Locomotives of the Charleston Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad
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Page Contents
Charleston Cincinnati & Chicago 3Cs Locomotives
The Charleston Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad ordered ten 10-wheeler locomotives from the Burnham, Williams & Company, only two were built and delivered. Burnham, Williams & Company would eventually become part of Baldwin in 1909.
The two CC&C engines delivered were:
- #10 which was first named ‘Yancey,’ but later was changed to ‘McDowell’
- #11 was christened ‘Mitchell.’
However, the May 1, 1890 edition of the Johnson City Comet had a different record of the name and number of one of the engines:
“Yesterday morning at precisely 5 minutes past eleven o’clock, General Superintendent W.P. Harris shouted merrily ‘all aboard’ and the first passenger train on the 3Cs Railroad left Main Street crossing to make its first trip through Washington County. The train was composed of only one coach and one engine ‘Unicoi’ no. 32 that just arrived last week.”
The remaining 8 engines on the order were never built. However, their numbers and names had already been decided:
- Yancey
- Unicoi
- Carters
- Washington
- Sullivan
- Scott
- Russell
- Blacksburg
Schenectady Locomotives
Photo: Philip Laws Collection
Additionally, with the help of Philip Laws, we were able to find a picture of 3Cs engine #8, the Clarendon. It shows a delivery date of 1889. We are working to understand if the 3Cs made a different order to Schenectady Locomotive Works, potentially by the South Carolina operating unit of the 3Cs.
3Cs Locomotives Subsequent Owners
Subsequent owners of the locomotives included:
- Cincinnati, Portsmouth & Virginia Railroad
- Norfolk & Western Railway
- Southern Iron & Equipment
- Morehead & North Fork Railroad
- Alger Sullivan Lumber Company
One of the engines was still operating in the Florida timber industry until it was scrapped in 1957
https://www.steamlocomotive.com/locobase.php?country=USA&wheel=4-6-0&railroad=ccac#16186
More Rails Across the Appalachians information will be added to this page and website in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any questions, see any edits that should be made, or have any content you are willing to share. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in Appalachian Railroads, the region, or model railroading.
For More Information – Sources and Resources
The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the history and operation of the Appalachian Railroads. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Appalachian-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.
- Association: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society
- Association: Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society
- Association: Carolina Clinchfield Chapter National Railway Historical Society
- Association: ET&WNC Railroad Historical Society and their Facebook Page
- Association: George L. Carter Railroad Historical Society
- Association: Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society
- Association: Norfolk & Western Historical Society
- Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
- Association: Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society
- Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps, timetables, and track charts
- Archives of Appalachia: ETSU, Johnson City TN
- Book – Castner, Flanary & Dorin: Louisville & Nashville Railroad, The Old Reliable
- Book – Drury. The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
- Book – Flanary: The Louisville & Nashville Cumberland Valley Division
- Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi. The Southern Railway
- Book – Flanary, Oroszi & McKee: ‘The Louisville & Nashville in the Appalachians’
- Books – Goforth: ‘Building the Clinchfield‘ and ‘When Steam Ran the Clinchfield‘
- Book – Graybeal: ‘The Railroads of Johnson City‘
- Book – Irwin & Stahl: ‘The Last Empire Builder: The Life of George L. Carter‘
- Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
- Book – King: ‘Clinchfield Country‘
- Book – Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color‘
- Book – Oroszi & Flanary: ‘Dixie Lines, The Louisville & Nashville Railroad’
- Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina‘
- Book – Poteat & Taylor: ‘The CSX Clinchfield Route in the 21st Century‘
- Book – Stevens & Peoples: ‘The Clinchfield No. 1 – Tennessee’s Legendary Steam Engine‘
- Book – Way: ‘The Clinchfield Railroad, the Story of a Trade Route Across the Blue Ridge Mountains‘
- Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
- Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
- Magazines/Online: ‘Trains‘, ‘Classic Trains‘
- Newspaper Articles: Newspapers.com
- Online Article: Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘; Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
- Online Videos: Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1 | Video #2:
- Website: Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
- Website: HawkinsRails.net
- Website: StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot
- Website: RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City and for Erwin
- Website: SteamLocomotive.com
- Website: VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia
- Website: WvncRails.org – North Carolina and West Virginia Railroads
Contact Us
Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the railroads or model railroading.
3Cs Websites
Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
