Author: Bob Lawrence
Pullers and Movers
At the Bell County Coal Company (now a Revelation Energy outfit) near Middlesboro KY, these two yard units were sitting idle.
This is a variation of an EMD GP-series locomotive (see the comment below):
And this is a mobile railcar mover…not moving anytime soon, though:
Tunnel, Bell County KY
This 600′ or so curved tunnel is in Bell County KY between Pineville and Middlesboro (36.713553, -83.671519 off Patterson Branch Road). The unfinished portal is on the south.
The line appears to be abandoned. I saw a few rail dates in the 1920s and the faceup on the north portal has a 1944 date. However, I think the tunnel is much older than that, since the L&N ran a line in this area sometime after 1890 (as far as I can tell…corrections happily accepted).
I walked through the tunnel and saw only one rockfall area.
Note: walking through a tunnel is not a good idea.
Southern Passenger Station, Morristown, Tenn.
The Southern passenger station in Morristown TN pre-1906 (when his card was mailed). For the time, the printer was generous with the area on which to write a message, since, as an undivided back card, you could only write the address on the back. I still find it amazing that this card was mailed at 2:30 pm on October 3, 1906, and arrived in Bristol at 7:30 that evening.
Isabella writes that they are laid over in M’town until 2:30, but will be spending the night in Asheville. I wonder if the train that took this card to Bristol also took Isabella and her companions on to Asheville.
Kidding my older brother, I mentioned that I thought one of the people posed there at the station looked a bit like him. He was not amused.
The card was published by Rose & Rice and is on a slightly heavier stock that one usually sees in postcards.
Incidentally, there’s a Jennie Rose Rice (1867-1946) buried in Jarnagin Cemetery in Morristown.
The Tennessean
The Tennessean train was jointly operated by N&W and Southern with a 24-hour run between Washington DC and Memphis. It made regular trips from 1941 until 1968.
The lady who mailed this didn’t have a particularly good experience:
“Train 8 hrs late arriving at Memphis. Phoned (someone). They will meet me in (something). Coach without heat all night – nearly froze. No food on the train except potato chips and crackers. Thanks for lunch. Love Mother”
The Memphis postmark is incomplete, but has to be from the ’50s, when postcard postage was two cents (1952 – 1958).
Card was printed by E. C. Kropp of Milwaukee.
Appalachia Train Station
The L&N came into what was then known as Intermont in 1891. It formally became Appalachia in 1906. This Craftsman style train station was built around 1910. Notably, it has a slate roof.
The card was printed by The Tecraft Company in Tenafly NJ. That company registered The Tecraft Company as a trade name in 1946, when it was over 70 years old.
Judging by the quality of the photo and comparing it to other Tecraft cards on line, I would think this card dates to the early 20th century. It’s in fair to good condition with just two minor creases.
Note: back in 2012, I’d posted a picture of how the station looks now. As the comment below notes, it’s a wreck.
Seaboard Coast Line Caboose
I didn’t track this too carefully, but it was noted as being in Marion NC around 1984. Makes sense, it’s now on some guy’s property about 8 miles south of Spruce Pine, beside an active CSX line at Sevier Crossroads. Looks to be in pretty good shape. It’s sited at 35 48 10.89N, 82 00 59.22W on Old Linville Road. Family Lines System only existed from 1972 to 1982 and this predates that, since it carries a Seaboard Coast Line ID number. It is, I think, an ACL (Atlantic Coast Lines) M-5. I could be wrong. When I was a kid, attracting chiggers on a mountain side in the foggy dawn light while by brother listened for squirrels, I looked over and saw what I thought was a cat and called to it. My brother: “Hush, Bobby, and, anyway, that’s skunk, not a cat. Now be quiet!”
Rail Benders
This was at Norton Yard a few years ago. These guys really know how to bend steel!
Hazard Yard South Tunnel
This is the south portal of the tunnel that passes through a ridge south of Hazard Yard. The tunnel is about 450′ long.
The box truss trestle passes over the North Fork of the Kentucky River. Vandals (grrrr) have relieved the bridge of its maker/date plate. However, the bridge resembles others on this line that were made by Virginia Bridge and Iron Company in Roanoke in 1912.
The Tunnel that Opened up Hazard
In 1912 or so, the L&N was eager to get to the high-quality coal around Hazard KY. This tunnel, 1,300′ or so, was the access.
Hello, Hazard! This is on the north side of Hazard Yard, now plenty of tracks but not much traffic. In its day, though, it was a full-time yard. There was at least one turntable. The circular foundation is still visible. The next post is of the tunnel on the south side of the yard.
Trolley?
I took this picture back in 2009. The idea that looking a little closer and taken a few more pictures of something interesting hadn’t dawned on me.
This is, or was, in Hiltons VA. I think was once a trolley car. Just over to the left is where the railroad once came through Hiltons (the line from Bristol to Gate City). I dunno. We find artifacts like this all over the place.
Surprise! Big Four, No Daylight
Photo by Lee Stone.
I like the composition of this shot. That’s Big Four #2 up ahead. Just beyond it is Big Four’s Walmart (formerly a K-Mart). This 174′ tunnel may still be scheduled for daylighting (removing the overburden and opening it up) in that corridor improvement project, but, as of November, 2006, it’s still a tunnel. That’s Elkhorn Creek on the left.
Incidentally, when I was researching this tunnel, I learned that the community of Big Four was named after the four owners of the major mines in this area. Keep the big people happy, and distracted.
Antler #1 Tunnel
My traveling buddy, Lee Stone, was exploring the area around Welch WV and kindly took the time to shoot some of the tunnels in the area. On Google Earth, go to Antler WVA. The tunnel is just to the left of that location. It was built around 1905. In the late 2000s, it was part of the Heartland Corridor Clearance Project to raise the clearances in 28 tunnels on the line.
