Design of the Clinchfield: Caple’s Engineering Marvel

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Clinchfield Railroad

Clinchfield Railroad Design

Clinchfield’s Turn-of-Fate

Researched and Chronicled by Scott Jessee and Sandhi Kozsuch.

(The S&W was the first name for the Clinchfield Railroad during its design and construction)

There were lots of headwinds and challenges ahead for the South & Western Railway before M. J. Caples joined the railroad as Chief Engineer in 1905. The railroad’s initial design included blueprints and surveys that used steep grades and tight curves. This made for a inexpensive to build, but a very expensive to operate rail line, with limited capacity for heavy freight such as coal. Additionally, the S&W had run out of money to continue its construction.

But, in an 180-degree turn-of fate, George L. Carter had just secured a large investor in Blair and Company, one of New York City’s leading investment banks. Blair urged Carter to find an outstanding engineer and operator to redesign and construct the railroad. Carter found such a leader in Caples. He quickly hired him from the Norfolk & Western Railway, and gave him the funding and the freedom to dream big.

The S&W’s Second Chance

Caples believed in, and was charged with building a rail line to engineering standards that were unheard of that time. Caples audacious goal was a heavy capacity rail line through the rugged mountains with 6-degree curves and a .5% grade. The existing S&W rail lines that Caples inherited were in various states of design, construction, and operation. The pre-Caples S&W included grades of 1 to 2% and many curves as much as 14 degree curves. Several of the S&W’s most important and challenging segments were yet to be designed and constructed.

Caples sent his surveyors back out into the Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina wilderness to redo their initial work, looking this time for a much better alignment with a low grade and wide curves. His surveyors found several new options, which you can see in these S&W surveys. Due to Caples’ high engineering standard, the cost of construction would average over $100,000 per mile. In the early 1900s, an amount half that was considered expensive.

Caples’ .5% / 6 degree Design

(Link to Interactive Map Below)

Armed with these new surveys, Caples pushed for approval of his .5% grade/6-degree curve route. It would have attacked the mountains at right angles, using tunnels, bridges, and large cuts and fills to tackle the challenging topography. This would have resulted in a railroad that:

  • Ran more and faster trains, taking less time to travel end-to-end
  • Required less staff and crew, fewer engines
  • Required less maintenance of the infrastructure over the future decades
  • And required much less in operational costs, allowing for much higher profits

The rail line Caples was proposing would have been been 223 miles in length, from Dante VA to Spartanburg SC.

Financial Panic of 1907

As the S&W was finalizing these plans, the World and the United States experienced a financial panic, causing the public to withdraw large sums from the banks, and there was a 50% drop in the stock market.

An additional challenge for the S&W was that for two years, the Southern Railway had been trying to legally block their construction, with the potential of building a competing rail line of their own. Eventually, at the end of 1907, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in favor of the S&W.

S&W’s Final Plans in 1908

Weighing the concerns of the economy, the cost of the construction, and the delays and extra time and costs caused by the Southern Railway, a final design for the S&W was completed. Much of Caples’ ultimate design and plan was adopted. However, some segments of the existing tracks were improved, but not quite to the .5%/6-degree level. About 75% of the new railroad would reach Caples audacious goal.

Clinchfield: An Engineering Marvel

Even with the segments that were not fully reconstructed to Caples goal, the modern day Clinchfield is still considered an engineering marvel, crossing the mountains in just 277 miles. One of the greatest proofs of its exemplary standards is that the infrastructure of the railroad (tunnels, bridges, etc.) has not had to be upgraded in the past 100 years, because it was built to the 100-year standards set by Caples.

If the entire Dante to Spartanburg railroad had been built to Caple’s standards, the railroad would have been 15 miles shorter. In Caple’s mind, he may have fallen short of his goals, but in the history books, he built a world-class railroad.

Clinchfield’s Engineering Standards by Segment

SegmentMilesGrade (SB)Curves
Dante to Burton’s Ford10None0-14 degrees
Burton’s Ford to Starnes25None0-6 degrees
Starnes to Erwin65.5%0-6 degrees
Erwin to Altapass530 to 1.0%
(avg. .5-.75%)		0-14 degrees
Altapass to Spartanburg90None0-8 degrees

Interactive Map Showing the Clinchfield Segments

Click on this link to see a Google Interactive Map of the the existing rail lines Carter and Caples started with, Caples’ audacious goal, and the engineering marvel that resulted.

Clinchfield Railroad Survey Maps (South & Western 1902-1908)

Click on this link for an extensive collection of survey maps the South & Western Railway completed as they built the current day Clinchfield/CSX route.

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.

Clinchfield Railroad

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