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35-720: The Clinchfield was the last Class I railroad built in the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains. The 266-mile railroad provided access to numerous scenic wonders of the Appalachian region and is probably best known for the state-of-the-art railroad engineering techniques applied in its construction, as exemplified by the Clinchfield Loops climbing the Blue Ridge Mountains north of Marion , North Carolina . The Clinchfield Railroad began operating

70-781: A duopoly over all transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western United States, while CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway operate most of the trackage in the Eastern United States, with the Mississippi River being the rough dividing line. Canadian National Railway (via its subsidiary Grand Trunk Corporation ) operates north–south lines near the Mississippi River. Canadian Pacific Kansas City , doing business as CPKC, runs from southern Canada, then goes south through

105-742: A 625-mile line from Ironton , Ohio , to Charleston, South Carolina , with an extension down the Ohio River to Cincinnati . It would serve the rich agricultural lands of the Piedmont, the summer resorts of the North Carolina mountains, the rich timber and mineral deposits and coal fields of Virginia and Kentucky, with terminals on both the Ohio River and the Atlantic seacoast at an estimated cost of $ 21 million. Johnson City, Tennessee ,

140-483: A company that has earned gross revenues exceeding $ 250 million (CAD) for each of the previous two years. Class I railroads are the largest rail carriers in the United States. In 1900, there were 132 Class I railroads, but as the result of mergers and bankruptcies, the industry has consolidated and as of April 2023 , just six Class I freight railroads remain. BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad have

175-541: A quarterly or annual schedule. In 1925, the ICC reported 174 Class I railroads, 282 Class II railroads, and 348 Class III railroads. The $ 1 million criterion established in 1911 for a Class I railroad was used until January 1, 1956, when the figure was increased to $ 3 million. In 1956, the ICC counted 113 Class I line-haul operating railroads (excluding "3 class I companies in systems") and 309 Class II railroads (excluding "3 class II companies in systems"). The Class III category

210-705: A railroad on 1 January 1983 when the Family Lines railroads were merged into a single operating company, the Seaboard System , which merged with the Chessie System to form CSX in 1986. The Clinchfield is remembered for is its famous "Santa Claus Special" that debuted in 1943 from encouragement from several Kingsport businessmen and ran the length of the Clinchfield's main line between Elkhorn City and Kingsport, Tennessee , handing out gifts to

245-918: The Association of American Railroads as "Regional Railroads" are typically Class II. Some examples of Class II railroads would be the Florida East Coast Railway , the Iowa Interstate Railroad , and the Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway . Class III railroads are typically local shortline railroads serving a small number of towns and industries or hauling cars for one or more railroads; often, they once had been branch lines of larger railroads or even abandoned portions of main lines. Some Class III railroads are owned by railroad holding companies such as Genesee & Wyoming or Watco . Some examples of Class III railroads would be

280-652: The Maryland and Delaware Railroad , the San Pedro Valley Railroad , and the Buckingham Branch Railroad . George Lafayette Carter George Lafayette Carter (1857–1936) was an American entrepreneur known as "the empire builder of southwest Virginia." His ventures led to the development and modernization of many parts of the southern Appalachian region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. George Lafayette Carter

315-749: The Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$ 504,803,294 for Class I carriers and US$ 40,384,263 for Class II carriers. (Smaller carriers were Class III by default.) There are six Class I freight railroad companies in the United States: BNSF Railway , CSX Transportation , Canadian National Railway , CPKC , Norfolk Southern Railway , and Union Pacific Railroad . Canadian National also operates in Canada and CPKC operates in Canada and Mexico. In addition,

350-644: The Clinchfield Coal Company, which owned 300,000 acres of land throughout southwest Virginia. Carter's most reputable creations would be that of the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway and the development of the town of Kingsport, Tennessee . The creation of the railroad would further develop and open up the southern Appalachian region. Carter would spend the years of 1907 and 1920 living in Johnson City, Tennessee , where he helped in

385-432: The Clinchfield would ultimately be built. In 1905, M.J. Caples became General Manager and Chief Engineer. He proposed that the railroad that would be hauling heavy cargo, coal, through mountainous terrain should be built to higher standards that would provide for accelerated schedules and lower maintenance and operational costs. With heavy-grade viaducts and bridges, and 55 tunnels (4% of the line), "in constant-value dollars,

