Clinchfield Northern Railway
- 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 | Dispatcher’s Sheet
- 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
Clinchfield Northern Railway – Clinchfield Predecessor
The Clinchfield Northern was a proposed 30 mile line that started in Russell County, Virginia, and ended near the Breaks of the Big Sandy River near the Kentucky border.
No track was ever built.
Clinchfield Northern Railway Fast Facts
- Incorporated: 1911
- Construction: None
- Purchases: Elkhorn Southern Railway in 1911 (included no construction or completed railroad)
- Purchased: 1912 by the Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio Railway
- Clinchfield Northern Today: The northern segment of the Clinchfield Railroad, which is now part of CSX Transportation
Clinchfield Northern Purchase
The entity was conveyed to the Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio Railway in 1912. By 1915, the CC&O had used the charter of the Clinchfield Northern as its basis for the Elkhorn City Ky Extension, where it made a connection with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. This completed the CC&O from Spartanburg SC to Elkhorn City. Now the railroad was not only a major supplier of coal, but also a primary manifest freight route across the mountains.
Clinchfield Northern Links for More Information
https://archives.etsu.edu/agents/corporate_entities/1100
More Clinchfield Railroad information will be added to this page and website in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. 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.
- Association: Carolina Clinchfield Chapter National Railway Historical Society
- Association: Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society
- Association: George L. Carter Railroad Historical Society
- Association: Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society
- Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
- Archives of Appalachia – ETSU, Johnson City TN
- Book – Drury: ‘The Historical Guide to North American Railroads’
- Book – Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield’ and ‘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’
- Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
- Newspaper Articles – Newspapers.com
- Online Article – Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
- Online Article – Classic Trains: ‘Remembering the Clinchfield Railroad‘
- Online Article – Railway Age: ‘This Coal Road Is Also A Speedy Bridge Line,’ Sept 1, 1952 edition
- Online Article – ‘Railway Signaling and Communications‘
- Online Article – Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘
- Online Article – Flanary: ‘Men Against Mountains, Running Trains on the Clinchfield‘ October 2001
- Online Video – Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1
- Online Video – Ken Marsh on railroads and region’s history Video #2:
- Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website – Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
- Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City and for Erwin
- Website – The Radio Reference Wiki
- Website – SteamLocomotive.com
- Website – VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
- Website – 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
