Interstate Railroad – Blogging the Railroad Tunnels

Inman School Train

September 7, 2015Bob LawrenceLeave a comment

Inman is an unincorporated community in Wise County VA. This is a divided-back postcard that was allowed between 1907 and 1914. A website had this card for sale and, without attribution, stated it was “1910’s”. Close enough. I think this is an Interstate Railroad steam engine, but I can’t be sure.

On the back, scrawled in pencil (it was never posted) “Hello CB Ans soon CDM”
Addressed to Miss Blanche Gladson, RR #4 Rogersville Tenn.
If you want to know more about Miss Blanche, go here. If it’s still not the top entry, look for “Rogersville Postcards” in the menu.

Dorchester Junction

March 10, 2013March 11, 2013Bob LawrenceLeave a comment

On a trip up to the Norton/Wise area of southwest Virginia, my buddy wanted to see if we could locate the now mostly forgotten Dorchester Junction, an interchange point for the Interstate Railroad and the L&N at 36.926574, -82.659993. Interstate came east from Kent Junction, crossed over here and headed on up to Dorchester and Needmore. All that’s left of the old Interstate line is the railbed and this abutment and leads to the actual Dorchester Junction:

This area is named “Dnor” now. The abutment is right where my buddy is standing.

The trestle, made of timber, crossed the valley here over to where the new highway runs now.

Here are some of the remnants of the old trestle, lying beside the now stripped railbed:

Swede tunnel (the real Swede tunnel)

January 29, 2012January 9, 2013Bob LawrenceLeave a comment

My buddy always suspected that this was Swede tunnel (also called Beverly tunnel, according to Ed Wolfe in his book on the Interstate Railroad), located at 36.919845, -82.449835 on the Guest River Gorge Trail. I thought that Swede was the tunnel located in Coeburn (see that post), but, thanks to a comment from a viewer, I was corrected. I think this tunnel, the only one on the Guest River Gorge Trail, is about 200′ long. This is looking down the trail.

May Town tunnel

December 30, 2011May 5, 2012Bob Lawrence3 Comments

Here’s ~~Swede~~ May Town tunnel. This northern portal is located at 36.936982, -82.465540 in Coeburn VA. It was constructed in 1922 as the Interstate Railroad ran a line up from Miller Yard through Guest River Gorge to Coeburn and points beyond. It went out of service in the ’60s and all the trackage has been removed. It’s around 639′ long and muddy. We wore waders to get through it. Just behind where I was standing to take this picture is Adams Street bridge.
Btw, the Guest River Gorge trail is a great hike and there’s even one small tunnel on the way (Swede tunnel). It’s not far down the trail, but it’s a little over 5 miles to the Clinch River from the trailhead, it’s a long, long 5 miles back up. Each mile is marked with a sign and, as you’re coming back up, the signs seem to get farther and farther apart. We’ve done it on bikes and on foot. Bikes are recommended, believe me. Or a helicopter.