Pineville KY – Blogging the Railroad Tunnels

Tunnel, Bell County KY

February 12, 2017February 12, 2017Bob LawrenceLeave a comment

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.

Kentucky truss bridge

May 26, 2014Bob LawrenceLeave a comment

This solidly built double-track 1925 Fort Pitt Bridge Works (Pittsburgh PA) structure spans the Cumberland River just west of CSX’s Loyall Yard. The bridge, in three sections, all box trusses (for a total of around 410′ in length), is at 36.85093, -83.36837. It’s on an active line that winds on into Pineville. This view is looking more or less west. To give you a sense of scale, that’s my buddy standing in the second section on the right hand side of the tracks.