Check Your Hat, Sir or Madam (as the case may be)?
Size is 1″ x 3.5″ the reverse is blank.
Note: people used to wear hats back then. “Hat Check” wasn’t for fleas or anything, it just let you amble about hatless without worrying about someone sitting on your topper.
Southern Pass
This Southern Railway Company pass, 4 x 2.5″, was issued to Miss Josephine Morris, dependent daughter of W.H. Morris, Agent, Harriman, Tenn, in 1921.
The back looks like a pass that didn’t print well. There’s a clover pattern overall and “NTOW”, part of some word or other. I hope she enjoyed her visits to and from Knoxville.
I didn’t have any luck tracking down the name of the vice-president who signed this.
Southern Railway Freight Office
Well, it was the Southern Railway Freight Office on Meadow Road in Asheville. Habitat for Humanity occupies the back portion (cropped out in this picture) for storage, I guess, since their retail store is just across the parking lot from this building. This portion appears to be unoccupied.
I especially like the SR medallions in the upper corners. Southern was a deal back then.
Polly Switchers
Here’re three more pix of those switchers in Polly KY:
This is looking at the back of the switcher.
These are the controls by the engineer’s chair. Note the intercom speaker.
This is the registration plate on the back switcher (the front one was gone). It’s been smoothed down over the years, but I think the model number is D904703 (that “D” could be a “O”) and the serial number is 52G155.
Two Blue Switchers
Ran across these at a mostly abandoned coal mine and processing plant in Polly KY.
I am no expert on engines, but these are switchers made by the General Motors Electromotive Division…maybe carry the NW designation, which would mean they date from the early 40s. I was able to get the serial number, but it didn’t yield any information when I conducted a search.
These have been hit by vandals. That’s no surprise.
Southern Railway bolo
Time hasn’t been kind to this interesting Southern Railway bolo. The plastic over the logo area has been crazed a bit and slightly stained in one area, but it’s still a nice little bit of history.
I can’t imagine wearing a bolo with a logo. But, if you were an employee of the Southern, I guess it worked.
Old Fort Depot
This is the old depot, now a tourism center, is in Old Fort NC.
The caboose there is open to the public and still retains some features of this crew car, including this advisory (in stencil caps) above the toilet:
CAUTION
TOILET WILL NOT
OPERATE PROPERLY
WITHOUT 60 POUNDS
MIN. ON TRAIN LINE GAUGE
The stove is still there, a work desk, three, I think, couches that could be used as beds, and so forth. Old Fort is about 7 miles east of Black Mountain on Hwy. 70.
Fancy Livery
This is a 1960 ALCO 125-ton diesel locomotive, according to the web. Quite fancy livery, too. The Sunny Knott Loadout is located at Lackey, Knott County, Kentucky. We couldn’t tell if it was active. The gates were wide open and, even though there was security of a sort, we weren’t hassled at all. From the looks of the surrounding area, this must have been a busy site once upon a time.
Printer KY Tunnel
We’re on the Long Fork Subdivision of the old C&O that ran from Martin KY to Hi Hat. This is the north portal of a tunnel, faced out and supported by wood, near Printer KY (named for a John Printer, in case you were wondering).
It’s 350′ long and in good shape. Here’s what the inside looks like:
And here’s the south portal:
Again, I don’t know how old these wood supports and facings are. The line went in sometime in the late 1920s and was active up until the 1990s.
E&BV subdivision tunnel
This is just outside Martin (old Beaver Creek) KY on what was once called the Elkhorn and Beaver Valley Railroad (there’s a split in Martin: the E&BV went west, the Long Fork subdivision went south).
It’s supported by wood bracing and framing. This line was built in the 1913-1914 time period, but I don’t know if this wood structural support dates to that time. The timbers are gray with age and have been heavily imbued with creosote. This is an abandoned line.
(I also don’t know who owns the two red plastic balls down on the left)
NOW 4497
The former Northern Ohio & Western 4497 EMD GP9, out of service near Bishop WV in March, 2016.
Photo courtesy of Lee Stone
The Hemphills, #1 & #2
This is Hemphill tunnel #1 west portal, about 800′ long.
and this is Hemphill tunnel #2 east portal, about 1200′ long
If you’ve got Google Earth, set the options to “digital” and enter these coordinates:
37.44387, -81.59671
Or just follow the N&S railroad line south of Capels WV and you’ll find where my buddy was standing when he took these pictures. He was sort of in between these two, with #1 being slightly to the SE of him.
There’s great history of these tunnels here <click>
Pictures courtesy of Lee Stone
Welch Tunnel
This is the N&S’s Welch tunnel, located just north of Welch WV. It’s about 1300′ long.
Coordinates 37.435642, -81.583812
No lie, this once was a busy tunnel…two tracks and all.
If you use Google Earth, check the Historic Imagery of this tunnel and dial it back as far as you can. That shot really shows the tunnel well.
West Vivian Tunnel
My buddy recently journeyed to the area around Welch WV. He found and photographed a couple of tunnels on the N&S lines through there. The first one is:
(Photo courtesy of Lee Stone)
The east face at 36.252803, -81. 303009.
Odd Old Loader
This old loader is near the Wakenva VA junction (it’s just ahead in this picture). It was hard to figure this one out. There had been a pulley system of some sort with stout wire cable, but I couldn’t tell what it was for. It had both rail and truck access.
Evarts KY
Two views of the refurbished train station at Evarts KY, near Harlan. It cleaned up quite nicely. The first Post Office opened in this town in 1855. Since the L&N came into Harlan in 1911, I assume that the railroad came through here soon after, as it made its way east into the coal country.
Junior Railroader
Blogging the Railroad Tunnels 