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420-777: The Dora Furnace Company in Pulaski, Virginia , buying small mines throughout the area to provide coke for the furnaces. Carter would found the Tom's Creek Coal and Coke Company and in 1898, combine his operations to form the Carter Coal and Iron Company before forming the Virginia Iron, Coal, and Coke Company headquartered in Bristol, Virginia , in 1899. With the help of New York City financiers, he would also form

455-419: The ICC in 1996, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) has become responsible for defining criteria for each railroad class. The STB continues to use designations of Class II and Class III as there are different labor regulations for the two classes. The bounds are typically redefined every several years to adjust for inflation and other factors. Class II and Class III designations are now rarely used outside

490-442: The ICC to increase the minimum annual operating revenue criteria (then established at US$ 93.5 million) to avoid being redesignated as Class I, which would have resulted in increased administrative and legal costs. The Class II maximum criterion was increased in 1992 to $ 250 million annually, which resulted in the Florida East Coast Railway having its status changed to Class II. The thresholds set in 1992 were: Since dissolution of

525-857: The Rocket Boys and Homer Hickam . Other operations would include the Carter Coal and Dock Company which operated in New York, Boston, Providence, and Bridgeport. Carter maintained offices throughout the eastern part of the country, and died in Washington, D.C. , in 1936. He is buried in Hillsville, Virginia . In 2007, the George L. Carter Railroad Museum opened on the East Tennessee State University campus. This article about an American businessperson born in

560-540: The central United States to central Mexico. In addition, the national passenger railroads in the US and Canada— Amtrak and Via Rail —would both qualify as Class I if they were freight carriers. Mexico's Ferromex would qualify as a Class I railroad if it had trackage in the United States. A Class II railroad in the United States hauls freight and is mid-sized in terms of operating revenue. Switching and terminal railroads are excluded from Class II status. Railroads considered by

595-550: The children along the route. Today, it is operated by CSX Transportation (Seaboard's successor) with the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce and is now known as the "Santa Train". Class I railroad Railroad classes are the system by which freight railroads are designated in the United States . Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by

630-546: The creation of a state teacher's college in 1911, known today as East Tennessee State University . Despite Carter's fame, he kept himself out of the headlines by owning the Bristol Herald , known today as the Bristol Herald-Courier . Carter would also plan and create the coal towns of Coalwood, West Virginia , and Caretta, West Virginia . Coalwood would later become famous as the boyhood home of

665-614: The end of 1925 the railroad operated 309 miles of road and 467 miles of track; mileages in 1970 were 312 and 501. The conceptual beginnings of the Clinchfield Railroad predates the railroad era, leading back to the period of westward movement after the Revolutionary War where turnpikes and other ground transportation routes were considered. A transportation route from the Ohio River to the South Atlantic

700-649: The failure of the Baring Brothers, of London, England, and the national panic of 1893. On July 17, 1893, the assets of the Triple C Railroad held by Baring Brothers were sold at a foreclosure for $ 550,000 to Charles E. Heller. This included 171 completed and operational miles between Camden, South Carolina, and Marion, North Carolina; 20 completed and operational miles between Chestoa and Johnson City, Tennessee; 60 miles completed but not yet operational miles; and 85 miles between Johnson City and Dante, Virginia, that

735-525: The five-state CC&O was the most expensive railroad ever built in the U.S." On January 1, 1907, the general offices were moved from Bristol to the Wilder Building in the Carnegie section of Johnson City. The charter was granted and the railroad was renamed the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio on March 31, 1908. The line from Dante, Virginia to Johnson City was completed in early February 1909 and

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770-964: The line December 1, 1924, and for many years it was leased jointly by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Louisville and Nashville Railroad . When the L&;N merged with the ACL's successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad , effective January 1, 1983, forming the Seaboard System Railroad , the separate operating company was unnecessary and was merged into the Seaboard. The line is now owned and operated by CSX Transportation as their Blue Ridge Subdivision (Spartanburg to Erwin, Tennessee ) and Kingsport Subdivision (Erwin to Elkhorn City). At

805-476: The line was completed into Spartanburg, South Carolina's Union Depot (affording connections with the Southern Railway 's Washington – New Orleans mainline) with the first train, with Mr. Carter on board, arriving on October 29, 1909. Mr. Carter's plans to create the offices, yard and facilities did not come to fruition, reportedly due to the exorbitant price demanded by the land owners. The idea

