This is my family’s homeland . The place I have fished for many years. When I watch this video I am heartbroken for my relatives who have lost all their possessions and some have lost loved ones. But through all the destruction we have been through we still have hope. Thanks to you all who have reached out to us and helped us in our time of need.
@ericyoung1243 absolute tears for our region. Landscape will heal. But many people have been savaged. One of my friend's home was scoured of its contents. Survived wall of water by skin of their teeth. Couple lost everything up to his wallet. In their 70's.
The Clinchfield was probably the most 'heavily' engineered railroad for its time in the U.S. when constructed. Bridges, tunnels were first rate. An extreme event in nature can humble even the very best of construction. Hope CSX will rebuild this important artery. Thanks for posting this most excellent video.
Itr was also one of the few 20th century RRs to be built (most others were built in the 1800s), so it had the advantage of more modern earthmoving equipment.
Your comment says a lot about the state of American infrastructure. Biggest in over 100 years. One-hundred years. Think of all the other systems in America that haven't had much more than routine maintenance in 100 years or were meant to last for only 'x' number of years and are now well past their lifespan. Time to get serious America and stop making false promises to get elected to office.
It's absolutely great that the railroad is going to rebuild the line. They can absolutely do it. They have to build their way in and clean up at the same time. This means jobs, infrastructure, and income for local people and businesses. In my opinion, it is a big first step to getting the area back to normal.
@@mountainman5025 not enough to do the work. They hire people like Corman and BP Disaster Response and just have 1-2 of their engineering guys around to supervise.
The original Clinchfield railroad extended from Elkhorn City, Kentucky to Spartanburg, SC. The original track was laid in the early 1900's and carried freight, passengers and coal. It turned into a mainly coal hauling road after CSX purchased the line, supplying the power generating plants on the French Broad and Catawba Rivers. The railroad passes through some of the most beautiful mountain country in the US, and I've ridden the line through the Nolichucky Gorge and along the Toe River, as well as down the Blue Ridge Escarpment from Spruce Pine to Marion, done many years ago on an excursion train from Marion, NC to Erwin, TN and back. In years before that, when I was a young man, I once hiked the line from Altapass to Spruce Pine and back, going through all the tunnels on the Blue Ridge Loops as the track wound its way back and forth up the Escarpment. There was a large track Wye at the top of the Escarpment where the helper engines could be dropped and turned around. A wye is a three-point section of track with turnouts. I have several books on the old Clinchfield with pictures made throughout its years from the early days through dieselization in the early 1950's. Seeing the Nolichucky in this video, flowing at its normal level through the enormous gouge it cut out of its former channel, is truly incredible. I wish there could have been a way to make an aerial video like this when the river was at its highest during Helene's passing, it just doesn't seem possible the river could have gotten as high as it obviously did. There is no way to imagine such a water flow, even though the damage can be so easily seen.
I agree, to see this river at peak would have been... hard to even process. When I went back there for this footage, I climbed and hiked down on the opposite side until it was too sketchy to continue.. and at least got to witness the power that had been there first hand. Which was an experience.
I’m not familiar with this part of our great country, and I’m very sorry to see the significant loss that has occurred here. I look forward to seeing the rebuilding. #subscribed
Gotta be able to transport all the valuable minerals they want after they seize all the land they can. Exactly who is paying for the new rail line ? They will claim one source only to misappropriate that money while private interest secretly foots the cost. Free to pillage and loot with government's blessings.
I guess there will always be complainers...if you don't like the sound, learn how to find your volume button. As far as wasting tax dollars? Um,no... railroads pay their own way for capital improvements and repair. Be thankful for the increased employment and resumption of service to entities in the area dependent on rail service. To those boohoo-ing the excavation and buttressing necessary to stabilize the roadbed (as well as highways!)...Do you not realize that this flood changed the actual course of the streams and rivers, in some cases as much as a quarter mile?! Be grateful and supportive of this creator who has done an excellent job of documenting
Once repaired, I'm hoping that CSX will consider a temporary unloading point close to the towns to allow faster rebuilding of the effected communities. You can move so much more by rail at one time with the same or less fuel expense. This may take a decade before some sort of normalcy is returned.
As usual, your video shows the devastation of the railway. I listened to the train going down the tracks and I could almost see it going along. Really well put together video. I'm subscribed and I hit the bell too. I look forward to more videos about the rebuild and repairs. Thank you!
I have always admired trains since my Dad worked for Sante Fe in the early 60's as an electrician maintaining locomotives. The railroads are a critical segment of this countrys economy. These workers will have a monumental project bringing this line back on. The power of water and once in a century storm is incredible. Thank you for such a great view of the gorge, nice sharp images perfect.
Lived in barstow, California . Had friends worked for Sante fe. My grandpa worked here in knoxville, Tennessee for Southern . He died of cancer. 1986. WW 2 and Korea veteran.
I’ve walked and rafted through there. Crossed that railbridge on foot as many have to look for lost cove. That gorge is definitely different. There are people who are still missing in there somewhere. 😢 thanks for showing how it looks. ❤
I would love to see the other side of the peninsula from O Cs store up the bend and down to where the swinging bridge used to be. It’s heartbreaking that lives and homes and history are just washed away. If you are so inclined and can even get there. I lived in that little shack in the curve many moons ago. You and others here in Asheville are doing a tremendous job of documenting this event and I believe your work should be archived in the future. It’s tremendous information and I thank you for sharing it.
Really great drone footage of the line and the level of destruction. Some stretches look as if there was never any railroad there at all, the water completely removing any trace of roadbed. In light of more natural disasters on this scale, railroads in particular will have to reassess their strategy of removing all redundant routes in the name of cost cutting efficiency. Rail lines built along river floodplains are especially vulnerable as we can see here. I will follow the progress of this project with keen interest.
