CSX Chattanooga Sub: Harsh Light + Harsh Grades on the Cumberland Plateau

CSX’s mainline between Nashville and Chattanooga, TN, the Chattanooga Subdivision, is host to some of the most beautiful scenery in Tennessee and the Southeast. We spent most of the day north of Cowan at the summit of the climb over a portion of the Cumberland Plateau, the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountain range. Manned helpers are still used daily in Cowan, and we see the set tacked onto the rear of one of the northbound freights. Action was busy in the morning, but promptly died after lunch. We moved south later in the day to catch a few trains around Stevenson and Bridgeport, AL, which included two Norfolk Southern trackage rights trains using the Chatt Sub to reach their Memphis East District. It was a long, tiring day with lots of hiking and warm spring temperatures. But, it was certainly a fun outing and a welcome change of scenery.

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April 11, 2020

— North Cowan Tunnel —

Q582-10 (Northbound)
E319-09 (Northbound)

— South Cowan Tunnel —

Q580-10 (Northbound)
K443-09 (Southbound)

— Rockledge —

Q143-10 (Southbound)
E307-11 (Northbound)

— Stevenson, AL —

Z350-11 (NS 201) (Northbound)

— Bridgeport, AL —

Z296-11 (NS 23N) (Northbound)
Q581-11 (Southbound)