Kingsportt Sub., CSX (or Clinchfield)

[landnrailroader]

I set aside some of the other items I was working with (or playing with to hear my wife) and have completed the Kingsport main from Elkhorn City to Erwin. While I could have also put the BlueRidge Sub. with this route, I decided to break at the crew change point of Erwin because I plan to add several little bits of SR and N&W track where it intersected or was parallel to the Clinchfield. There are also three branches that existed until at least the 1990s, and a couple out of Dante, VA that died 60 years or more ago but are interesting and will be included - they were in the original version as well. So this will be a better version of the routes I did back in 2002 or so when we did not have the wide selection of track and road pieces that we do now. Now I have gone back and I am completing the chemical complex area at Kingsport (Eastman Chemical). No, not every track, but enough to be reasonable and if someone gets the route and wishes to self flagellate, then have it and add some more. Reminds me of something that showed up on this or another site a long time ago. Someone stated that they were going to do Proviso Yard on the old MSTS and complained about track spacing. Eventually they gave up, but for places like that and Eastman Chemical, we can just do so much. Take a look at it on Google Earth and you will see what I mean.

Also take a look at the Nolichucky gorge around Popular, NC and look at the most recent aerial, from the spring of 2025, and some older aerial. That will give you an idea of the devastation wrought by the hurricane in Sept.2024. A five span through girder bridge was just knocked off it's supports. Three of the spans were reusable, two had to be made from scratch. One pier had to be replaced, and all piers had buttresses added at the top to make it harder for some future flood to knock the bridges off their supports and around $200M was spent. It is not a heavily traveled route anymore and I was surprised to see it rebuilt. Even more so to see the Old Fort loops rebuilt on NS. If the UP acquisition had already happened, I doubt they would have been rebuilt. However NC wants to run their own passenger service into Asheville and so I expect the state had something to do with the decision.

Jerry

[landnrailroader]

One of those interactions with Southern (NS) is at Frisco, TN. This is about 5 miles north-northwest of Kingsport. Looking at the aerial view of TSRE at this location, note that the mainline of CSX runs from the upper left corner toward the middle at the bottom, and NS runs from the yard area at the right toward the left and crosses over CSX. Prior to 1982, the track swinging out & around at the top half did not exist, but the one that will follow the line of markers at the bottom did. When Eastman started their big complex in Kingsport many years ago they insisted on having dual service. Clinchfield, then jointly leased by L&N & ACL passed beside the complex while SR went past Kingsport at Frisco. So the connecting track that will follow those markers dates from prior to 1950 as far as I know, and SR had the small yard in order to assemble cuts to go into Kingsport, Thus it was until 1982. By then the coal that L&N got from its line between Big Stone Gap and Norton, VA had pretty much dried up and so that line was abandoned but the L&N(CSX) still needed to get from the area of Loyall, KY to the Clinchfield, so a deal was struck with by then late SR/early NS. That curved connection was built by CSX with some financial help from NS, and a connection from the L&N to NS was built in Big Stone Gap, VA. By using the connection, NS trains can reach the Clinchfield and continue by trackage rights to St. Paul which avoid a lot of curves and steep gradients if one went by Big Stone Gap & Norton. NS still has their line, Big Stone Gap to Norton so any of their coal trains can proceed directly east if headed to Norfolk. CSX can use NS from Big Stone Gap to Frisco, using the marker line to reach the Clinchfield and then proceed south. So everybody is happy I guess.

