Sandy Ridge Tunnel on the Clinchfield Railroad
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Clinchfield Railroad Sandy Ridge Tunnel
Sandy Ridge Mountain and the Breaks of the Big Sandy River were the final geographic challenges for the Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio Railway as they completed their line north to Elkhorn City, Kentucky in 1915.
More content about Sandy Ridge will be added in the future.
Clinchfield’s Sandy Ridge Tunnel Stats
- Coordinates: 36.998465, -82.300958
- Milepost: 32.5 to 33.9
- Elevation: 1,838 feet above sea level
- Length: 7,854 feet, longest on the Clinchfield Railroad
Sandy Ridge Just Ahead by Ron Flanary
Photo and Narrative by Ron Flanary
Backlit on the Clinchfield: October 16, 1980
Diesel exhaust and sand dust envelope a southbound Clinchfield Railroad coal train as it nears the summit of the 34-mile climb from Elkhorn City, Kentucky at the south end of the siding at Trammel, Virginia. Just ahead is the north portal of Sandy Ridge Tunnel–7,854 feet of subterranean passage. It would be great if the engineer could reduce the throttle once inside the bore to decrease the and exhaust gases. However, the summit isn’t reached until the just about 200 feet from the south portal, the struggle against gravity isn’t quite over. The grade inside does ease to .5 percent, however, so the crew members in the cab just have to tough it out a little longer until fresh air can be found at milepost 34, just outside on the Dante end of the passage. It’s little wonder railroaders on such tunnel-infested routes suffered from respiratory ailments.
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.
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