Company to facilitate the construction of the route west from Bluefield. The Clinch Valley Railroad was quickly ab- sorbed into the growing Norfolk & Western, becoming its Clinch Valley Division (later Clinch Valley District). During this construction phase, N&W engineer J.R. McCormick de- scribed the area as “a wasteland, a howling wilderness.” The most difficult section of the Clinch Valley to construct was the line between St. Paul and Coe- burn. A “cross-country” route was cho- sen, leaving the Clinch Valley at Lick Creek, near St. Paul, and then slowly climbing the ridge along the north bank of the river, with a summit reached near Creagan (also spelled “Craigen”) Tunnel. From Creagan construction contin-
TOP: Three mine runs (“shifters”) are working Norton Yard in this view looking east from the viaduct at the west end of town on April 7, 1995. LEFT: Westbound 81T with a rebuilt SD40-2 in the lead throttles up as it works upgrade out of Big Bull Tunnel en route to Tacoma, Va., on April 20, 2013. ABOVE: Eastbound loads ease downgrade across the Kennedy Trestle on April 3, 2011. Wonder if the residents in the house below sleep comfortably at night?
ued through Big Bull, Little Bull, and Holbrook Tunnels to the head of Bull Run at Little Tom Tunnel. On this stretch of the line, the railroad was also obliged to span several valleys with gangly, spidery-looking trestles, tres- tles with a decidedly definite N&W look. Connection with the L&N was
35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66