up, Bostic 35’ Work Train, CX (Marion) Pick-up & #92, H-Don (Henredon) 10” set off, Spruce Pine 30” Pick-up and Spruce Pine Local
• #97 departed Sptbg 915pm, arrived Erwin 330am, Brice 40” turn units, (See train sheet Unusual Occurrences for engine issues), North Cove 15” Check car of lumber, RO (Rocky) Derrick Cars.

Shifter Crews

• Spartanburg Shifter 6006 departed 1250pm, arrived Bostic 500pm, Departed Bostic 555pm, arrived Spartanburg 735pm
• Marion Shifter 6000 departed Marion110pm, arrived Baxter 200pm, Departed Baxter 400pm, arrived Marion 425pm
• Spruce Pine Local 6004 departed 415pm, arrived Green Mountain 625pm, Departed Green Mountain 650pm, arrived Spruce Pine 750pm

(DC) Derrick Cars

• Extra 6001 shows on duty Spartanburg 1000pm to handle SOU D/C
• Extra 3004 South departed Erwin at 1055pm, arrived Spartanburg 330am. This crew shows handling CRR D/C, Clinchfield derrick cars. 
• March 18, 1980 train sheet does not indicate the reason why these crews were on duty to handle the “Big Hooks”.

More Clinchfield information will be added to this page and website in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any questions, see any edits that should be made, or have any content you are willing to share. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the Clinchfield, the region, or model railroading.

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

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org