RR isolation

What we have seen on TV, has been a horror show, (and has included, in disbelief) the mule teams (out of "Death Valley Days?). Having had reason to pass through the area within last few years, to the Southern museum, with visits to historical railroad sites, but this diaster, not a strong enough word, goes light years beyond hobby interest. We see horror oversees, but this is HERE, and we need to support the victims

@CALNNC- first I hope you and your family are safe. I can't imagine what the conditions on the ground are like through out the area.
From what we do see on TV absolute devastation is about the only words that come to mind.

Back to trains- I've seen some drone shots showing some of the tracks and the washouts. I hope you get some basic services back soon.

Bob

The railroads in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee have some major work to do.

ON CSX - They plan to have service on the Bostic/Spruce Pine restored by the end of October. It won't be totally repaired by then, but they will be able to get to customers who need serviced.

The Spruce Pine, North Carolina to Erwin, Tennessee line is almost totally gone. They will have to build a new railroad from the ground up on this one. They are working on the plans and getting bids for the work, but it will take months to rebuild this line from the ground up.

On NS - The Hickory to Old Fort line was severely damaged. They figure to restore service to Old Fort by early November. The Old Fort to Asheville line is gone - totally destroyed.  The line between Asheville and Newport is also heavily damaged. NS is working on their plans, but they have no timetable for restoring any of this service yet.

Making this work more difficult is that all these lines are in very rugged, mountainous territory. These are not nice, level, river-grade lines. The steepest main line grade in the country was the Saluda Grade out of Asheville. This line was abandoned several years ago, precisely because it was such an operating obstacle, but it gives you an idea of the ruggedness of the terrain in the eastern TN, western NC area.

Any word on the Blue Ridge Southern? I know this is home territory for them.

Chris

P&O

@lehighline posted:

Any word on the Blue Ridge Southern? I know this is home territory for them.

Chris

P&O

They are land locked now with no connections to the outside world.   Locos parked at the Arden office with nowhere to go.

Hickory was out of ground zero with not much damage.  The line from hickory to Old Fort is fine, Old Fort to Asheville is gone in several places, as is I 40.

CALNNC, Thank You.

It is a Tragedy that this hurricane happened, but I am Thankful that the death and destruction wasn’t more widespread than it is.

Doug

Guys....the aftermath of the hurricane is tragic in every way.  While I understand why you would want to comment, this forum is a place for many of us to get away from the political rhetoric and misinformation (on both sides).  Imagine the number of emails I got through the weekend about certain comments in this thread (and some others) that honestly were not related to the reason for this forum.  So ... rather than deleting the thread completely, the mods edited and deleted posts that were not deemed appropriate per our TOS.  I'll let this thread run however keep your politics to yourself AND keep the discussion about the railroads.  You can contact one another privately if you want to discuss politics.  OGR sincerely wishes the best for all of those that have been affected by Helene.