Clinchfield and CSX Railfanning

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Clinchfield Railroad

Clinchfield/CSX Railfanning

There’s no doubt the Clinchfield Railroad railfans are some of the most dedicated and passionate fans a railroad could have. Just like their favorite railroad, they are tenacious, knowledgeable, and are always ready to dispatch no matter the time or weather.

Robert Harvey’s Journals

Photo: Robert Harvey

For decades, Robert (Bob) Harvey kept detailed journals of all of his railfan adventures along the Clinchfield, the N&W, and many other regional rail lines. Even though Bob’s profession was not in the rail business, but his depth of railroad knowledge was exemplary. To this day, Bob can recall most of the details in the thousands of pages chronicled in his journals. His memory is truly amazing. Click here to read Bob’s bio.

We have begun to excerpt some of the stories and events from Bob’s journals as a way to take us back to the days when the Clinchfield was a thriving independent railroad, or as very busy and profitable division for CSX.

Robert L. Harvey

Clinchfield Railfanning 1975 with Dave Beach

Dave Beach has been a Clinchfield Railfan and a wonderful photographer for many years. Below, he chronicles for us a memorable railfan trip that included many unexpected surprises.

Dave started early in his life making trips to see and photograph the Clinchfield, with his Dad, John Beach. Dave has continued his railroad photography throughout the years to the present day, expanding his railfan interests beyond the Clinchfield. Of course Dave’s Dad had a keen passion for Clinchfield’s Black Mountain Railway and published a book about the fabled branch which was owned by the Clinchfield. Click here for more info about the book and the branch line.

The Best Railfan Trip Ever

Photos and Narrative by Dave Beach

I imagine it is a debatable claim but from my point of view the excursion out of Erwin on June 21, 1975 is right up at the top of all-time great fan trips. I had been on a fan trip the year before with my brother and friends from Erwin south to Altapass with just engine #1 and 2 coaches. That was a great trip and the excursion north to St Paul the next year promised to be just as good.

Clinchfield Railroad #200 Excursion in 1975. Photo by Dave Beach


The fan trip was to be from Erwin to St Paul with #1 and 2 coaches. The 2 coaches were all that #1 could reasonably handle by itself. With just 2 coaches, there wouldn’t be many riders and not many photographers getting off at photo run-bys. My dad and I were really looking forward to a scenic day with multiple photo run-bys. The trip was organized by the East Tennessee Chapter of the NRHS, a group I later got to respectfully know as the Clinchfield Mafia.


On Friday night, June 20, Dad and I packed up in the late evening from our home in Massillon, Ohio and started the drive south to Erwin. It was a trip that we had made many times before although we usually timed it to arrive at relatives in the afternoon. This time we needed to be in Erwin first thing in the morning so had to make the all-night drive after working Friday. We arrived in Erwin in time to have a good country breakfast at a diner in town where we over heard other fans buzzing about #1 having a mechanical issue and possibly not being able to make the trip.

Clinchfield Railroad #200 Excursion in 1975. Photo by Dave Beach
Clinchfield Railroad South Holston River Bridge. Photo by Dave Beach.

Left Photo: The first photo stop was at the south end of Holston tunnel (north end of the South Holston River bridge) where fans made like mountain goats to climb the rocks for a better view. Right Photo: My shot from track level from the east side. The fog had just started to lift.

It was a real buzz kill when we found that a diesel would substitute for #1. With great disappointment we got to the yard and took our seats not nearly as excited as we had been all night. To lessen the disappointment, the railroad added business car 114 to our 2 coaches since the substitute FP7 #200 could easily handle the 3 car train. That was a nice touch that wasn’t fully appreciated until we felt the heat of a muggy mountain summer afternoon. The coaches had open windows but the office car had air conditioning.

After we got under way, we started hearing more good news. Since the FP7 could stop and start quicker than #1, we would be doing even more photo runbys which would make for enough stops and starts that anyone wanting a cab ride would be able to climb in after a photo stop. Not only that, we would be going all the way to Elkhorn City instead of St Paul. So now we were excited again.

The first photo stop was at the bridge over the South Fork of the Holston River in Kingsport. It was still cloudy and gray but the skies were brightening. Fans spread out over the rocks of the Holston tunnel portal to get a better view. The weather continued to improve and within an hour we had a typical mountain summer day, sunny but a lot of humidity in the air. At each photo stop, there were only about 25 fans to get off and get in position for their shot. It was very manageable at even the tightest stops.