840-623: The national passenger railroad in the United States, Amtrak , would qualify as Class I if it were a freight carrier, as would Canada's Via Rail passenger service. Mexico 's Ferromex freight railroad would also qualify as Class I, but it does not operate within the United States. Initially (in 1911) the former federal agency Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) classified railroads by their annual gross revenue . Class I railroads had an annual operating revenue of at least $ 1 million, while Class III railroad incomes were under $ 100,000. Railroads in both classes were subject to reporting requirements on

875-518: The only remaining passenger train option for traversing the Appalachian range between Tennessee and North Carolina. Freight service continued until 1982, when the Seaboard System Railroad bought all the remaining shares and continued freight operations without the Clinchfield name. In 1972, the Clinchfield was included in the "Family Lines System", a marketing name for Seaboard Coast Line, L&N, and several smaller railroads, which all continued to operate independently. The Clinchfield ceased to exist as

910-420: The rail transport industry. The Association of American Railroads typically divides non–Class I companies into three categories: In the United States, the Surface Transportation Board categorizes rail carriers into Class I, Class II, and Class III based on the carrier's annual revenue. The thresholds, last adjusted for inflation in 2019, are: In Canada , a Class I rail carrier is defined (as of 2004 ) as

945-405: Was Mount Mitchell Station but it was subsequently changed to Little Switzerland. In 1954, the railroad retired its last steam locomotive in favor of diesel power . Passenger service, which began in 1909, ended in 1954. In the latter years of passenger service, trains ran only three times a week in each direction. The end of passenger service left the Southern Railway 's Carolina Special as

980-444: Was 90% complete from Johnson City to Dante, Virginia. Financial issues were reported as early as the third quarter of 1889, when it was reported that contractors were not being paid on time. As early as December, 1890, financial issues started to impact the railroad with the failure of Barker Brothers and Company, of Philadelphia, that had been handling bonds for the railroad. By 1893, the Triple C financial problems were aggravated by

1015-473: Was abandoned and instead land was purchased in Erwin, Tennessee, and operations were located there. A station was built in 1910 near Little Switzerland, North Carolina , for visitors to the resort. The resort built Etchoe Pass Road, a 4-mile long toll road , connecting to it. The tolls were lifted and the road is now North Carolina Highway 226A . The toll booths are still visible. The station's original name

1050-708: Was born on January 10, 1857, in Hillsville, Virginia . The first of nine children, he learned at a young age that farm life was not suitable for his ambitions. As a child, he read many great works including The Bible and Benjamin Franklin 's autobiography. Carter worked at the Hillsville General Store before pursuing a career of selling iron ore properties with the Wythe Lead and Zinc Company in Austinville, Virginia . He then found work with

1085-463: Was discussed in a convention held at Estillville, Virginia in 1831. The Estill plan closely resembles the route followed by much of the Clinchfield construction. In 1886 ex- Union Gen . John T. Wilder received a charter for the Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad , commonly referred to as the "Triple C" Railroad. This was the beginning of the modern Clinchfield. The promoters proposed

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1120-547: Was dropped in 1956 but reinstated in 1978. By 1963, the number of Class I railroads had dropped to 102; cutoffs were increased to $ 5 million by 1965, to $ 10 million in 1976 and to $ 50 million in 1978, at which point only 41 railroads qualified as Class I. In a special move in 1979, all switching and terminal railroads were re-designated Class III — even those with Class I or Class II revenues. In early 1991, two Class II railroads, Montana Rail Link and Wisconsin Central , asked

1155-474: Was involved in developing the coal fields of southwestern Virginia and needed a railroad to transport his coal to a seaport. In 1902, he purchased the Ohio River and Charleston Railroad, renamed it the South and Western Railway. Initially it appeared that the railroad construction would continue using the original construction standards of the previous railroad, but new construction standards were developed to which

1190-488: Was still under construction. The new owners renamed it the " Ohio River and Charleston Railroad ." The construction continued halfheartedly and in 1897 owners sold the entire Camden to Marion segment to the South Carolina and Georgia Railroad. The last segment to be sold was from Johnson City to Boonford, North Carolina, to George L. Carter in 1902. At the time an enterprising entrepreneur, George Lafayette Carter ,

1225-491: Was to be established as the headquarters for the Triple C Railroad and a division point. Wilder succeeded in financing the project which included support from the London-based banking firm of Baring Brothers . Construction progressed at three different locations, from both termination points and the middle. The middle section, built north and south from Johnson City, tracks reached Erwin, Tennessee , in 1890, and grading

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