Jerry FRISCO_TN01.png

[yellowdog]

Somewhat related, there is a small spur track right off the CSX main at the timetable south end of Kingsport passing track (just timetable north of the Holston tunnel) that, as far back as I can remember, has been dedicated to the local NS power that would run to Eastman via Frisco. The location on the 1982 track chart is at mp 96.2, as one of the vague spurs labeled Tenn. Eastman Co.
Attached is a pic of the power when I was there in August 2025 PXL_20250807_205729262.MP.jpg

[landnrailroader]

Yes, I saw that in one of the Google aerials and when I went to ground view, it was a NS locomotive and NS caboose. They probably use the caboose as a shoving platform, i.e. somebody is on it to direct backup moves. I had intended to include NS at Frisco and alongside the Clinchfield at Copper Creek, but then I decided to connect the two and so last night I completed what we called "Yuma" but that is actually the name of a control point near the small yard. Back in my day, 1967-1978 there were no signals on the T or TC line but after the changes in 1982, there are. I had done as much as possible of NS around Big Stone Gap/Appalachia etc. on another route which Kenny Eaton has. I've also done the preliminary work on the Appalachia Div. which will include all that around Big Stone Gap as well as the line to at least Bulls Gap, maybe on to the connection at NewPort. I have at least a dozen routes under various degrees of construction, all either L&N, Clinchfield, or SR(NS) except for the SP&S line up the Deschutes River in Oregon. One is the Carolina Div., Asheville to Salisbury including the Marshal Steam Plant on which I spent many days testing. In those days Unit coal trains were $$, everything else was when there was time or space for it. In July 1965, my boss and I investigated a derailment in Alabama that we conclusively proved was due to instability of SilverSides Gondolas and then, using an analogue computer, I figured out what the dangerous speed was (15mph) and then several thousand dollars worth of modifications and those cars were good, but still avoid prolonged running at 12-20mph. Welded rail was the final solution.

Jerry

[yellowdog]

NS always had interesting/unusual power on their Eastman locals.
Speaking of Eastman and NS, it appears to me that there is a branch line out of the large Eastman tanker yard that connects to the NS line southwest of Frisco in Mount Carmel (TN). I don't know much about that NS/SOU line, so I don't know how they decide what goes to/comes from Eastman at Mount Carmel vs Frisco.

[billworsham]

I believe that branch line also serves some kind of military facility? I could be wrong.

[landnrailroader]

Bill,

You are correct except that NS has their own line into that facility from the west side, while the Clinchfield comes from the east. I included it in the first version of the Kingsport Sub. but I don't plan to have it in version 2 (unless there is a lot of begging for it). I believe it is called the Holston Arsenal.

Jerry

[landnrailroader]

Clayton,

I believe the line you refer to is the NS line to the Arsenal. It was usually dark shortly after we would pass through Frisco when testing - the coal trains did not leave Andover until around 4pm and in the winter months, it was dark by Natural Tunnel. When I do the Appalachia Div. I plan to include the Natural Tunnel as best as I can. And when I release a route, I don't mind if someone improves on it - many of you are better at detailing than I.

Jerry

[yellowdog]

Jerry and Bill--

I knew that location as Holston Defense. But same location (and Holston Arsenal could definitely be an official name). From Google images, the branch I see continues past Holston Defense/Arsenal and on to Eastman (after crossing the Holston River).

[landnrailroader]

Yes, it does. And the Arsenal itself is a bowl of spaghetti of tracks. Not sure if the branch going on to Eastman is NS or CSX or it may belong to whatever local operation there is that switches around in the Eastman area.

Jerry

[landnrailroader]

SNAKES, ANYONE,

Well not quite but I started this afternoon on the Haysi RR which is actually a branch off the Clinchfield. At this time there is no coal being mined on what was once a prolific line and most of the sidings contain stored cars, mostly coal hoppers. All the curves from mile 0 to mile 3, for the most part are 14 degree curves, some 12 & 13 and then further on there are some 15 degree curves. Well, I could replicate those exactly in dynamic pieces but I prefer to not have so many, and for the most part all of my dynamic sections have occurred where there are multiple tracks on some odd curve. Fourteen degrees (14) has a radius of 1746/14 = 124.7 meters, so for the most part, I use 120 meter radius although I mix in a few pieces of 150 meter radius so the tangents come out correct. Another thing I do is in situations like where a cut is obvious (most are if you use 1/3 arc sec. data) and the digitized line does not fall in the center of the cut, I follow the C/L of the cut rather than the digitized line. So here is the first 1.5 miles. Off in the distance where you see yellow lines is the main track at Haysi, VA and then how about that SNAKE?

