Train tunnels, tracks, and miscellaneous stuff
A general catalog of pictures of tunnels and train-related items in Southwest Virginia, Kentucky and East Tennessee. The main focus is on the original Clinchfield line from Elkhorn City KY to the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, but we’ve got our eyes on that remarkable 6-tunnel looped line near Little Switzerland NC.
Lynch KY
This repainted locomotive/caboose set is parked in front of Mine #20 in Lynch KY. It was a U.S. Steel unit in use when Lynch was a happenin’ place in the 1940s & 50s: coal, railroad, maybe 10,000 souls in town.
If you’re into taking pix of abandoned industrial towns, this place is target rich. Take care, though, many of the buildings are crumbling.
Building Bridges from our Past to our Future
Calvin Sneed’s first book, with some of the 11,800+ bridge pictures he’s posted to bridgehunter.com, is now available (College Press ISBN: 978-1-5323-4369-8).
Tim Cable and I interviewed Calvin on Thinking Out Loud morning show on AM910 WJCW radio. Truss bridges, mostly, are a passion for Calvin. And he knows his stuff.
N & S 7512
N&S locomotive 7512 slowly coming up the grade across Highway 606 below Exeter VA.
Williamson WV Rail Yard
While Norfolk Western laid down a line through Williamson in 1892 or so, they didn’t build the big consolidation and repair yard until 1901. It has a roundhouse, but I wasn’t able to get a decent picture of it. It shows up quite well on Google Earth, though.
You can also see from the satellite image the fairly wide suspension pedestrian walkway that spans the yard. It is gated, but I was able to climb the rickety stairs that access the northern bridge support tower. This is looking southeast:
This is looking across the yard showing the pedestrian bridge (there’s a date on the building in the center, 1926):
And this is looking northwest or so:
This is the best view I could get of the roundhouse, taken from a 1913 truss bridge over the Tug Fork on the southern side of the yard:
A.A.T.D. Pin
This is a tiny pin, just 1/2″. It’s been around for a while, but I have no way of dating it.
Butterfly pin back, no maker’s mark. Base metal.
Jordan Spreader
This much-used Jordan Spreader, SBD 774760, was sitting in the eastern part of Kingsport yard back in 2012. I thought it might have been used to clear tunnels of ice. That was fanciful. When I looked it up, I found that the unit is used to dig and clear ditches, regulate ballast and even to plow snow. Sturdy and reliable, and, of course, it’s been replaced by more modern things…so it goes.
Northern Ohio & Western #4497
It looks like this unit has been here (37.20723, -81.562866 near Bishop VA) for several years. It wasn’t here in 2012, but was in 2015 (the available Google Earth images). The locomotive is unlocked but hasn’t been terribly vandalized.
Here’s the glamour shot:
Lines of Hoppers
Lines and lines of empty hoppers parked in Southwest Virginia. This is looking more or less southward into Dante Yard. We were moving from Scott County into Dickenson County and back and saw a lot of these idle units. Anecdotal reports indicate that they’ve been there for a considerable time (several weeks or so). We were seeing both CSX and N&S (and some old Southern and Norfolk & Western units, too).
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
NOW 4497
The former Northern Ohio & Western 4497 EMD GP9, out of service near Bishop WV in March, 2016.
Photo courtesy of Lee Stone
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
Found this today in an antique shop. It’s a pinback. The diameter is 1.5″ or 3.8cm. I see several of these around on the internet, all noted as being “vintage”. Southern went under the control of Norfolk-Western in 1982 and then was merged officially into the Norfolk Southern Railroad in 1990.
I could go out on a limb and say that this may date to before the railroads gave the old heave-ho to passenger service in this area, but I won’t. That’s definitely a diesel engine on the left, though. The caboose on the right fits the streamlined period, but that may just be to fit the design on this pin.
Basically, I just don’t know when these were handed out.
This one is in fair shape. Water damage, apparently, around the rim.
The Intermediate Tweetsie
Both of these chrome postcards are from the late ’60s, when Doe River Gorge Playland was in business (check this link). As you’ll read on that webpage, for about a year, it was Hillbilly World and it closed in 1971. I’ve hiked the gorge twice, once from the Ministry side and once from the highway side. I think the one on the left shows the Engine #1 at Pardee Point, the one on the right is just a general shot of the engine steaming along.
