Prototype Influences
The design and operations of the CR&E are based on influences from actual railroads that I have observed, read about, and visited. I have also made field trips to the area modeled to help with scenery ideas. Some of the main influences include Norfolk Southern’s Southern Railway “S Line” in North Carolina, NS’s Norfolk & Western Pocahontas Division in West Virginia, and CSX’s Clinchfield Railroad and Chesapeake & Ohio. Another major influence is the joint trackage agreement Norfolk Southern and CSX share between St. Paul, VA, and Frisco, TN, on the former Clinchfield Railroad and former Southern Railway Appalachia Division.
Southern Railway "Loops" - Old Fort to Ridgecrest, NC
The looping grade between Glace, WV, and Paint Bank, VA, on the Norfolk Southern CR&E Division connects the lower and upper levels of the railroad without a helix. Two main eastern railroad influences provided the justification for the looping grade and for trains passing through the same scene more than once. Norfolk Southern's route between Salisbury and Asheville, NC, climbs Blue Ridge Mountain between Old Fort and Ridgecrest, NC. At several points the railroad almost crosses over itself, with two and sometimes three levels of railroad visible. I first saw this trackage aboard a Norfolk Southern steam excursion pulled by N&W 2-6-6-4 Class A 1218 in 1987. I've had a special fondness for this 13.5 miles of railroad ever since.
A westbound NS empty hopper train is about to take on the Southern Loops, officially called Blue Ridge Mountain in the railroad timetables. In the 13.5 rail miles between Old Fort and Ridgecrest, the railroad will twist its way through seven tunnels and 11 crossings of Mill Creek.
Yet another westbound train is climbing past the former passing siding location at Dendron. In the next mile, the train will negotiate a horseshoe curve and the rails will nearly cross over themselves at a location known as High Fill. Yes, Bruce, that's an MRL unit second in the consist! :-)
Still climbing, a westbound is negotiating the horseshoe curve known as Round Knob after passing through Dendron. This curve loops around Andrews Geyser, a man-made tribute to the men who built the railroad. The lead unit is in primer, as Norfolk Southern pressed Dash-9's into service before they were painted.
An eastbound train is shown descending the Loops at Round Knob. Andrews Geyser is seen in the foreground. The head end is exiting a cut after crossing Hill Fill above Dendron.
The same eastbound train is now negotiating the lower level trackage at Dendron.
Clinchfield Railroad "Loops" - Sevier to Altapass, NC
The other looping railroad grade that influenced the CR&E's climb over the Alleghenies is CSXT's former Clinchfield Railroad route from Sevier (north of Marion) to Altapass (south of Spruce Pine), NC. Another engineering marvel, the Clinchfield Loops are located in the same county that the Southern Loops are in. The CR&E borrows two station names from the Clinchfield Loops, Camp Two and Ridge.
A few miles south of the Clinchfield Loops is the town of Marion, NC, where the crews of southbound loads and northbound empties exchange greetings. The Norfolk Southern "S Line" between Salisbury and Asheville passes overhead at this location, known as Clinchcross on NS. The railroads still occasionally interchange cars here, most notably some ballast trains.
Busy mountain railroading is the name of the game on CSX's former Clinchfield. The Blue Ridge and the mountain climbing loops are just ahead for northbound empty hopper train V373, which is about to take the siding at Sevier behind another northbound to meet the southbound train waiting on the mainline.
Four miles north (by railroad) of Sevier is a location known as Big Johns. This empty train is climbing the Loops, having left Sevier a few minutes before. Soon the train will arrive at the passing siding at Rocky approximately six miles north of here on the mountain. The rails make a broad horseshoe curve between Big Johns and Ashford on opposite sides of US Highway 221. Ashford is located near the foot of the ridge in the background of the photo.
A favorite railfan location in the Loops is Camp Two, which is the middle tier of three levels of track that twist through this location. This northbound empty train has just passed through Rocky and traversed a horseshoe curve to arrive here at Camp Two. Still upgrade is Ridge, where the rails pass through Blue Ridge Tunnel, cross the Eastern Continental Divide, and arrive at Altapass, the highest point on the Clinchfield. All of that is approximately seven rail miles "north" of Camp Two, way up on the hillside above this train.
A loaded ballast train interchanged from the NS at Clinchcross/Marion struggles northbound through the Loops just north of Camp Two.
The top of the world as far as the Clinchfield is concerned is Altapass, NC. In this view a southbound loaded train struggles to the summit of the grade from Erwin, TN. In about a train length, the dynamic brakes will be holding the train back as it descends the Loops.