Clinchfield Railroad Pool Point. Photo by Dave Beach.

Photo: There were only a couple other northbound photo stops and after a box lunch and turning on the wye at Elkhorn City, the first southbound photo stop was at Pool Point. This was all new territory for me and even with the heat of a sweltering Appalachian afternoon, I was having a great time.

There weren’t enough seats in the office car for everyone to enjoy the air conditioning but many of us took turns and rotated through. I won’t list or describe all of the stops but for myself being more familiar with the railroad south of Erwin, it was great. I had driven past Copper Creek a few times and through Elkhorn City but most of the north end was new to me. Places like Miller Yard, Splashdam, Towers, Skaggs Hole, State Line tunnel and Pool Point now had a visual. It was really neat to see the flash of outside light when we passed the hole in the side of State Line tunnel that was made to dump the rubble directly into the river instead of hauling it to the end.

Clinchfield Railroad Copper Creek Viaduct. Photo by Dave Beach.
Clinchfield Railroad Skaggs Hole. Photo by Dave Beach

Left Photo: I arranged to be in the cab when we crossed over Copper Creek. Quite a view as you can imagine. Right Photo: This view off the rear platform of the White Oak shows how the trestle at Skaggs Hole extends into the tunnel.

I waited until the return trip to put in for a cab ride. I managed to make it to the cab before Copper Creek and rode over it in the cab with the Hatcher Brothers. Along the section of the line just north of Copper Creek where there are slide fences and slide detectors, I forget whether it was Engineer or Fireman Hatcher that told me about one attractive feature of the old cab units like #200 that we riding in had over the modern SD’s that they liked so much. That was that they had a steel frame over the cab. He took some comfort knowing that steel beams were there in case the engine rolled over after hitting a rock slide.

Clinchfield Railroad Splashdam. Photo by Dave Beach.

Photo: The tipple at Spashdam was still being used in 1975 when we stopped there for a runby.

Clinchfield Railroad Osborne Curve. Photo by Dave Beach.
Clinchfield Railroad Osborne Curve. Photo by Dave Beach.

Photos: By the stop at Osborne Curve, some fans were staying on the office car and to avoid the sweaty climb up the bank in the heat. It sure did feel good after the stop.

The long day ended back in sunny Erwin where we took shots of the train parked in front of the office, said our goodbyes, and headed to find a motel somewhere to the north to shorten the drive home on Sunday. I think we had to go as far as Beckley West Virginia to find a room. Maybe there was an event at Bristol Speedway that filled all the motels. Even though it had been a very long day since leaving home Friday night, I would do it again in a heartbeat. As I write this after almost 50 years of railfanning later, it’s still one of the best days I’ve had. The extra efforts of the East Tennessee Chapter of the NRHS and railroad management are much appreciated.

Clinchfield Railroad Erwin TN. Photo by Dave Beach.

Photo: After the last photo stop north of Kingsport, we made a bee line for Erwin as it was getting late. The train posed in the nice evening light for a few last shots before we headed north for Ohio.

2023 Railfanning Guide for CSX (Kingsport/Blue Ridge Subs) by Thomas Pittman

Narrative and Photos by Thomas Pittman


The Clinchfield of today is a shadow of its former self, but is far from dead! Kingsport to Johnson City is the most heavily used section, and averages 6 trains every 24 hours. Here’s what to expect on the rails in 2023.

Manifest Freights

The Clinchfield hosts 2 pairs of manifest freight trains daily. M692 (northbound)/M693 (southbound) originates daily out of Russell, KY to the North and Waycross, GA to the South. They service Shelby (KY), Kingsport, Bostic, Spartanburg, and other yards outside of our scope. All carload traffic that originates and terminates along the Clinchfield is handled by these trains that travel the entire length of the line. The other manifest pair is M652 (northbound)/M653 (southbound). These trains are primarily “through freights,” as their primary job is to carry cars between the Russell, KY and Rocky Mount, NC CSX hubs in order to help alleviate congestion along the old C&O mainline between Russell and Richmond (VA). They enter/exit the Clinchfield on the Charlotte Sub at Bostic, and travel the rest of the line north of that point. There is an occasional pickup or setout for these trains, but typically they stay together for their trip over the Clinchfield. The M653s are usually 90%+ loads, while the M652s are usually 90%+ empties, staying true to the age-old Clinchfield operation strategy of “loads south, empties north.” Occasionally, M652s will have to rearrange their train at Erwin in order to get the few loads on the head end for the trip through Boody further north, and complete the task there as to not cause extra congestion at Kingsport.

