The Clinchfield Railroad, now part of the far flung CSX system, which runs through the Appalachian, Valley and Ridge, and Blue Ridge geological provinces of Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina rather than around them, is considered to be one of the best engineered rail lines in this country and certainly one of the most spectacular in the Eastern half of the U. S. CSX’s Blue Ridge Subdivision, the southern half of the former Clinchfield, extends from the former headquarters of the Clinchfield at Erwin, Tennessee, to Spartanburg, South Carolina, a distance of 137 miles. Half of that distance is spent ascending and then descending the Blue Ridge. This video shows portions of four days and one night along CSX’s Blue Ridge Subdivision between Erwin and Sevier on both sides of the Blue Ridge including the famed “loops”, in November of 2011. Once a bridge route for Florida perishables into the Midwest and a route for locally originated coal to get to power plants in the Southeast, today this heavily railfanned line with some of the best scenery in the East is a corridor for coal from mines in Kentucky and West Virginia to power plants in the Southeast. The Blue Ridge sub is also CSX’s testing ground for distributed power or radio controlled slave unit pushers as all unit trains over 75 cars utilize distributed power, the only part of CSX where DPU has replaced manned pushers as of the fall of 2011.  Length = 1 hour and 45 minutes.  This DVD has the option of being watched with or without narration.

The Clinchfield Railroad, now part of the far flung CSX system, which runs through the Appalachian, Valley and Ridge, and Blue Ridge geological provinces of Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina rather than around them, is considered to be one of the best engineered rail lines in this country and certainly one of the most spectacular in the Eastern half of the U. S. CSX’s Blue Ridge Subdivision, the southern half of the former Clinchfield, extends from the former headquarters of the Clinchfield at Erwin, Tennessee, to Spartanburg, South Carolina, a distance of 137 miles. Half of that distance is spent ascending and then descending the Blue Ridge. This video shows portions of four days and one night along CSX’s Blue Ridge Subdivision between Erwin and Sevier on both sides of the Blue Ridge including the famed “loops”, in November of 2011. Once a bridge route for Florida perishables into the Midwest and a route for locally originated coal to get to power plants in the Southeast, today this heavily railfanned line with some of the best scenery in the East is a corridor for coal from mines in Kentucky and West Virginia to power plants in the Southeast. The Blue Ridge sub is also CSX’s testing ground for distributed power or radio controlled slave unit pushers as all unit trains over 75 cars utilize distributed power, the only part of CSX where DPU has replaced manned pushers as of the fall of 2011.  Length = 1 hour and 45 minutes.  This DVD has the option of being watched with or without narration.

I will be videotaping in the Southeast for about one month.  Locations and times will be determined after I have explored the various places that I would like to videotape.

Spring 2011 Trip Plan
 
Weather permitting, below are the plans for my 2001 spring trip.
 
Monday, 3/28/11.
            Leave home late morning and drive to Ashland, Virginia.
 
Tuesday, 3.29/11
            Videotape CSX and Amtrak at Ashland from late morning until ~5 p.m. on Wednesday. Videotape at night at the Gwathmey Baptist Church parking lot. Drive a couple of hours towards Front Royal, VA when done.
 
Thursday, 3/31/11.
            Explore NS Hagerstown District between Front Royal - Riverton Junction and Shenandoah Junction looking for a place to shoot at night.
 
Friday, 4/1/11
            Videotape NS between Front Royal and Shenandoah Junction from ~8 a.m. until ~11 a.m. on Saturday. Then drive towards Erwin, TE on the former Clinchfield.
 
Sunday, 4/3/11
            Explore CSX Blue Ridge Sub between Erwin and Marion, NC. Looking for places to move around without missing trains and a place to shoot at night. One possibility to shoot at night is a parking lot along the tracks at North Poplar, MP 148.2 May hike into Nolichucky Gorge and shoot a train or two. 
 
Monday, 4/4/11. 
Videotape Blue Ridge Sub for 24 hours, probably south of Spruce Pine and then catch several trains around Erwin or Marion or both, not worrying about missing trains. Tuesday afternoon, drive to Williamson, WV.
 
Wednesday, 4/6/11
            Get up early. Check out Webb, WV Baptist Church parking lot for shooting at night if not done the previous day. If not okay do some more exploring heading north towards Pritchard. If okay, begin videotaping at Williamson. Videotape NS Kenova District for ~28 hours. Then drive home over Thursday night, sleeping as needed.

This video shows the trains and operations for 3 1/2 days at many points on the Fulton District of the Illinois Central, now part of the Canadian National's Gulf Division and referred to as CN/IC, between Memphis and Fulton, Kentucky.  CN/IC runs some of the longest and heaviest carload and intermodal trains in the U.S. on this nearly level line.  77 minutes. 

This video shows 24 hours of action on both the Norfolk Southern and CSX lines into Memphis in June of 2001.  Norfolk Southern was videotaped between Sheffield, AL and Corinth, MS, and CSX between Dickson and Bruceton in west-central Tennessee.  With their east-west orientation these scenic lines are far from being level.  Both single-track lines have seen big increases in traffic in recent years.  With long trains and a mix of manifest, intermodal, and unit trains, the NS and CSX roads to Memphis put on quite a show.  114 minutes. 

For 32 miles between Wauhatchie, west of Chattanooga, TN and Stevenson, AL, NS's Chattanooga to Memphis main line has trackage rights on CSX's Nashville to Atlanta main.  This video shows over 24 hours of action on this busy line between Bridgeport and Stevenson, and one train on Raccoon Mountain in Oct. of 2000.  92 minutes. 

This video gives a look at the trains and operations on the mid-section of the Illinois Central in May of 1998.  First is nearly 24 hours of trains on the Edgewood Cutoff in Southern Illinois, then action around Fulton, KY, the physical heart of the old IC, and finally 24 hours of action south of Memphis, TN on the IC's busiest freight line - the Yazoo District.  90 minutes. 

At Amqui, north of Nashville, the lines from Nashville to Louisville and Evansville divide.  CSX averages over 40 intermodal, grain, coal, and manifest trains a day behind their biggest power through Amqui.  This tape shows over 24 hours of action through Amqui in May of 1995.  113 minutes.

At Amqui, north of Nashville, the lines from Nashville to Louisville and Evansville divide.  CSX averages over 40 intermodal, grain, coal, and manifest trains a day behind their biggest power through Amqui.  This tape shows over 24 hours of action through Amqui in May of 1995.  113 minutes.