Florida Perishable #97 of the Clinchfield Railroad
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Clinchfield Railroad’s #97
A Perishable Partnership: Clinchfield, ACL, and C&O
By working together, the Clinchfield, Chesapeake & Ohio, and the Atlantic Coast Line provided a smooth, fast, and efficient manifest freight service from south to north, and vice versa. The premiere train of this partnership was #97, the Florida Perishable.
In four days, foods and other perishable items could originate in Florida and the south, and be delivered to northern population centers such as Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and others. The Seaboard Air Line and the Florida East Coast also participated in the partnership.
Map: From an article from Railway Age Magazine on the Clinchfield in 1952.
Clinchfield 12-Hour Manifests
Most of the Clinchfield manifest freights were scheduled for 12-hours, end-to-end for the 277 miles. In the case of #97, it left Spartanburg SC around 2PM each day and arrived Elkhorn City KY at 2AM. The Florida Perishable was the only first class train on the CRR’s timetable. The other manifest freights were second class and ran slightly slower. Thus, #97’s additional name was ‘hot shot.’
The company’s headquarters and half-way point, Erwin TN maintained icing platforms and services.
When Clinchfield first dieselized in 1948, the first trains to receive the new F3 A-B-As were #97 and the other manifest freights.
Once CSX was formed, combining the Clinchfield, ACL, and C&O, the manifest freights continued on one seamless railroad.
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.
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