So sad. I went on an excursion on the Clinchfield many years ago when they had restored the special engines and the line in 1979. Beautiful ride through the mountains, snow on the ground, stream a good bit of the way like this. Only the rails were in place -- not in the river!
I live where they are doing stuff now here on the Mitchell/Yancey line. Big dump trucks are coming across the bridge on hwy 80 and going down to the tracks. After they quit working during the day me and my best 4 legged friend walk down to check it out. I miss the soothing sounds of the train going by
The damage of the trees, river, riverbank, property, and everything is remarkable. I’m curious to see where they put the tracks. There are spots where there’s nothing there anymore.
They would have to cut into the sheer mountain side. How the vegetation and soil/rock would be removed is a big question. I don't think they would be allowed to use the river as much as earlier in history.
Unimaginable the force of the water to move boulders and tons of large rocks - changing the landscape forever. Prayers for all - you are not forgotten.
So sad, i hope this railroad is returned to its former glory. Its distressing for railfans seeing the Clinchfield in this state. It will be a mammoth undertaking by CSX. I like the sound of the train in the background. Its distressing for people to see the Nolichucky changed forever as well. Helene did her worst that day. 😢 ❤🙏🏻 liked & suscribed.
@@ArtStoneUSOver half was coal, and that will be on a steady decline going forward, unless Trump wants to bring back coal! These days traffic is mixed freight, ethanol, and still some coal trains. Not as much as it used to be but, it’s still decent.
Great video. This is a good documentation on some of the destruction that happened down there that’s not really seen. It’s wild to see that much of a railroad wiped out.
This will ne a rebuild from the ground up. In some places a retaining wall will likely be needed along with a mammoth portion of fill. Monumental task.
Great video! We kayak and raft the gorge all the time. Would love to see a video more focused on the river and the changes in the rapids from how it used to be.
Thanks for another excellent video! It’s interesting how the ballast, both stone and cinder from years ago, has become so compacted that it’s untouched by the floodwaters while the track itself is gone! In an earlier vid I noticed at Poplar parts of a crawler crane being in place including boom sections, counterweight stacks, and the crawler tracks. Is there any sign of the crane being assembled?
I hear what sounds like locomotives and pile drivers in the background. I can only wonder about the locomotive sound but there is going to be a lot of pile driving, so could we see the sources of the sounds some. As a retired CSX employee of the engineering department, it surprises me that the line will be rebuilt as not much traffic moves this was and there is little on line business between Johnson City, TN and Marion, NC. I am glad they are doing it, and I wonder also about the NS line from Ridgecrest to Old Fort which I am more familiar with. Though with CSX for 21 years, my job did not involve field work, and I was only over this line once, in, as I recall 1972 when I was a SR employee and rode the Southern Crescent to Spartanburg & back and then rode a special from Spartanburg to Erwin & back.
I hate to be negative, but they really don’t know how the new/changed Nolichucky River will act when the next torrential, days on end type rainfall comes to the area. I’m concerned that if they don’t get as much of the rails as far away from the river as they can, that they’ll lose parts of it again. That being said, another terrific & informative video. Thanks for sharing your talent for video making.
I don't think that's negative, it's a concern for sure. From what I have learned by spending so much time seeing the change in these rivers is they got dredged right down the center. They are all deeper which could favor the gorge's railroad.
The goal now is to get the trackage open and trains moving. Over time they will assess areas that need to be beefed up for the next storm and they will upgrade it with that in mind.
given the clean Scour line from the flooding, it'll be easy to see where the new line needs to go to keep it safe. on average 15-20' higher than the old Right of way.
The Coast Route here in California is sort of a spare mainline. As of now it only sees Amtrak daily and locals at each end with only an occasional through freight train. But the parallel Tehachapi Loop mainline is at capacity. So while the coast route is maintained to high standards it seems to be a sort of reserve route. I am willing to guess that this historic Clinchfield route here is sort of the same way and WILL receive the large money to repair. Something similar happened to California s coast route a few years back but surprise... they rebuilt.
Because the CSX is a privately owned corporation, it will take care of the rebuilding. It will be possible to salvage some and possibly half of the rail. I saw an area along the roadbed that had rails driven vertically outside of the track area to help protect the grade from flowing water previously. The cost of replacement of the subgrade, ballast, track, and bridges will be high; the cost of complete replacement higher from the river would be anywhere from 5 to 10 times that of replacement in kind because of land ownership problems and the grade and earthwork to do so. Just laying the track will be about $70 per foot of track or about $370,000 per mile not counting building the grade, bridges, bridges, and signals plus crossings. As frightful as this is, it has been worse, though not necessarily in this particular spot. There is a small army working on this problem though you may not see them just yet.
Has there never been that much rain in that length of time there before or were other factors at play such as commercial and residential construction ?
@@designsinorbit There was 29.3 inches of rainfall measured from Helene at one place. That is a lot of water in just a few hours in an area that can not spread it out to slow it down. That was on top of the heavy rainfall that had just occurred.
I was fortunate to have ridden the CRR from Elkhorn City to Spartanburg and back. This was 1978 I think. It was also the last time the CRR operated their annual fan trip. What a very enjoyable trip. Listening to the F 7s as they notch up and down constantly. It was a long train. Scenery was fantastic. Spent the night in Spartanburg. I can remember seeing rafters/canoeists in those rivers. Going into all those tunnels and over all those bridges. I don't remember seeing a single foreign loco, or a repainted CRR loco. Everything was CLINCHFIELD!
@@jeffreymcfadden9403 I'm envious. I've loved trains since I was a kid and STILL haven't been on one. Maybe CSX will give me a ride on the Clinchfield someday.
Suggestion - It would be awesome if you wrote where you are filming from scene to scene. I know its all the river in general but where up and down the river are you? Poplar, Chestoa, gorge, etc. Thanks for the videos. Native here, and still in shock to the change and all the destruction.
