Can CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision Survive the Storm?
Former Clinchfield Railroad Tamed the Appalachians But Was No Match for Hurricane Helene
When I worked as a newspaper reporter in South Carolina in the 1970s I became acquainted with a big little railroad that few outside the Piedmont region and Appalachian Mountains knew about, the Carolina, Clinchfield, & Ohio, better known simply as the Clinchfield.
The Clinchfield stretched 277 miles from Elkhorn City, KY, where it connected with the Chesapeake & Ohio, to Spartanburg, SC, where it interchanged with the Seaboard Coast Line. It served the coal mines of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee as well as southwestern Virginia and provided a link between the Ohio River valley and the southeastern coastal states.
After it was completed in 1924 the Clinchfield was jointly leased by the Louisville & Nashville and Atlantic Coast Line railroads. L&N and the ACL’s successor, Seaboard Coast Line, merged in 1983 to form Seaboard System. The Clinchfield was rolled up into the new company since it no longer needed to be operated as a separate entity. Today it is part of CSX, which operates the line as the Blue Ridge Subdivision between Spartanburg and Erwin, TN, and the Kingsport Subdivision between Erwin and Elkhorn City.
The Clinchfield was well regarded in the industry because of its well-engineered mainline that navigated the mountainous terrain with minimal reliance on helper locomotives. The railroad ran through some of the most spectacular scenery east of the Mississippi River but few got to see it since the railroad discontinued passenger service in the 1950s.
There is a good possibility the Blue Ridge Subdivision will not run again between Erwin and Marion, NC, if the cost to rebuild the line is prohibitive.
I was one of the fortunate ones who did. In 1976 I wrote a story for The Greenville News about the Clinchfield’s steam-powered excursion train and got to ride between Marion, NC, and Erwin in the cab of a diesel locomotive assigned to pull the train north. We rode around the famed Clinchfield Loops and I had the best seat on the train as we passed through the spectacular Nolichucky Gorge just south of Erwin.
So I was devastated by pictures of the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago. The bridge over the Nolichucky River was washed away as was several miles of track and roadbed. Remote mountain towns like Erwin and Spruce Pine, NC, were flooded and caked with mud and debris. Eleven Erwin factory workers were lost in the deluge.
There is a good possibility the Blue Ridge Subdivision will not run again between Erwin and Marion, NC, if the cost to rebuild the line is prohibitive. It was a busy route when I lived in South Carolina. Long freight trains used it to get from Russell Yard on the banks of the Ohio River in Kentucky to Jacksonville, FL. In addition, countless unit coal trains ran over the Clinchfield on their way to power plants in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.
For several years power generation has been moving away from coal-fired power plants. Consequently, traffic over the Blue Ridge sub had fallen markedly. Between five and seven trains a day were using the line prior to the flooding, according a report on Trains.com. It would be sad but not surprising if CSX, with an eye on the bottom line, closes the line for good. Sic transit gloria.