Clinchfield Railroad’s GE U36C

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Clinchfield Railroad

CRR’s GE U36C: Their first and Last Non-EMD Locomotives

Researched and Chronicled by Scott Jessee and Sandhi Kozsuch

In 1971 Clinchfield purchased its first non-EMD diesels due to their ‘manufacturer-of-choice’ not being able to deliver the SDs they sorely needed. CRR bought and received seven 3600 horsepower U-36Cs from General Electric and immediately put them into coal service (#3600-3606).

Even thought the units were fan-favorites due to their appearance, the U36-Cs were soon receiving complaints from both the road and shop crews. The U36s did not have the performance or reliability of the SD-40s and 45s. So, Clinchfield traded them to the Seaboard Coast Line, receiving SD-45s in return in 1977.

Robert Harvey’s Journal

3601: A Bad Luck Charm

Editor’s Note: Bob Harvey and other Clinchfield fans spent a Saturday in 1977 touring the Erwin Shops and Yard. On their way back they stopped by the Kingsport yard where Bob chronicled a very challenging day for 3601 and for the Clinchfield. Later in 1977, 3601 and the six other U-36Cs were vanquished from the Clinchfield. In the photo below, #3602 is ready to lead the extra north out of Erwin. After 3601 caught fire later that day, 3602 hit fallen rocks on the track at Winegar.

Clinchfield Railroad U-36C in Erwin TN - 1977 - Bob Harvey

Narrative and Photos by Bob Harvey

3601 Stalls

We drove toward home but heard a northbound CRR train having trouble at the north end of the yard (Kingsport) – it was Don Lemmon and they had a car with a bad leak in the train line.  They were getting ready to set it off in the yard lead when we got there.  Also, Stewart Johnson was on a southbound coal train and he had stopped north of Dobyns so the northbound could set off the bad car.  He was having trouble with the 3601 and they thought he would have to get the 2008 (GP-38) from the local yard crew to continue.  They set the car off and backed in the clear.  The coal train came by and stopped in Kingsport to get the 2008, but Stewart was able to get it (3601) started after all, and said he no longer needed help. 

Frozen Car Axle

The extra north began to pull out and we saw one sliding.  Someone else saw it, too, and radioed to Don about it.  He stopped gradually and the caboose was about 10 cars from us.  The flagman, Ronnie, started walking forward.  I offered him a ride up to some point to the north to get him closer to the car.  We drove up to Red Cloud’s crossing, which put us around thirty or forty cars north of the bad one.  Don started up again and the car came by before long – one axle wasn’t turning any.  Ronnie hopped on it and bled it off.  When Don stopped, Ronnie reported that it had built up a false flange, but Bruce King, the conductor, thought it probably wouldn’t be bad enough to have to set off.

3601 Catches Fire

Just a few minutes before this we heard Stewart Johnson say the 3601 had caught fire and he had stopped, and for Walter the yardmaster to call the city fire department.  Since it looked as if the extra north was ready to continue we thought we should head home and look at the engine of the coal train if we could.  It turned out that the engines were behind some cars around the piggyback place.  The fire truck was up on Sullivan Street.  Stewart said the fire was out, so we didn’t stop.  I wish now we had.  Stewart told several people that they wouldn’t have to put up with the 3601 again for a while – it sounded as if it was an electrical fire which then was fed on grease and oil.  He had to borrow the 2008 after all to go on south.

Clinchfield Railroad U-36C - Bob Harvey

Rockslide

After supper I turned on the radio in the house and was surprised to hear that the extra north had hit some rocks near milepost 85, near Winegar, and had stopped, waiting for someone to clear the rocks away.  This extra north really had its share of bad luck – they left Erwin around 10:30 or 11:00 and were overtaken in Kingsport by a later extra north.  They got caught by the “dog law” at Winegar because the track wasn’t a cleared soon enough.  A crew from Dante relieved them.

Click here for more of Robert Harvey’s Railfanning Journals

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