They'll have to have it to haul all that lithium ore out of the affected area. BlackRock will make sure it is rebuilt. Subscribed since you asked so politely.
This seems to be about the Clinchfield line from Erwin to Spruce Pine, which I'm sure was devastated, but what about the line from Spruce Pine to the bottom of the mountain, passing through AltaPass & North Cove then South? Was it heavily damaged as well?
No. They are running ballast and rip-rap trains north from Spartanburg up to Spurce Pine now. Other crews can acess Poplar from a road from Erwin, and other crews can push east from Erwin on undamage train north of there.
From what I see. And I'm no construction engineer. It's going to take a lot of equipment and a lot of blasting to remove some of the boulders. Off the right of way. And some serious cutting of the fallen trees. And rebuild all the bridges and it's going to get quite expensive. But what a very pretty area. Reminds me of my trip to Australia in 1979. Almost the same kind of terrain
Amazing that this destruction was just left there to rot and destroying the natural beauty. The people going in there to restore and clean up this route are doing a great service. Should be a beautiful length of railway when it is done.
NS got the same total destruction on the “river line” from Bulls gap to Asheville. Not been a big revenue section in some years but they are going to rebuild it back to class A.
If it would be possible id love to catch a ride from erwin down the mt. to marion and back....when this track was built it was considered an engineering marvel
I have to wonder how much of the track materials they will be able to reuse. Seems like a large number of side booms could pull some of it back up once they get a roadbed down.
Really, it is much easier to rebuild this railroad now than it was to construct it in the 1800's. The original builders had to use hand drills and black powder in the gorge. They used scrapers pulled by mules. There was a huge amount of pick and shovel work involved and the ties and rails were placed by hand, then spiked in place by hand. Modern machinery will accomplish in days, what took months to do by human and mule power in the 1800's. It will take time and effort, but not as much as building it in the first place.
That's going to be a long and major project. I live in eastern WA state and a RR company is doing major upgrades on a line they use to transport grain. Cost is estimated at about $1,000,000 per mile!! Final cost to rebuild the Clinchfield will be huge, but it has to be done. Hope they get it done quickly.
Why would they be rebuilding that 44 mile line?? Something about a new mineral discovery in that area and talks about a new mine as well would be my guess. The railroad is probably notifying contractors about lots of new rail construction projects as I type the words. It won't take as long as many think except on rebuilding the bridges which, one would think will take longer and cost a lot more these days. Anyway it'll be interesting to watch that construction progress...
Maybe it’s just about time that the river was harnessed for the production of hydroelectricity, and as soon as any future lakes are formed, just get ready to build brand new trestles across them?!
In 1993 I lived in Swannannoa and did railfan photography on the Southern Railway lines around the Asheville area. How badly was the Norfolk Southern affected by Helene? Do you plan any videos of this?
Are they planning on building it in the same place? It seems prudent to build it higher than the high water mark now. Great footage. Thank you. It is startling just how well the water scoured the ground down to bedrock. The delineation of the high water mark is so stark.
RJ Corman and the other railroad contractors don't mess around. They work 24/7 to get the railroad open as fast as possible without a budget, the railroads more or less sign a blank check and they go from there. When there is a derailment, its cool to watch a fleet of 20-30 RJ Corman trucks roll in with everything they need, equipment, service and fuel trucks, camp and dining trailers, etc... This will no doubt be their biggest project to date.
What is the estimate cost to rebuild? If they do rebuild then this sort of proves what I have been saying for a few years now. The Railroads Class 1 grid has been reduced to the bones. There are no excess tracks with duplicate through routes left. All the routes as of say 2020 are now essential to maintain the class 1s in North America. And with the railroads closing or streamlining their main rail yards there is now only the limited routes of the trains themselves that allows a sort of rolling storage to time deliveries to the remaining big customers. This line is no doubt a key piece in a larger logistic picture.
Maybe we wouldn’t have so many flood plains if only we could possibly find just which areas of the riverbed had enough solid bedrock for the building of a dam for hydroelectric power plants, and then maybe build a good number of brand new trestles across any future lakes?!
Ok, but it seems like the quartz might need to be mined using the open-pit situation. Also, maybe it’s just about time that someone needs to establish hydroelectric power plants along the areas of the river with the most damage to the roadbed of the right-of-way?! Above all else, some of us need to get a proxy fight going on Wall Street in order to get CSX to realize that we’re just sick and tired of seeing too many right-of-ways becoming trails for hiking and bicycling, and that we’re not going to take it anymore!
That might be the "Big Hole" that's going to take 200 trains of rock. 100 feet at a time, this will take a time. They have good weather and I figure government is paying bill.
@martylost167, “Well, now I wouldn’t say that.” The little man from the draftboard in the animated 1945 classic short subject picture of “DRAFTEE DAFFY”.
For starters, just harness those areas of the river for the production of hydroelectric power, and establish a new roadbed on higher ground as well as building brand new trestles across any future lakes.
Harnessing of the river at certain points for the production of hydroelectricity is one way of starting over followed by the building of brand new trestles across any future lakes, and we’ll have to begin by petitioning every congressional leader into allowing for the 1934 Gold Reserve Act of FDR to be back on the books as a law on a federal level once again!
@deeppurple3489, Sounds like you are one of those types of individuals who favors the 1972 law passed during the Nixon administration that allows for railroad companies to give up the rights to their ‘money losing’ lines. Well, I think that maybe it’s just about time that someone started a good proxy fight on the floors of Dow Jones raising a ruckus to force CSX to allow for certain areas of the river to be harnessed to produce hydroelectricity to start with followed by building brand new trestles across any future lakes! Because as God as my witness, I won’t tolerate it if Rails-To-Trails tries to take over in the area in question.
