Following one of the most scenic routes in the country, the Clinchfield Railroad penetrates the most rugged mountain barriers in the eastern United States. Much has been written about the Clinchfield, but this volume by a retired chief engineer of the railroad fills a unique niche. He places a special emphasis on what was built, when it was built, and who did the building, including a brief biography of George L. Carter, the driving force that put it all together. Filled with photographs, maps, schedules. copies of letters, diagrams and other documents, this is a valuable source of information for researchers and rail enthusiasts.

As general manager for Erwin, Tennessee-based Clinchfield Railroad, Thomas D. Moore found an eighty-six-year-old vintage 4-6-0 ten-wheeler steam engine--the Clinchfield No. 1. Miraculously, the engine had escaped the cutter's torch when, in the mid-1950s, the railroad retired its steam fleet, shuttered passenger service and embraced the diesel era. Moore wanted the No. 1 fully restored and its long life on the rails--which had included being the first train to reach the victims of the 1889 Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood--celebrated as a goodwill ambassador for the railroad. The revived Clinchfield No. 1 led beloved excursion trains that visited seven state capitals, bringing joy to passengers from the Appalachian Mountains to Tampa, Florida. Join authors Mark A. Stevens and A.J. "Alf" Peoples on the journey of the real-life little engine that could.

The story of the building of the Clinchfield Railroad reflects the dominant elements that have shaped the economic history of an important section of the southeastern states. It is the history of continuous efforts in a venture that was to be the backbone of a gigantic commercial system but that attained only the proportions of a short, highly specialized, local line. Originally published in 1931. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

In this work, the most comprehensive of its kind, the author examines in engaging narrative and wonderful photography the development of the area’s complete railroading industry—Class 1 railroads, short lines, industrial and mining roads, and logging lines. Added to the textual histories are more than three hundred photographs and illustrations, including timetables and maps for most of the lines discussed.

CSX's Clinchfield Railroad follows one of the most scenic routes in the country and runs through the most rugged mountain barriers in the eastern United States. More than 3,000 laborers built the Clinchfield, using construction standards unheard of at the time. The railroad was finished in 1915 when George Carter, the driving force who put it all together, hammered in the last spike. Because of its enduring innovative construction, engineers have yet to enlarge its tunnels or strengthen its bridges. In its heyday, the Clinchfield was not well known outside its territory, but its history, including its genesis and challenging assembly, has fascinated railfans for years. Jerry Taylor and Ray Poteat take us on a mile-by-mile trip through the tunnels and over the bridges of the Clinchfield's route in their fascinating portrayal of this railroad's current operations.

On the morning of August 21, 1861, John T. Wilder, a brash young colonel of a Union mounted infantry unit nicknamed the “Lightning Brigade” ordered his men to open fire on the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, damaging buildings, sinking steamboats along the riverfront, and injuring men, women, and children. In the midst of Reconstruction and an emerging new South a mere eight years later, Wilder was elected mayor of Chattanooga. While Wilder is most closely associated with the Lightning Brigade, which helped to pioneer the use of both mounted infantry and repeating firearms during the American Civil War, his military accomplishments occupied only five years of his eighty-seven year life. His immense postwar success, however, left a permanent mark on the industrial development of the war-torn South in the second half of the nineteenth century. It is the comprehensive picture of Wilder’s nearly nine decades that Maury Nicely seeks to capture in Forging a New South: The Life of General John T. Wilder. “For many war heroes, there was not much beyond the war worth telling,” Nicely writes. “Such was not the case with Wilder.” A successful entrepreneur and industrialist, after the war Wilder relocated to East Tennessee, where he created dozens of businesses, factories, mines, hotels, and towns; was elected mayor of the city he had shelled during the war; and cultivated close personal and business relationships with Federal and Confederate veterans alike, helping to create a new South in the wake of a devastating conflict. Presented in two parts and accompanied by more than sixty detailed photographs and maps, Nicely’s balanced study fills a significant void—the first complete biography of General John T. Wilder.