The Clinchfield Railroad, Hauling Those Black Diamonds
The Clinchfield Railroad is one of the less notable fallen flags, most likely due to its very small size, only a tad over 300 miles at its peak! However, the railroad does hold an important place in railroading history and is best remembered as another of the Appalachian coal haulers, lugging millions of tons of black diamonds from the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Along with the railroad’s association with coal it also served as a very effective north-south bridge line for traffic of railroads such as the Southern and Chesapeake & Ohio.
Not only did Carter finish what would become the railroad’s principle main line, he did so in magnificent engineering fashion managing to keep the ruling grade at under 2%! The railroad was so well constructed that it has changed little over the decades and continues to see many CSX freights daily hauling, you guessed it, coal!
The Clinchfield Railroad name itself is actually a paper railroad created by the Louisville & Nashville and Atlantic Coast Line< railroads to lease the Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railway in 1924 (an agreement that was inked for 999 years). For the rest of the railroad’s existence it would carry the Clinchfield name and its status changed little over that time, hauling coal and bridge traffic for the L&N, ACL, C&O, and Southern. The biggest change for the Clinchfield occurred in the mid-1970s when it came under the Family Lines System banner with the L&N, the new Seaboard Coast Line (a merger between the ACL and Seaboard Air Line), and a number of other smaller lines. With this came a new livery applied to all of the railroads (with sub-lettering stenciled under locomotive cabs identifying each company) and gone was the Clinchfield’s familiar black and yellow paint scheme (prior to this the CRR had a gray and yellow livery with black lettering).
As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s the Clinchfield Railroad would officially be merged out of existence. When the Family Lines System became the Seaboard System Railroad in 1982 under the CSX Transportation banner with the Chessie System there was little need for so many different company names and the Clinchfield along with its other allied roads were merged out of existence. Today, the Clinchfield Railroad continues to serve CSX well and one part of the company continues to live on through its successor, its famous Santa Claus Special, originally started during the Christmas of 1943 and has operated every year since. Over the past 60+ years of its annual holiday trek the train has operated over roughly the very same Clinchfield main line since its first year of operation. Today it is co-sponsored by both the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce and of course, CSX. Since its first year the train was an instant hit and has only become more popular through the years. Clinchfield Railroad All-Time Locomotive Rosters
For more reading about the Clinchfield consider the book Clinchfield Railroad in the Coalfields by Robert Helm which details the CRR at what it does best, hauling coal! The book (which took 12 years to complete) gives a wonderful general history of the railroad in the Appalachians and includes many pictures and even interviews with former employees. If you have any interest in the Clinchfield you will quite likely enjoy Mr. Helm's book. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit The Railroad Diamond by clicking the tab in the menu to your left marked "TRD Store".
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