Until the Storm, M692 ran through there from Waycross, GA to Russell, KY, along with its southbound counterpart M693. Maybe others, but those were the main ones. Now they run from Waycross to Spartanburg and vice versa.
That's just frigin crazy, Wow, Lot of pyle driving , steel, rock, dirt, cement, it will be decades if they ever got that shit out of that river. that is the the second worse part of past the initial terror and destruction. The rebuilding ... so many lost everything.
Wow. So sad for that beautiful area. I saw another video about the water being potentially contaminated with chemicals and industrial products that were swept into all the waterways during the flooding. That water looks yellow and green. Does anyone know if they are testing it or any efforts to clean it up?
Sounds like the area in question is so poverty stricken that they have no sewage treatment plants, which is why the river needs to be harnessed to produce hydroelectricity. Now, if we can only get the congressional leaders of both Alaska and Hawaii to see about possibly sending volcanic ash to the area to be blended with limestone as well as sea water, then we would have concrete without the mercury, unlike the Portland variety. The Uline company has a vast quantity of plastic 55 gallon drum barrels that could possibly be used to put the sea water in before we add it to the mixture of volcanic ash and limestone to build the dams needed for production of the hydroelectricity, and all of those brand new trestles waiting to be built across future lakes.
Better get in touch with brokerage firms like Charles Schwab to get as much CSX stock as possible for the time being in order to have a controlling interest in the company just long enough to get the repairs underway.
Unbelievable, Mother Nature can be a beehawtch. With so much extensive damage and for such a vast distance of ruin no doubt CSX and the gov't powers-that-be will consider re-routing the line away from the river. Cost of repair vs. a new rail line.
@johnpatterson4272, The term known as Mother Nature is just the Atheists way of denying the existence of God. What needs to be done now is a tremendous proxy fight on the floors of the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) in order to force CSX into allowing for the river in question to be harnessed at certain points for the production of hydroelectricity while estimating the cost of installing new trestles across any future lakes. Now, construction and building materials need to include limestone, volcanic ash, and sea water, especially since the concrete made from that mixture doesn’t have any mercury unlike the Portland variety. If Herod could build the harbor for the city of Caesarea using such building materials, why can’t we do the same thing in building dams to harness the river to produce hydroelectric power?
My word, what a mess. I wonder whether the railroad has authority to deviate from the original alignment in places where the land the grade followed no longer exists?
Do you know how high the water was along the line? Could you see a 'high water mark' in the trees, or debris? You can tell where the roadbed was. Almost looks like someone tore up their model railroad.
Out of all my videos, this will the FIRST time I am going to ask- Please subscribe and like to help my other videos circulate. Thanks for considering.
You were the first that really gave me a good picture of the utter devistation 😢
DONE
This is my family’s homeland . The place I have fished for many years. When I watch this video I am heartbroken for my relatives who have lost all their possessions and some have lost loved ones. But through all the destruction we have been through we still have hope. Thanks to you all who have reached out to us and helped us in our time of need.
@ericyoung1243 absolute tears for our region. Landscape will heal. But many people have been savaged. One of my friend's home was scoured of its contents. Survived wall of water by skin of their teeth. Couple lost everything up to his wallet. In their 70's.
Man this is gonna be some kind of engineering marvel to get this reconnected. Thx!
The Clinchfield was probably the most 'heavily' engineered railroad for its time in the U.S. when constructed. Bridges, tunnels were first rate. An extreme event in nature can humble even the very best of construction. Hope CSX will rebuild this important artery. Thanks for posting this most excellent video.
Itr was also one of the few 20th century RRs to be built (most others were built in the 1800s), so it had the advantage of more modern earthmoving equipment.
It's hard to understand how the track is still mostly intact after moving so much, and who knows how many boulders attacking it.
@@kurtwerner4258 Welded rail is pretty tough. I think the track would not have faired as well had it been jointed rail.
VGN was built a decade later and known for its engineering and IS the most modern railway line in the east.
@@Greatdome99 you forgot the Orin Line
What devastation. This will be the single biggest rail project in America in over 100 years. I hope you get it on video for us.
Jobs yo!
Your comment says a lot about the state of American infrastructure. Biggest in over 100 years. One-hundred years. Think of all the other systems in America that haven't had much more than routine maintenance in 100 years or were meant to last for only 'x' number of years and are now well past their lifespan. Time to get serious America and stop making false promises to get elected to office.
Your videos are extremely well produced…the stark reality of this area’s devastation is astonishing…thank you for filming.
@@amandagilliams5306 Thanks so much... and you're welcome.
Absolutely soul-shaking. Beautiful editing and choice of background, transitions make this such a powerful video. Important as well.
It's absolutely great that the railroad is going to rebuild the line. They can absolutely do it. They have to build their way in and clean up at the same time. This means jobs, infrastructure, and income for local people and businesses. In my opinion, it is a big first step to getting the area back to normal.
They are going to spend a lot of money. Good thing railroads are willing to sign a blank check just as long as the work gets done ASAP.
Not really, CSX has their own peoples.
@@mountainman5025 not enough to do the work. They hire people like Corman and BP Disaster Response and just have 1-2 of their engineering guys around to supervise.
How will they ever clean the river. ??!
@bobbydee1187
The mining companies will most likely clean it after the government takes the property for the lithium
The original Clinchfield railroad extended from Elkhorn City, Kentucky to Spartanburg, SC. The original track was laid in the early 1900's and carried freight, passengers and coal. It turned into a mainly coal hauling road after CSX purchased the line, supplying the power generating plants on the French Broad and Catawba Rivers. The railroad passes through some of the most beautiful mountain country in the US, and I've ridden the line through the Nolichucky Gorge and along the Toe River, as well as down the Blue Ridge Escarpment from Spruce Pine to Marion, done many years ago on an excursion train from Marion, NC to Erwin, TN and back. In years before that, when I was a young man, I once hiked the line from Altapass to Spruce Pine and back, going through all the tunnels on the Blue Ridge Loops as the track wound its way back and forth up the Escarpment. There was a large track Wye at the top of the Escarpment where the helper engines could be dropped and turned around. A wye is a three-point section of track with turnouts. I have several books on the old Clinchfield with pictures made throughout its years from the early days through dieselization in the early 1950's.
