The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segment from Dante, Virginia, to Elkhorn City, opened up the coal lands north of the Sandy Ridge Mountains in Virginia's Appalachian region and connected with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway at Elkhorn City, was completed in 1915.
The Clinchfield was the last Class I railroad built in the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains.
The Clinchfield Railroad began operating the line on December 1, 1924, and for many years it was leased jointly by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. When the L&N merged with the ACL's successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, effective January 1, 1983, forming the Seaboard System Railroad, the separate operating company was unnecessary and was merged into the Seaboard. The line is now owned and operated by CSX Transportation as their Blue Ridge Subdivision (Spartanburg to Erwin, Tennessee) and Kingsport Subdivision (Erwin to Elkhorn City).
At the end of 1925 the railroad operated 309 miles of road and 467 miles of track; mileages in 1970 were 312 and 501.
History
The conceptual beginnings of the Clinchfield Railroad predates the railroad era, leading back to the period of westward movement after the Revolutionary War where turnpikes and other ground transportation routes were considered. A transportation route from the Ohio River to the South Atlantic was discussed in a convention held at Estillville, Virginia in 1831. The Estill plan closely resembles the route followed by much of the Clinchfield construction.
The Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad (1886–1893)
In 1886 ex-Union Gen. John T. Wilder received a charter for the Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Triple C" Railroad. This was the beginning of the modern Clinchfield. The promoters proposed a 625-mile line from Ironton, Ohio, to Charleston, South Carolina, with an extension down the Ohio River to Cincinnati. It would serve the rich agricultural lands of the Piedmont, the summer resorts of the North Carolina mountains, the rich timber and mineral deposits and coal fields of Virginia and Kentucky, with terminals on both the Ohio River and the Atlantic seacoast at an estimated cost of $21 million. Johnson City, Tennessee, was to be established as the headquarters for the Triple C Railroad and a division point.
Wilder succeeded in financing the project which included support from the London-based banking firm of Baring Brothers. Financial issues were reported as early as the third quarter of 1889, when it was reported that contractors were not being paid on time. As early as December, 1890, financial issues started to impact the railroad with the failure of Barker Brothers and Company, of Philadelphia, that had been handling bonds for the railroad. By 1893, the Triple C financial problems were aggravated by the failure of the Baring Brothers, of London, England, and the national panic of 1893.
The Ohio River and Charleston Railroad (1893–1902)
thumb|Former Clinchfield depot in Erwin, Tennessee
On July 17, 1893, the assets of the Triple C Railroad held by Baring Brothers were sold at a foreclosure for $550,000 to Charles E. Heller. This included 171 completed and operational miles between Camden, South Carolina, and Marion, North Carolina; 20 completed and operational miles between Chestoa and Johnson City, Tennessee; 60 miles completed but not yet operational miles; and 85 miles between Johnson City and Dante, Virginia, that was still under construction. The new owners renamed it the "Ohio River and Charleston Railroad." The construction continued halfheartedly and in 1897 owners sold the entire Camden to Marion segment to the South Carolina and Georgia Railroad. The last segment to be sold was from Johnson City to Boonford, North Carolina, to George L. Carter in 1902.
The South and Western Railway (1902–1908)
At the time an enterprising entrepreneur, George Lafayette Carter, was involved in developing the coal fields of southwestern Virginia and needed a railroad to transport his coal to a seaport. In 1902, he purchased the Ohio River and Charleston Railroad, renamed it the South and Western Railway.
Initially it appeared that the railroad construction would continue using the original construction standards of the previous railroad, but new construction standards were developed to which the Clinchfield would ultimately be built. In 1905, M.J. Caples became General Manager and Chief Engineer. He proposed that the railroad that would be hauling heavy cargo, coal, through mountainous terrain should be built to higher standards that would provide for accelerated schedules and lower maintenance and operational costs. On January 1, 1907, the general offices were moved from Bristol to the Wilder Building in the Carnegie section of Johnson City.
Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio (1908–1983)
The charter was granted and the railroad was renamed the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio on March 31, 1908. The line from Dante, Virginia to Johnson City was completed in early February 1909 and the line was completed into Spartanburg, South Carolina's Union Depot (affording connections with the Southern Railway's Washington – New Orleans mainline) with the first train, with Mr. Carter on board, arriving on October 29, 1909. The station's original name was Mount Mitchell Station but it was subsequently changed to Little Switzerland. In 1954, the railroad retired its last steam locomotive in favor of diesel power.
Passenger service, which began in 1909, ended in 1954. In the latter years of passenger service, trains ran only three times a week in each direction. The end of passenger service left the Southern Railway's Carolina Special as the only remaining passenger train option for traversing the Appalachian range between Tennessee and North Carolina. Freight service continued until 1982, when the Seaboard System Railroad bought all the remaining shares and continued freight operations without the Clinchfield name.