Clinchfield Railroad Passenger Trains
- 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 Railroad Passenger Trains
It goes without saying that the Clinchfield was primarily a coal and freight railroad. Initially, their passenger trains were a small, but significant portion of their revenue. But, by the 1950s, that income was below 1% of their total revenue.
For most of its history, the Clinchfield had two passenger trains running between Elkhorn City KY and Spartanburg SC. #37 was the northbound, and #38 was southbound.
Earlier in its history, Clinchfield ran two additional trains, #36 and #39 on the north end between Erwin TN and Elkhorn City KY.
In later years, there was only one train per day, alternating days going north and south. In the 1950s, the Clinchfield purchased one diesel with a steam generator the handled the passenger duties.
There were almost 100 stops, either by schedule or by flagging along the 277 miles. The journey from beginning to end was slightly over 10 hours.
The Clinchfield’s passenger service ended in 1954.
Clinchfield Passenger Trains By Number
- #36 Southbound Passenger – Elkhorn City to Erwin (6h 30m)
- #37 Northbound Passenger – Spartanburg to Elkhorn City (10h 20m)
- #38 Southbound Passenger – Elkhorn City to Spartanburg (10h 15m)
- #39 Northbound Passenger – Erwin to Elkhorn City (6h 30m)
Johnson City Connections
Besides Spartanburg, Johnson City was one of Clinchfield’s largest points a traveler could make a connection. The Southern Railway had 8 trains per day with destinations such as New York, Washington, New Orleans, Birmingham, and Memphis. The ET&WNC usually had at least 4 trains per day running to/from Boone NC and intermediate points.
Photo: Clinchfield southbound train within a mile of the Johnson City station.
Clinchfield Railroad Timetables
Click Here to see passenger schedules and timetables. Below is a schedule from 1941.
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