Seeing the Nolichucky in this video, flowing at its normal level through the enormous gouge it cut out of its former channel, is truly incredible. I wish there could have been a way to make an aerial video like this when the river was at its highest during Helene's passing, it just doesn't seem possible the river could have gotten as high as it obviously did. There is no way to imagine such a water flow, even though the damage can be so easily seen.
I agree, to see this river at peak would have been... hard to even process. When I went back there for this footage, I climbed and hiked down on the opposite side until it was too sketchy to continue.. and at least got to witness the power that had been there first hand. Which was an experience.
I’m not familiar with this part of our great country, and I’m very sorry to see the significant loss that has occurred here. I look forward to seeing the rebuilding. #subscribed
Happy they are going to rebuild. I truly did not expect them to.
Would have thought it would have been abandoned
Gotta be able to transport all the valuable minerals they want after they seize all the land they can. Exactly who is paying for the new rail line ? They will claim one source only to misappropriate that money while private interest secretly foots the cost. Free to pillage and loot with government's blessings.
Same tho it does make sense tho since it basically serves as a backup line in the case another route gets blocked for whatever reason
I guess there will always be complainers...if you don't like the sound, learn how to find your volume button. As far as wasting tax dollars? Um,no... railroads pay their own way for capital improvements and repair. Be thankful for the increased employment and resumption of service to entities in the area dependent on rail service. To those boohoo-ing the excavation and buttressing necessary to stabilize the roadbed (as well as highways!)...Do you not realize that this flood changed the actual course of the streams and rivers, in some cases as much as a quarter mile?!
Be grateful and supportive of this creator who has done an excellent job of documenting
Once repaired, I'm hoping that CSX will consider a temporary unloading point close to the towns to allow faster rebuilding of the effected communities. You can move so much more by rail at one time with the same or less fuel expense. This may take a decade before some sort of normalcy is returned.
As usual, your video shows the devastation of the railway. I listened to the train going down the tracks and I could almost see it going along. Really well put together video. I'm subscribed and I hit the bell too. I look forward to more videos about the rebuild and repairs. Thank you!
Thank you very much!
I have always admired trains since my Dad worked for Sante Fe in the early 60's as an electrician maintaining locomotives. The railroads are a critical segment of this countrys economy. These workers will have a monumental project bringing this line back on. The power of water and once in a century storm is incredible. Thank you for such a great view of the gorge, nice sharp images perfect.
Lived in barstow, California . Had friends worked for Sante fe. My grandpa worked here in knoxville, Tennessee for Southern . He died of cancer. 1986. WW 2 and Korea veteran.
I’ve walked and rafted through there. Crossed that railbridge on foot as many have to look for lost cove. That gorge is definitely different. There are people who are still missing in there somewhere. 😢 thanks for showing how it looks. ❤
You're welcome. More videos to come as they rebuild.
I would love to see the other side of the peninsula from O Cs store up the bend and down to where the swinging bridge used to be. It’s heartbreaking that lives and homes and history are just washed away. If you are so inclined and can even get there. I lived in that little shack in the curve many moons ago. You and others here in Asheville are doing a tremendous job of documenting this event and I believe your work should be archived in the future. It’s tremendous information and I thank you for sharing it.
Really great drone footage of the line and the level of destruction. Some stretches look as if there was never any railroad there at all, the water completely removing any trace of roadbed. In light of more natural disasters on this scale, railroads in particular will have to reassess their strategy of removing all redundant routes in the name of cost cutting efficiency. Rail lines built along river floodplains are especially vulnerable as we can see here. I will follow the progress of this project with keen interest.
So sad. I went on an excursion on the Clinchfield many years ago when they had restored the special engines and the line in 1979. Beautiful ride through the mountains, snow on the ground, stream a good bit of the way like this. Only the rails were in place -- not in the river!
I live where they are doing stuff now here on the Mitchell/Yancey line. Big dump trucks are coming across the bridge on hwy 80 and going down to the tracks. After they quit working during the day me and my best 4 legged friend walk down to check it out. I miss the soothing sounds of the train going by
The damage of the trees, river, riverbank, property, and everything is remarkable. I’m curious to see where they put the tracks. There are spots where there’s nothing there anymore.
They would have to cut into the sheer mountain side. How the vegetation and soil/rock would be removed is a big question. I don't think they would be allowed to use the river as much as earlier in history.
Unimaginable the force of the water to move boulders and tons of large rocks - changing the landscape forever. Prayers for all - you are not forgotten.
So sad, i hope this railroad is returned to its former glory. Its distressing for railfans seeing the Clinchfield in this state. It will be a mammoth undertaking by CSX. I like the sound of the train in the background. Its distressing for people to see the Nolichucky changed forever as well. Helene did her worst that day. 😢 ❤🙏🏻 liked & suscribed.
How much of the clinchfield traffic was coal and do you think it's likely that that will ever return?
@@ArtStoneUSOver half was coal, and that will be on a steady decline going forward, unless Trump wants to bring back coal! These days traffic is mixed freight, ethanol, and still some coal trains. Not as much as it used to be but, it’s still decent.
Keep the videos coming on this rebuild
Great video. This is a good documentation on some of the destruction that happened down there that’s not really seen. It’s wild to see that much of a railroad wiped out.
Awesome footage keep us all posted
Amazing and appropriate sound effects for this one. Thanks for sharing!
New sub here. They will get er done, please keep us posted. Great videos!
Thank you.. Will do!
