Southern in order to serve a new unit train flood loader. Today, the Clinch Valley District sees only the trains of Norfolk Southern.
One Line, Infinite Possibilities Today, as it has been for many, many
years, the Clinch Valley District is part of the sprawling Pocahontas Division, the storied N&W coal hauling lines ex- tending branches into every hollow in search of black diamonds, feeding main lines running from coalfields to Tide- water. On the west end of the Clinch Valley District itself, train movements are unpredictable, often infrequent, while other times the route is humming with activity. Shifters (mine runs) work out of the yards at Norton and Carbo, some with cabooses on runs that require long backup moves. Crews are often shuttled from the terminals to their trains by vans, and “utility brake- men” follow some jobs in SUV’s, throw- ing switches and making couplings to help trains get over the road. Tradition- al single-car loadouts, hallmarks of the
TOP: It’s New Year’s Day 2011 and eastbound empties are easing through the large A&G/Southern Coal Corporation No. 25 prep plant at Ramsey, Va. At one time, when oper- ated by Paramount Coal Company, this facility could load on either the N&W Clinch Valley main, as seen here, or on the old Interstate main. In recent years, only the Clinch Valley side has been used, although at the time of this writing, A&G is not loading by rail at all at this plant.
LEFT: On a snowy March 8,
2008, westbound empties were tied down and awaiting a new crew on the Clinch Valley main at Ramsey, Va.
A Howling Wilderness: NS Clinch Valley District
Dixiana Pine Glamorgan Holton Roaring Fork Tom’s Creek Neece Creek Hurricane Dante Little Tom’s Creek
Hurricane Jct. Clinchfield
Clinch River Steam Plant
Russell Creek Bangor ROANOKE Norton VIRGINIA Miller Yard 0 2 4 MILES 6 8 10 Burton’s Ford Boody
Illustration by Otto M. Vondrak. Not all stations shown. Not an official map. ©2013 Carstens Publications, Inc.
Nora Jct. Tiller Creek Wakenva
Roaring Fork Trammel
Tunnel
Duty Tiller Fork Jct. Sykes Artrip
Cleveland
Mill Creek Carbo
Zack Castlewood St. Paul Vriginia City Clinch
Carfax Coeburn
Tacoma Dungannon Norton
NS (INT)
CSX/NS (CCO)
NS (NW)
CSX (CCO)
NS (INT)
NS (INT)
NS (NW)
NS (NW)
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