Wininger Derailment on the Clinchfield Railroad

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Clinchfield Railroad Wininger Derailment

Narrative and Photos by Ron Flanary

At 6:30 PM on Saturday evening, October 23, 1965, Clinchfield Railroad engineer J. C. Helvey and head brakeman Frank Wright were making normal track speed as their 12,000-ton Dante, Virginia to Kingsport, Tennessee coal train approach a cut at Wininger, Virginia, milepost 85. They watched in horror as a 30-ton boulder had dislodged in the south end of a cut and fell directly in their path.

The cut was protected by slide detection fences, but the timing was such that the activation of the stop signal was irrelevant, as they were already on top of the huge rock. F-units 813-850-809 hit the obstruction, with the boulder striping lead unit No. 813 of its pilot, front truck, fuel tank, and rear truck, before the car body flipped around and rolled off to the right of an embankment. The other two units rolled to the left. The jack-knifing of the following coal loads continued until 47 were wedged tightly, and all the energy was expended.

When a train hits an immovable obstacle, the physics involved can be quite complex. The train’s kinetic energy is converted into other forms of energy, such as heat and sound, as it collides with the obstacle. The amount of energy that is transferred depends on a variety of factors, including the mass and speed of the train, the type of obstacle, and the angle of impact. You can just ask Wile E. Coyote of his exploits of trying to catch the Road Runner, and he’ll be glad to elaborate.

The Detour

Detours of the Clinchfield’s hot manifest freights were quickly arranged, using Southern Railway’s former Appalachia Division from Frisco (just 2.5 miles south of the derailment site) to Appalachia, and then the Interstate Railroad to Norton.

From there, trains would use the N&W Clinch Valley District to St. Paul where they reattained Clinchfield trackage to complete their runs.

Later detours would use the L&N between Appalachia and Norton, since the Louisville-based company was half owner of the Clinchfield.

The Clean-up

Back at the railroad’s headquarters in Erwin, Tennessee, the company’s “wreck cars” were summoned from slumber, and with a large contingent of mechanical department and maintenance of way workers, headed north for Wininger. GP7 No. 905 was the power. At the storage track at Waycross (Frisco), the train was re-arranged for work, with diesel-powered 250-ton Industrial-Brownhoist wrecker No. 1402 on the north end and ready to go to work.

At Elkhorn City, the C&O delivered Shelby, Kentucky-based 150-ton steam-powered wrecker WC-11 to handle the north end of the derailment. That crew headed south for Wininger behind GP7 No. 911. The light C&O wrecker proved to be too light to dump the coal and wrestle the hoppers from the cut, so N&W’s 250-ton Bluefield derrick was called in as a substitute.

With two big wreckers on either end, assisted by bulldozers, one by one the cars were dragged from the cut and their contents dumped. Nearly 2,800 tons of coal had to be reclaimed and removed before panel track could be completed through the cut. By the evening of Tuesday, October 26th, the line was re-opened.

This traffic disruption forced the Clinchfield to find a detour route for its hottest trains. Coal traffic was allowed to wait until the line was re-opened, but the “hot” cars had to move, one way or the other. Railroads have long been willing to assist each other in any way possible in times of crisis, so phone calls were made, and arrangements agreed to so the trains could roll—albeit on another route.

Fortunately, the next day after the derailment was Sunday, so I didn’t have to go to school. Along with my friend Benny Adams, I was able to get the first CRR detour move on film. The railroad’s hottest freight—No. 97—became Extra CRR 803 West at Frisco in the wee hours of the morning. By the time the train reached Big Stone Gap, Virginia—where Southern Extra 4185 East was in the siding for a meet—we were on the scene with cameras. After that, we headed south to find Wininger to view the carnage of the derailment first-hand.

The detours concluded by Tuesday evening, so life started to return to normal in the railroad world of southwestern Virginia. That last night I placed my Argus 35mm camera on the ballast of the old interchange tracks at Appalachia and tried to get a time-exposure as the last two Clinchfield detour trains passed enroute to St. Paul and Frisco, respectively. It wasn’t good at all, but I included it.

In terms of the number of cars involved, this is believed to have been the worst accident in the Clinchfield’s 80-year history. The cut at Wininger was later widened and benched in hopes another boulder wouldn’t result in a similar wreck.

Thankfully crewmen Helvey and Wright—who both suffered injuries—recuperated and returned to service. If you go to Wininger today, I doubt you could find much evidence, if any, of the big derailment in 1965.

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