This will ne a rebuild from the ground up. In some places a retaining wall will likely be needed along with a mammoth portion of fill. Monumental task.
My Grandpa from Mine Creek near Bakersville helped build the Clinchfield.
TFTI (thanks for the information).
I knew the devastation was bad, but not this bad. Wow! This is going to take a while to rebuild this line.
Great video! We kayak and raft the gorge all the time. Would love to see a video more focused on the river and the changes in the rapids from how it used to be.
could any part of these tracks be salvaged like the rails or spikes? Or will they have to just put down entirely new trackage?
Thanks for another excellent video! It’s interesting how the ballast, both stone and cinder from years ago, has become so compacted that it’s untouched by the floodwaters while the track itself is gone! In an earlier vid I noticed at Poplar parts of a crawler crane being in place including boom sections, counterweight stacks, and the crawler tracks. Is there any sign of the crane being assembled?
Yes, and I totally forgot to get that thing on video. It's MASSIVE.
@ It’s not unusual for a massive crawler crane to require 15 to 20 truckloads to move all the pieces to the job site!
I don't see how that section will ever pay for itself.
It is an important bridge line for the system, so it will more than pay for itself
Im Spruce Pine, and everyone was heartbroken when Clinchfield wasn't coming through daily...
The scouring this flood did is shocking. Down to the bed rock
The amazing photography, and from the sound of it... you must have used one of those new fangled steam powered Locomo-drones.
I hear what sounds like locomotives and pile drivers in the background. I can only wonder about the locomotive sound but there is going to be a lot of pile driving, so could we see the sources of the sounds some. As a retired CSX employee of the engineering department, it surprises me that the line will be rebuilt as not much traffic moves this was and there is little on line business between Johnson City, TN and Marion, NC. I am glad they are doing it, and I wonder also about the NS line from Ridgecrest to Old Fort which I am more familiar with. Though with CSX for 21 years, my job did not involve field work, and I was only over this line once, in, as I recall 1972 when I was a SR employee and rode the Southern Crescent to Spartanburg & back and then rode a special from Spartanburg to Erwin & back.
I hate to be negative, but they really don’t know how the new/changed Nolichucky River will act when the next torrential, days on end type rainfall comes to the area. I’m concerned that if they don’t get as much of the rails as far away from the river as they can, that they’ll lose parts of it again. That being said, another terrific & informative video. Thanks for sharing your talent for video making.
I don't think that's negative, it's a concern for sure. From what I have learned by spending so much time seeing the change in these rivers is they got dredged right down the center. They are all deeper which could favor the gorge's railroad.
Perhaps answered somewhere else, but how many miles of rail were disrupted?
@ I read 44 miles.
The goal now is to get the trackage open and trains moving. Over time they will assess areas that need to be beefed up for the next storm and they will upgrade it with that in mind.
I wonder if HOBO Shoe String rode those rails ? RIP.
Wow! the damage is unreal.
Looks like a very difficult and EXPENSIVE task but not impossible!
given the clean Scour line from the flooding, it'll be easy to see where the new line needs to go to keep it safe.
on average 15-20' higher than the old Right of way.
Sad part is if cars are buried in mud and rock, so are some of the missing people as well! Tragic situation
Wow!!. Now that's going to take a bit of work to fix that lot up.
The Coast Route here in California is sort of a spare mainline. As of now it only sees Amtrak daily and locals at each end with only an occasional through freight train. But the parallel Tehachapi Loop mainline is at capacity. So while the coast route is maintained to high standards it seems to be a sort of reserve route. I am willing to guess that this historic Clinchfield route here is sort of the same way and WILL receive the large money to repair. Something similar happened to California s coast route a few years back but surprise... they rebuilt.
In some of those very narrow parts of the gorges, there is no sign now that a railroad was there less than two months ago.
Because the CSX is a privately owned corporation, it will take care of the rebuilding. It will be possible to salvage some and possibly half of the rail. I saw an area along the roadbed that had rails driven vertically outside of the track area to help protect the grade from flowing water previously. The cost of replacement of the subgrade, ballast, track, and bridges will be high; the cost of complete replacement higher from the river would be anywhere from 5 to 10 times that of replacement in kind because of land ownership problems and the grade and earthwork to do so. Just laying the track will be about $70 per foot of track or about $370,000 per mile not counting building the grade, bridges, bridges, and signals plus crossings. As frightful as this is, it has been worse, though not necessarily in this particular spot. There is a small army working on this problem though you may not see them just yet.
It will be interesting to watch.
Has there never been that much rain in that length of time there before or were other factors at play such as commercial and residential construction ?
@@mustlovedogs272 The problem was that we had 3 straight days of HEAVY rain and were flooding already. Then with no pause Helene entered.
@@designsinorbit There was 29.3 inches of rainfall measured from Helene at one place. That is a lot of water in just a few hours in an area that can not spread it out to slow it down. That was on top of the heavy rainfall that had just occurred.
CSX has got a lot of work to do. This is going to take a while. Somebody should document the rebuilding of this historic rail line.
I was fortunate to have ridden the CRR from Elkhorn City to Spartanburg and back. This was 1978 I think. It was also the last time the CRR operated their annual fan trip.
What a very enjoyable trip. Listening to the F 7s as they notch up and down constantly.
It was a long train. Scenery was fantastic. Spent the night in Spartanburg. I can remember seeing rafters/canoeists in those rivers.
Going into all those tunnels and over all those bridges. I don't remember seeing a single foreign loco, or a repainted CRR loco. Everything was CLINCHFIELD!
@@jeffreymcfadden9403 I'm envious. I've loved trains since I was a kid and STILL haven't been on one. Maybe CSX will give me a ride on the Clinchfield someday.
@@designsinorbit Don't be envious. I am paying for these memories. I am not getting any younger.