The technical details: On the left: the card is badly creased end to end. Shame, that.
On the back: “Doe River Gorge, Highway 19-E, Hampton, Tennessee
A panoramic view of the Doe River as it winds through the Doe River Gorge. This is just one of the many scenic views of natural beauty seen from “Little Whistler” as Engine Number 101 puffs through the 3 1/2 mile trip in the Gorge.”
Published by KING PRINTING 509-511 Shelby Street, Bristol, Tennessee 37620
(there’s a small logo on the back: KING ADVERTISING DESIGN – PHOTOGRAPHY – COLOR SEPARATION – LITHOGRAPHY BRISTOL, TENN U.S.A.)
It’s been scribbled on, apparently by a child. Postally unused.
On the right: Card is in pretty good shape.
On the back: “Doe River Gorge Highway 19-E, Hampton, Tennessee
The “Little Whistler” puffs up the 2% grade road bed of scenic Doe river Gorge. Steam engines have been pulling this grade for nearly one hundred years. A trip through Doe River gorge offers one of the most scenic natural beauty views in the southeastern United States.”
All rest is same as above.
Gate City Southern Depot
As you can see, the title of this postcard, a real photo card, is “SOU. DEPOT GATE CITY, VA 1963”. There is no more information anywhere on this card. I bought it maybe 10 years ago from a dealer in Maryland. Since the first SLR cameras began coming into the United States in 1963, it’s entirely possible this was shot with a regular rangefinder camera. Either the lens was soft or the film was slow, either way, the sign about halfway down the building should be readable, but it isn’t, even at 10x magnification. It’s out of focus.
C&O Caboose
I saw this on private property near Allen KY. I understand that C&O began using the yellow paint scheme in 1957. The unit # is 903597. I’ve seen similar ones on other websites, but I don’t have any more information.
Levisa Branch Trestle
You can read about this sturdy, 1894 Pencoyd Bridge & Construction Co. (PA) trestle over the Levisa Branch in Kentucky right here. It once carried two tracks, maybe when it was over the Ohio River. The website I noted above says that this bridge is closed to all traffic, but check the rails…they’ve been used recently. The actual maker plate is on the right support. It’s been broken, but it’s still readable.
Shelbiana KY
My buddy, the Navigator, had spotted on Google Earth what he thought was an extant turntable at Shelby Yard in Shelbiana KY. So, we went up there and crossed over into the yard, metaphorically whistling innocently and stepping quietly, and, there it was:
It’s not operational; however, the current setup would have allowed it to rotate a locomotive (or four or five large African elephants, for that matter) or move the locomotive platform to connect to three different tracks, probably to repair facilities and so forth.
This yard was set up in 1917 by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. It’s now maintained by CSX.
Lonesome Valley Road Trestle
Looking up at the northwest end of the trestle, which is about 708′ long and around 100′ high, over Lonesome Valley Road in Claiborne County TN. Here’s the southeast end:
This is on the same Norfolk Southern line I discussed in the Oakman tunnels posting. This trestle, old as it appears, was most certainly a replacement or reinforcement of an existing trestle. The original concrete footers are still there.
Mudlick Junction
Ladies and germs, welcome to Mudlick Junction, about halfway between Stonega and Andover, snuggled between Stonega Road and Roda Road. The two lines on the left are, obviously, dead and I think originally went to the mines at Roda. The line on the far right is live and runs up to strip mines north of Stonega.
According to Hanson’s placename book, “Roda” is short for “rhododendron” and you have the Post Office to thank for omitting the “h” that should have been in “Roda”. Andover is named in honor of Andover College in New England, which was of some significance to the president of the Virginia Coal and Iron Company. “Stonega”? Hanson says it’s just “Stone Gap” without the “p”. Ahh, ha.
“Mudlick” isn’t a placename. It might have been a small settlement once. A “lick” refers to an outcropping of salt that attracted wild animals and, eventually, hunters. Meat and salt, all in one.
Fremont
This is the original location of the Fremont train station in Dickenson County VA:
Blogging the Railroad Tunnels 