Riding Clinchfield Railroad 800 by Scott Jessee

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Clinchfield Railroad

Riding Clinchfield Railroad 800

Chronicled by Scott Jessee, Photos by Karen Jessee, Ed Bowers and Scott Jessee

Clinchfield Railroad #800 Photo by Karen Jessee

November 1988 SBD 116 was the lead engine on my first Santa Train. It had been 35 years, but an opportunity to ride behind Clinchfield’s first diesel locomotive could not be passed over. The best part would be the locomotive was painted and numbered as it should be, Clinchfield 800.

Instead of 7854’ Sandy Ridge tunnel, it would be 722’ Willett Hollow tunnel. Instead of Copper Creek viaduct at 167’ high and 1091’ long, it would be Piney Creek trestle at 127’ high and 600’ long. (Photo by Karen Jessee)

Southern Appalachia Railroad Museum’s Fall Excursion with #800

As you have figured out, this trip would not be along Clinchfield rails, but on ex-Tennessee Central Railway trackage. Ed Bowers, who owns Clinchfield 800, invited my wife Karen and I to ride Southern Appalachia Railroad Museum’s Family and Friends October 2023 fall excursion. The excursion originated at Lhoist’s Crab Orchard, TN facility.

Ed was kind enough to give me a tour of the 75 year old locomotive. The vintage locomotive did not show its age as the engine room and cab were spotless and CSX’s 2017 paint job was in pristine condition.

Photo by Ed Bowers: Scott relives the memories of the 35 years ago when the same engine led the1988 Santa Train. In 1988, the engine wore Seaboard System paint as engine #116.

Scott Jessee - Clinchfield Railroad #800 - Photo by Ed Bowers

The excursion departed at 1220pm and plied along the railroad that is now owned, operated, and maintained by Lhoist Corporation. SARM arranged a run-by at Flat Rock Creek trestle, one of several timber trestles on the line. Willet Hollow tunnel hosted the next run-by. Both run-byes were spectacular with scenery,

CRR 800 was fantastic, and SARM’s crew performed flawlessly. I met several great railroad guys who were more than interested in my Clinchfield F unit tales. They listened intently as Karen looked out of the window and took photos as she had heard those stories more than once.

Ed Bowers

As for Ed Bowers, most of you know Ed has been dealing, restoring, and saving railroad equipment for decades. It has been almost 30 years since I met Ed for supper at Kingsport, TN’s Jack’s Restaurant. I immediately knew Ed was a professional and an all around great guy. Ed’s mission was to save Clinchfield Coal Company’s Kilgore Creek F unit, originally CRR’s #821.

Engine Room Video

Video below by Ed Bowers: #800’s Engine Room as clean and pristine as 1948 when the engine was delivered to the Clinchfield. 800 was originally a F3, but was upgraded to F7 specs in 1957.

Clinchfield #821

This unit’s history included stints with the NC&StL, L&N, CRR as no. 821 and in 1977 Clinchfield Coal purchased the engine and numbered it 014.

We discussed logistics, what CSX would and would not do, but Ed and his team did the hard work. The Nora Spur was technically out of service, but CSX agreed to move the engine if by happenstance it showed up at the Nora/Neece Creek switch. Ed’s able bodied crew got the engine into FRA shape assisted by former Dante carman F.P. “Tuck” Bradley. Obviously working with an abandoned out of service engine prosed problems. One problem no one expected was a copperhead infestation. Inquiries to wildlife and pest control experts revealed bags of lime and smoke bombs should do the trick.

May 1996 the big day finally arrived. Ed’s crew led by George Walker “static dropped” the engine using a portable air compressor for braking purposes. I only had to arrange for a Dante mine run to deliver the Chattanooga bound unit to the NS St. Paul interchange. This May 1996 interchange to the best of my knowledge was the last interchange between CSX and NS at St. Paul.

Scenes from CRR 800 Fall Excursion

Photos and Video by Karen Jessee and Ed Bowers

Clinchfield Railroad #800

Video of 800 Exiting Willett Hollow Tunnel

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

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3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org