Suggestion - It would be awesome if you wrote where you are filming from scene to scene. I know its all the river in general but where up and down the river are you? Poplar, Chestoa, gorge, etc. Thanks for the videos. Native here, and still in shock to the change and all the destruction.
Looks like this will cost billions to complete. So much roadbed washed away.
I wonder if HOBO Shoe String ever rode those railes .?Very sad to see so much destruction. RIP. Shoe String
They'll have to have it to haul all that lithium ore out of the affected area. BlackRock will make sure it is rebuilt. Subscribed since you asked so politely.
This seems to be about the Clinchfield line from Erwin to Spruce Pine, which I'm sure was devastated, but what about the line from Spruce Pine to the bottom of the mountain, passing through AltaPass & North Cove then South? Was it heavily damaged as well?
No. They are running ballast and rip-rap trains north from Spartanburg up to Spurce Pine now. Other crews can acess Poplar from a road from Erwin, and other crews can push east from Erwin on undamage train north of there.
From what I see. And I'm no construction engineer. It's going to take a lot of equipment and a lot of blasting to remove some of the boulders. Off the right of way. And some serious cutting of the fallen trees. And rebuild all the bridges and it's going to get quite expensive. But what a very pretty area. Reminds me of my trip to Australia in 1979. Almost the same kind of terrain
I am impressed with the way the flood just washed tracks and ties off their roadbed. That is a lot of weight to move.
Amazing that this destruction was just left there to rot and destroying the natural beauty. The people going in there to restore and clean up this route are doing a great service. Should be a beautiful length of railway when it is done.
NS got the same total destruction on the “river line” from Bulls gap to Asheville. Not been a big revenue section in some years but they are going to rebuild it back to class A.
If it would be possible id love to catch a ride from erwin down the mt. to marion and back....when this track was built it was considered an engineering marvel
I have to wonder how much of the track materials they will be able to reuse. Seems like a large number of side booms could pull some of it back up once they get a roadbed down.
How long this track was unused?
It was in use till this happened.
@@designsinorbit When it happened
Really, it is much easier to rebuild this railroad now than it was to construct it in the 1800's. The original builders had to use hand drills and black powder in the gorge. They used scrapers pulled by mules. There was a huge amount of pick and shovel work involved and the ties and rails were placed by hand, then spiked in place by hand. Modern machinery will accomplish in days, what took months to do by human and mule power in the 1800's. It will take time and effort, but not as much as building it in the first place.
That's going to be a long and major project.
I live in eastern WA state and a RR company is doing major upgrades on a line they use to transport grain. Cost is estimated at about $1,000,000 per mile!! Final cost to rebuild the Clinchfield will be huge, but it has to be done. Hope they get it done quickly.
Why would they be rebuilding that 44 mile line?? Something about a new mineral discovery in that area and talks about a new mine as well would be my guess. The railroad is probably notifying contractors about lots of new rail construction projects as I type the words. It won't take as long as many think except on rebuilding the bridges which, one would think will take longer and cost a lot more these days. Anyway it'll be interesting to watch that construction progress...
With the expected intensification of extreme weather events i wonder if they will build the line higher to prevent this in the future
This my friends will take some SERIOUS FINANCIAL WILLPOWER to rebuild.
Ti can’t believe that the water was powerfully enough to rip apart steel rails the clinchfeild has been mugged
Maybe it’s just about time that the river was harnessed for the production of hydroelectricity, and as soon as any future lakes are formed, just get ready to build brand new trestles across them?!
In 1993 I lived in Swannannoa and did railfan photography on the Southern Railway lines around the Asheville area. How badly was the Norfolk Southern affected by Helene? Do you plan any videos of this?
I'll be between the Gorge and Green Mountain.
Are they planning on building it in the same place? It seems prudent to build it higher than the high water mark now. Great footage. Thank you. It is startling just how well the water scoured the ground down to bedrock. The delineation of the high water mark is so stark.
Hopefully CSX will get more help to rebuild. This is a monumental ptoject.
RJ Corman and the other railroad contractors don't mess around. They work 24/7 to get the railroad open as fast as possible without a budget, the railroads more or less sign a blank check and they go from there. When there is a derailment, its cool to watch a fleet of 20-30 RJ Corman trucks roll in with everything they need, equipment, service and fuel trucks, camp and dining trailers, etc... This will no doubt be their biggest project to date.
@@Maine_Railfan Wow... Awesome information! 👍
What is the estimate cost to rebuild? If they do rebuild then this sort of proves what I have been saying for a few years now. The Railroads Class 1 grid has been reduced to the bones. There are no excess tracks with duplicate through routes left. All the routes as of say 2020 are now essential to maintain the class 1s in North America. And with the railroads closing or streamlining their main rail yards there is now only the limited routes of the trains themselves that allows a sort of rolling storage to time deliveries to the remaining big customers. This line is no doubt a key piece in a larger logistic picture.
Looks like a quick fix.
After a year's work....
I hope it goes well.
This will take longer than a year to rebuild.
Screw the cost. Build the new railbed 20-30' above this flood plane. Otherwise, it will happen again....
👍🙃
Maybe we wouldn’t have so many flood plains if only we could possibly find just which areas of the riverbed had enough solid bedrock for the building of a dam for hydroelectric power plants, and then maybe build a good number of brand new trestles across any future lakes?!
Don’t get too agreeable just yet.
Wait until the big proxy fight with Dow Jones to force CSX into rebuilding begins?!
Why not just harness the river to produce hydroelectric power, and build brand new trestles across the new lakes?
At the start of the video, is all that track ex-clinchfeild, or is that damaged CSX tracks?
@@AndrewTHECHESSIEGUY It's all CSX that owns what was called the Clinchfield.
Was it left like that or was it damaged in like a storm or something?
Wow… that’s EPIC.
CSX has to get that quartz out of there somehow
Ok, but it seems like the quartz might need to be mined using the open-pit situation.
