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.

French Broad River

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frenchbroadriver

Well, guess what we found in Corbin KY.  The Southern CNO&TP sleeper, French Broad River.

It’s had a rough life since 1950 or so, but it’s now safely, more or less, sitting on a cut section of track to the right of the old depot on, of course, Depot Street.  Here’s a look at the end of the car as shown above.

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Locomotives and Trains

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southernpiece

Not a particularly rare poster (it folds out to a one-sided 22″ x 32″ size) and one that has been slightly damaged on one panel (I’m rather good at finding stuff that is “slightly damaged”) by being in contact with some sort of acidic paper.  It features 29 black-and-white photos of Southern history from 1830 (even one of a geezery-looking Nicholas W. Darrell) through the mid 50s.  Notice there’s no ZIP Code shown.

So, find yourself one of these and “paste these pictures in your railroad scrapbook”.

Railway Post Office

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railpo

Even mended with tape (not my doing), this is a fine picture, taken by the American Car and Foundry Company in 1923.  Brand new car for Southern Railway.

po crew

I would guess that this is the crew that guarded and processed the mail on the car, getting ready to load up.  That’s a lot of security!

Railway post offices were mostly gone by 1962 and completely gone by 1977.

Southern Medallion

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plaque

I found this sign at a flea market mall.  It’s 8.75″ in diameter, baked enamel finish and 10.75 ounces in weight. It has been dinged a bit and I’m not under any illusion that it’s an antique. I believe the company that produced these signs is no longer making them.  “Too expensive”, I read.

I’m not having any luck finding a similar sign yet.  I may have to (alert! 1960s TV series reference) “Wire Paladin, San Francisco”.

N&S Locomotives, Kingsport TN

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For as long as I can remember, there have been one or two N&W locomotives and a caboose on a short siding beside Lincoln Street, near the intersection with John B. Dennis in Kingsport.  These two are 2559 (EMD GP30) and 7026 (EMD GP50), with the caboose NS 555006.  One engine was idling at the time I took this picture.  Since this is basically CSX territory, I’ve wondered why these units are here.  Still wondering.

Later:  Not anymore!  Many thanks to Ralph Clark, a former engineer, who clued me in to these locomotives.  He recalled that, at some point in the past, Eastman wanted to uncouple from just having one railway servicing their vast facility, so they set up an arrangement with N&S to make a nightly run to Frisco to pick a shipment of coal and bring it back.  Pictured above, for all intents and purposes, is N&S’s foot on the ground in CSX territory.

Lynch KY

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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

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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.

Williamson WV Rail Yard

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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:
yardlookingsoutheast

This is looking across the yard showing the pedestrian bridge (there’s a date on the building in the center, 1926):
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And this is looking northwest or so:
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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:
roundhouse

Jordan Spreader

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jordanspreader  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

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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

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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

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appalachiatsfrnt appalachiatsback

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

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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!”

Surprise! Big Four, No Daylight

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big4

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.

Southern Pass

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southernpassfront southernpassback
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

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Here’re three more pix of those switchers in Polly KY:

lookinginto

This is looking at the back of the switcher.

controls

These are the controls by the engineer’s chair.  Note the intercom speaker.

regisplate

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

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gmswitchers

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

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sunnyknott

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.

Junior Railroader

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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

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doerivergorge1 doerivergorge2

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

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gatecitydepot

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.

Levisa Branch Trestle

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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.