Photo: Counterparts M693 and M692 meet at Sevier NC

Coal Trains

Coal is no longer king on the Clinchfield, but Coal still moves on its rails. The only originating coal on the Clinchfield is at Alpha’s McClure (VA) Prep Plant. Unit trains of Metallurgical Coal (C209 loads/ R244 mine run from Shelby/ E903 empties) are loaded here for export at a Hampton Roads (VA) pier. Once loaded, these trains run north via Elkhorn City and the Big Sandy Sub before turning East. Duke still receives coal at the Cliffside Steam Station at Brice, albeit sporadic (Cliffside burns both Coal and Natural Gas). In 2023, very little coal was received until August, but the following two months saw 2+ trains (C313, C759, C402) a week. Demand seems to have slown to 1 a week at the time of writing in October. Coal Trains traveling to Terrell (NC)(C758, C406) and Cross (SC)(C304) are split between the Clinchfield and circling around an eastern route via the A-Line or a southern route via Greenwood, SC, depending on where the train originates or where the empty is heading to reload. Something to note, Brice/Terrell trains are sometimes diverted to the other plant as late as 1 hour prior to reaching Bostic. CSX also likes to run some additional stray empty hopper trains via the Clinchfield despite the loaded trains taking a different routing. Eastman (Kingsport) receives 2 or 3 coal trains from CSX a week. All of this coal comes from Eastern Kentucky via the Cumberland Valley/Appalachian District and the same power and train sets are usually assigned to this work for several weeks at a time. Norfolk Southern also delivers coal to Kingsport via trackage rights over the Clinchfield from their Appalachian District Connection at Frisco.

Photo: A Brice bound Coal train works its way through Pigeon Roost

Other Unit Trains

The 2 to 3 unit Ethanol trains that ply the Clinchfield weekly are all received by CSX at Chicago, enter the Clinchfield at Elkhorn City, and exit at Bostic onto the Charlotte Sub. Roughly half of these Ethanols feature at least one foreign road locomotive. Charlotte trains (B627, B651 loads/B628, B650 empties) run once or twice a week, while trains for High Rock (NC) via the Winston Salem Southbound Railway (B635, B667, B669 loads/B636, B668, B670 empties) are about once every two weeks. Scrubber Stone (B435 loads/B484 empties) originates in the Loyall, KY area, travels via the Cumberland Valley (CSX) and the Appalachian District (NS) to Frisco/Kingsport, then south to Brice (Cliffside) via the Clinchfield. Scrubber Stone frequency usually coincides with the level of Coal received with a few extra loads here and there when coal isn’t running heavy. Unit Grain loads/empties destined for/returning from Shelby (NC) pass through about once every week or two (various “G” symbols) when in season. The occasional empty Grain Train comes north from Comer, GA (G704) about once every two weeks. Both through and delivering Maintenance-of-Way trains (bearing “W” symbols) make the occasional trip over the Clinchfield.

Locals

L247 departs Kingsport once daily, Monday through Friday, and works as far south as Erwin and returns. U247 is an “as needed” local in addition to L247 that runs straight to Spruce Pine (to service 3 customers) and back. This train is loosely scheduled for MWF, but runs other days of the week as well if needed. L248 departs Bostic daily and works south as far as Kona to work customers on the extreme south end of the Clinchfield. L248 also goes north on Sundays to service Baxter. L249 departs Bostic nightly to work customers on the Southern/Western End of the Charlotte Sub. There are no on-line customers north of Kingsport (other than McClure) and no active customers exist between Erwin and Bostic, save the 3 at Spruce Pine and Baxter in North Cove.

Clinchfield/CSX Pocket Timetable Feb 2023 by Thomas Pittman

Thomas Pittman has done an outstanding job of creating a pocket timetable that we all can use to railfan and photograph the CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision. Below is one of the pages of his pocket timetable.

Click here for both pages, plus a downloadable PDF you can print out.

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