Also, maybe it’s just about time that someone needs to establish hydroelectric power plants along the areas of the river with the most damage to the roadbed of the right-of-way?!
Above all else, some of us need to get a proxy fight going on Wall Street in order to get CSX to realize that we’re just sick and tired of seeing too many right-of-ways becoming trails for hiking and bicycling, and that we’re not going to take it anymore!
They did it before. They will do it again. Lost cove is awesome place. So is the basin on the poplar side.
They lost several miles of track. Something like 8 miles? 🤷🏼♂️
Hi I’m not from this part of the country where did this happen?
The foothills and mountains of western North Carolina.
Thank you for the answer I am guessing this was the hurricane ? Anyhow my prayers to the people who are effected by this
Good luck with that!
That might be the "Big Hole" that's going to take 200 trains of rock.
100 feet at a time, this will take a time. They have good weather and I figure government is paying bill.
@martylost167,
“Well, now I wouldn’t say that.”
The little man from the draftboard in the animated 1945 classic short subject picture of “DRAFTEE DAFFY”.
Yikes! There's areas where the roadbed is judt gone. Going to be one hell of a rebuild project for certain.
For starters, just harness those areas of the river for the production of hydroelectric power, and establish a new roadbed on higher ground as well as building brand new trestles across any future lakes.
I want to see the damage to the bridge at Devils Creek!
It’s just possible that maybe Devil’s Creek will be getting harnessed for the production of hydroelectricity if we play our cards just right?!
Wow it’s going to take a lot of work and money hopefully they can use some of the old rail and bridges
Harnessing of the river at certain points for the production of hydroelectricity is one way of starting over followed by the building of brand new trestles across any future lakes, and we’ll have to begin by petitioning every congressional leader into allowing for the 1934 Gold Reserve Act of FDR to be back on the books as a law on a federal level once again!
Im surprised they dont just abandon the line. it'll cost billions to rebuild it!
@deeppurple3489,
Sounds like you are one of those types of individuals who favors the 1972 law passed during the Nixon administration that allows for railroad companies to give up the rights to their ‘money losing’ lines.
Well, I think that maybe it’s just about time that someone started a good proxy fight on the floors of Dow Jones raising a ruckus to force CSX to allow for certain areas of the river to be harnessed to produce hydroelectricity to start with followed by building brand new trestles across any future lakes!
Because as God as my witness, I won’t tolerate it if Rails-To-Trails tries to take over in the area in question.
Does the CSX run a lot of manifest freight through the Clinchfield Nolichucky River area?
Until the Storm, M692 ran through there from Waycross, GA to Russell, KY, along with its southbound counterpart M693. Maybe others, but those were the main ones. Now they run from Waycross to Spartanburg and vice versa.
That's just frigin crazy, Wow, Lot of pyle driving , steel, rock, dirt, cement, it will be decades if they ever got that shit out of that river. that is the the second worse part of past the initial terror and destruction. The rebuilding ... so many lost everything.
Wow. So sad for that beautiful area. I saw another video about the water being potentially contaminated with chemicals and industrial products that were swept into all the waterways during the flooding. That water looks yellow and green. Does anyone know if they are testing it or any efforts to clean it up?
Sewage is currently being routed into the Toe and Cane Rivers.
@designsinorbit Ugh... that's awful.
It’s a big job in no uncertain terms to say the least.
Sounds like the area in question is so poverty stricken that they have no sewage treatment plants, which is why the river needs to be harnessed to produce hydroelectricity.
Now, if we can only get the congressional leaders of both Alaska and Hawaii to see about possibly sending volcanic ash to the area to be blended with limestone as well as sea water, then we would have concrete without the mercury, unlike the Portland variety.
The Uline company has a vast quantity of plastic 55 gallon drum barrels that could possibly be used to put the sea water in before we add it to the mixture of volcanic ash and limestone to build the dams needed for production of the hydroelectricity, and all of those brand new trestles waiting to be built across future lakes.
Nice capture Jeff but do you know what kind of traffic and was it daily that this subdivision served ?
@@mshum538 The amount of traffic has noticeably been increasing over the last 5 years. It seemed almost constant before the storm.
They're gonna have to shift over to the mountain just to support the track. Or they're gonna have to dump a butt load of rock
Which will just constrict the river in flood and raise the water level.
This is going to be a feat!
@@jamesh.5709 No doubt about it.
Yes indeed!!
Better get in touch with brokerage firms like Charles Schwab to get as much CSX stock as possible for the time being in order to have a controlling interest in the company just long enough to get the repairs underway.
The abutment & peirs look sound...dunno if they actually ate though.
Unbelievable, Mother Nature can be a beehawtch. With so much extensive damage and for such a vast distance of ruin no doubt CSX and the gov't powers-that-be will consider re-routing the line away from the river. Cost of repair vs. a new rail line.
@johnpatterson4272,
The term known as Mother Nature is just the Atheists way of denying the existence of God.
What needs to be done now is a tremendous proxy fight on the floors of the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) in order to force CSX into allowing for the river in question to be harnessed at certain points for the production of hydroelectricity while estimating the cost of installing new trestles across any future lakes.
Now, construction and building materials need to include limestone, volcanic ash, and sea water, especially since the concrete made from that mixture doesn’t have any mercury unlike the Portland variety.
If Herod could build the harbor for the city of Caesarea using such building materials, why can’t we do the same thing in building dams to harness the river to produce hydroelectric power?
Shock and Awe!.
My word, what a mess. I wonder whether the railroad has authority to deviate from the original alignment in places where the land the grade followed no longer exists?
It’s talk like that which got Richard Nixon into the White House in both ‘68 as well as ‘72.
Do you know how high the water was along the line? Could you see a 'high water mark' in the trees, or debris? You can tell where the roadbed was. Almost looks like someone tore up their model railroad.
Or something quite similar.