Jerry HAYSI01.jpg

[superheatedsteam]

Great image, I like it.

Cheers,

Marek.

[landnrailroader]

You can see where I did not follow the markers through the cut. Further on, I have used dynamic pieces where sidings were on sharp curves and I try to use the dynamic only on the siding.

Jerry

[landnrailroader]

Yesterday, March 10, I completed the Haysi RR (or branch) and moved to the Fremont Branch. This one has an interesting history which I may have mentioned elsewhere but it is worth repeating. In 1947 or so, a new coal mine was developed a few miles east of Pound, VA and the C&O built a new branch, which involved a tunnel through the ridge under the KY/VA line from Jenkins, KY through Pound, to Meade where the new mine was located. It was very expensive and C&O was advised by geologists (I guess) that faults in that ridge would cause problems but the branch was built anyway. I am still working on a comprehensive version of the Big Sandy Sub. (C&O/CSX) which includes that branch. Well, the mine opened and coal began to ship but the tunnel had to be repaired a lot and barely two years later, the mine had worked on through the ridge separating the Pound River from the Cranes Nest watershed and then the Clinchfield opened this Fremont branch and from then on, no more coal was shipped out on the C&O. Now, the Fremont branch still exists but looking at it on Google Earth shows a lot of coal cars of various types, stored on the sidings and in the small yard where Moss No. 1 (as the eastern end of the Meade mine was called) was located. The branch has some interesting features. In the narrow image, the control point where the branch connects to the mainline, if just off the bottom of the image. The right track is the mainline which is ascending a slight grade from top to bottom. The left track is the Fremont branch which is ascending a nearly 2% grade from bottom to top. Out of sight beyond the right top corner is Bear Pen Gap tunnel which is actually past the top of the grade and lies on a 1% descending grade. This continues until the 2nd image is reached and at this point, the track exits from a tributary valley of the Cranes Nest River by way of a sharp (varies from 12-14 degrees) horseshoe. Once reaching the bottom in about a mile, the track will cross the Cranes Nest River and follow it for several miles before deviating up another tributary valley to reach the mine. I just received my magazine from the Carolina Clinchfield chapter, NRHS, which I am an associate member of, and an article therein states that CSX filed to abandon the Fremont branch in 2020, and it was formally abandoned in 2024. At this time, 2026, only one mine is still active on the Clinchfield, and that is the large mine on the short McClure branch which is next on the list. The article also states that the Fremont branch started construction in 1947 and took 18 months to construct.

FREMONT01.jpg FREMONT02.jpg
Jerry

[landnrailroader]

There are two "prongs" to the Nora branch, one of which still exists but probably has not seen a train in years, and the other was apparently removed prior to the earliest Google Earth image so I did digitize that one, partly, from topo maps layed onto GE. This method is accurate to perhaps 20 feet more or less and so some "simmers license" is needed to smooth things out. Originally the main prong of the Nora branch (or spur) extended 6.5 mles from the main line and had several mines on it. In the image I have shown, the tipple in the distance is the Blue Diamond tipple which was at the extreme end of the branch. The group of tracks at the lower right (3, there should be 4, but track piece limitations prevent it) are the storage tracks for the Kilgore loader which was an open frame type flood loader. The layout was a bit peculiar and they had a modified F7B unit that was remote controlled. I can only guess that they would pull a few cars, load them, and shove into another track of the group since there was only a drill track "behind" the camera, connected to the main track by a long crossover. In doing these coal branches, I have had to use a lot of dynamic track, particularly in instances where we have limited numbers of parallel track in curve pieces.

The other prong, which I will tackle next is about 3 miles long, going off from the main branch at about mile 2 and going up Neece Creek to a modern mine at the end which was a training mine for the huge operation on the McClure branch. It does not appear to be active now, and in fact the big mine on the McClure branch is the only active mine on the Clinchfield now.

Jerry
kilgor_blued.jpg