After cutting the string of mtys in half and sending them to the loadout, an RJ Corman trainmaster heads back to the last half awaiting hookup. The forty-two mile branchline is owned by RJ Corman ... (more)
On an old weather worn woodchip hopper, a shippers tag shows that the contents came from the Royal Blue chipmill. The mill currently owned by International Paper was once the site of a huge coal o... (more)
Its all about staying connected...
Used for tie storage, an ex Conrail that went to CSX after the merger wears New York Central reporting marks. A paintbrush and a bucket of white paint will do in a pinch.
Using a pry bar, sledgehammer, and alot of muscle, the loadout crew closes a few open discharge doors before coal can be loaded.
Push on the white square, pull on the white circle. There's coal to be loaded at the old Garcoal loadout, now operated by Mountainside Coal.
Fire and Brimstone... heating the rails with a copious amount of coal and diesel fuel. With sledge hammer in hand, the hot rail is slowly knocked into place on a curved stretch crossing Straight C... (more)
Conrail, still hanging on but just barely...
Two log flats, loaded and ready to be shipped to the Kykenkee lumber mill in Vance, AL. The John Deere knuckleboom loader has made short work of the two flats, which will be picked up by a NS crew... (more)
Trains don't come 'round here no more... The greens of Summer are slowly reclaiming the upper stretch of the Clearfork Branch, which once hosted three coal loadouts and almost daily traffic up int... (more)
A hopper of hardwood chips, which will take a crooked route from Royal Blue, TN to Canton, NC. Originally built by Champion International, the mill has changed hands several times to the current o... (more)
Q539 eases south just below Lake City, formerly known as Coal Creek before Norris Dam was constructed. The house or storage track on the right has a manufacture date of 1922, the oldest I've seen ... (more)
A southbound coal drag, down to less than ten miles per hour, makes its way up the grade. The helper on the end has just cleared Oaks and gone to single track. Hope the crew enjoyed the colors on ... (more)
Emerging from Hickory Creek #1 tunnel into a sea of Fall foliage, this mixed freight begins it's assault over a tough grade below Jellico. The colors are still clinging to the sandstone bluffs alo... (more)
Typical of the tight terrain in Appalachian RR'ing, a faded CSX coal drag emerges from one of many rock cuts it must traverse below Jellico. Slide fences protect the crews from rocks across the tr... (more)
Showing several years of hard work in the field, this old horse either needs to be repainted or set out to pasture. For some reason this is common on alot of SD70s.
With frontend loaders waiting at the ready, 77G pullls the first cut of coal hoppers alongside the loadout. With three loaders working like ants, it'll take almost six hours to load this unit trai... (more)
After having loaded half a unit train, it's time for a fresh crew and a job briefing on the Jellico Branch. The first half will be taken by the original crew downgrade to Clinton, with the second ... (more)
Being called a beast by crew and trains on each siding, 132 car long Q539 rumbles south and gains speed for Duff Mountain. It will still need the helper crew, normally used for coal only.
Up close study of a common rail weld. Even with ribbon rail, eventually a weld must be made and then ground smooth.
A badly faded Dash 8 drifts out of Big Creek Gap and the Cumberland Mountains to the ridges and valleys of east TN.
Taking nine or more scoops to load each coal hopper, a team of loaders work hard on the first half of a unit train destined for Duke Energy. Shot taken on the Jellico Branch of NS.
Coal drag U141 leans into the curve at Habersham on the Duff Mountain grade as the helper does service 108 cars back.
A set of engines runs light to Knoxville to pick up mtys, then back to Corbin Yard and on to the SE Kentucky coalfields on this warm Fall day.
CSX K590 heads south thru rugged country out of Hickory Creek Tunnel #2, consisting of coal mtys. Unusual move as southbounds are almost always loaded.
U258 lumbers thru the rugged Hickory Creek gorge and across one of many bridges as it approaches Duff Mountain. The coal drag will need plenty of help from the crew at Chaska to make it over the g... (more)
U258 struggles across the scenic Hogcamp Branch trestle as it heads over Duff Mountain, with a helper crew attached to the end 90-some cars back on this chilly December day.
Q539 struggles under a heavy load to begin the ascent up the Duff Mountain grade as it passes the helper just parked on the engine siding. Special thanks on this shot go to my daughter Laurel.
C212 is headed back to the housetrack at Chaska, it's work of pushing heavy coal drags over the mountain done for the day.
NS 8885 idling away, awaiting a fresh crew to finish loading the second half of the cut at National Coals Turley facility on the Jellico Branch.
