Elkhorn Southern Railway
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Elkhorn Southern Railway
Clinchfield Railroad Predecessor and Branch
Chartered in 1906, this 8-mile railroad ran through Buchanan and Dickinson Counties of Virginia to tap both coal and timber. It ran between Kiser and Wilder VA.
The line became part of the Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio Railway (CC&O) in 1908, and was known as the railroad’s Dump Creek Branch. The CC&O became the Clinchfield Railroad in 1924.
The branch itself was not directly connected to the Clinchfield mainline, thus trackage rights on the N&W were utilized to reach the Clinchfield at St. Paul VA.
Click here for a 1919 map of the CC&O showing the Dumps Creek Branch.
The Clinchfield operated the branch until 1937, a point at which the initial coal mines were depleted.
Norfolk & Western Railway
In 1956, the N&W rebuilt and extended the branch reaching new coal reserves. For the years that followed, it continued to be a successful coal line for the N&W and the Norfolk Southern.
More Clinchfield information will be added to this page and website in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any questions, see any edits that should be made, or have any content you are willing to share. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the Clinchfield, the region, or model railroading.
Elkhorn Southern Railway Stats
- Incorporated: 1906
- Length: 8 miles
- Route: From Kiser to Wilder VA
- Constructed and operated
- Purchased: 1908 by the Clinchfield Northern Railway, and within a few months, the Clinchfield Northern was bought by the Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio Railway
- Elkhorn Southern Across the Years: Initially was the Dumps Creek Branch of the Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio Railway until 1937. In 1956, the Norfolk & Western rebuilt and extended the branch to reach new coal reserves. Today it is part of the Norfolk Southern Railway.
For Further Reading
‘Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line’ by Ed Wolfe, Charles Wilson Jr. and Paul Mandelkern provides many details about the original Elkhorn Southern Railway, its tenure as part of the CC&O/Clinchfield Railroad, and eventually as a large branch and coal producer on the N&W’s Clinch Valley Line.
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
