M. J. Caples
- Clinchfield Railroad Home Page
- History | Design | Surveys | Railroad Battles | Construction
- George L. Carter | M.J. Caples | John B. Dennis
- Predecessors | CRRR | 3Cs | OR&C | S&W | CC&O
- Maps | Mileposts | Stations | Connections | Branches/Spurs | Yards | Sidings | High Line | Bridges | Tunnels | Grades | Loops
- Locomotives | Diesels | Steam | Challengers | No. 1
- Operations | Freight | Passenger | Timetables | Wrecks
- Corporate Couplings | Family Lines | Seaboard System | CSX | Closure/Reopening
- CSX/CRR Today | CSX Kingsport Sub | CSX Blue Ridge Sub
- Railfanning | Restaurant Guide | CRR 800
- Destinations | Elkhorn City | Breaks | Dante | Speers Ferry | Kingsport | Johnson City | Erwin | Nolichucky Gorge | Spartanburg | and more
- Clinchfield Model Railroads
- Resources: Books | Scholars | Museums
- Clinchfield.org: Editor | Site Map
- Related Websites: Appalachian-Railroads.org | Southern-Railroads.org
M. J. Caples – General Manager & Chief Engineer
A Key Hire for the Clinchfield
Researched and chronicled by Scott Jessee and Sandhi Kozsuch
Without a doubt, one of George L. Carter’s best decisions was to hire M. J. (Martin Joseph) Caples as his General Manager and Chief Engineer. Caples was laser-focused on building a railroad that was flat as possible and as straight as possible, allowing for maximum efficiency and less operational costs. To this day, Caple’s designs for tunnels and bridges and track alignment have needed few changes or upgrades.
Picture: Front page article and picture of Martin J. Caples being elected President of the Columbus, Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Columbus Evening Dispatch, June 16, 1916.
Caples, who was originally with the N&W, joined the South & Western Railway in 1905, and worked for George L. Carter as his second in command until 1911. William Way in ‘The Clinchfield Railroad’ described Caples the best: “The road was planned by an operating man with an engineer’s training – M. J. Caples. No expense was spared in the preliminary surveys, and a great amount of time, patience, and study was put into the planning of the road.”
After his tenure with the CC&O, he joined the Chesapeake & Ohio and Hocking Valley Railways and was in charge of operation, maintenance and construction. He was responsible for finishing the C&O’s Northern Sub-Division out of Russell KY to Columbus OH, including the Sciotoville Bridge across the Ohio River. Like the CC&O Railway, the bridge is considered an engineering marvel.
M. J. Caples’ Bio
- 1864: Born in Ireland
- 1883: Entered Railway Service
- 1931: Died in Trenton NJ (67 years of age)
M.J. Caples’ Resume
Caples railway experience took him from as far north as Maine, to South America. In total, he spent 48 years of his life in railroading. Here are the key positions he held in the railroad industry in an era where construction and operation standards were being greatly improved.
- 1883-1887: Boston & Maine Railroad – Roadman and Division Engineer
- 1887-1889: Railroad surveying in South America
- 1889-1905: Norfolk & Western Railway – Resident Engineer, Division Engineer, & Superintendent
- 1905-1911 South & Western/Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railways – General Manager and Chief Engineer
- 1911-1918 Chesapeake & Ohio and Hocking Valley Railways – Vice-President in charge of operation, maintenance, and construction.
- 1918-1928: Seaboard Air Line Railway – Vice-President and Director
Two of Caples Engineering Marvels
Caples was a visionary engineering leader creating such marvels as the Clinchfield Loops and the Sciotoville Bridge across the Ohio River.
Caples’ Design of the Clinchfield Railroad
Click here to read more about Caple’s design of the Clinchfield Railroad, considered an engineering marvel in railroad construction.
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