Warriors’ Path State Park
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Page Contents
Warriors’ Path State Park
Researched and chronicled by Scott Jessee and Sandhi Kozsuch
Whether you are interested in the Clinchfield, CSX, or the 3Cs Railroads, Warriors’ Path State Park is the perfect destination for a railfan. The roadbed and active rail line of today and yesterday travel through the park. In several locations the two are only several hundred feet apart. Warriors’ Path also offers excellent camping, boating, golfing, hiking, tennis, soccer, a playground, disc golf, and many other activities.
The 3Cs has many visible large cuts, fills, and stone culverts. Several holes of the disc golf course is built on, or across the abandoned roadbed.
The active CSX/Clinchfield tracks have multiple vantage points for excellent railfanning and photography. Six to eight trains run per day.
Click here for the Google Interactive Map which will help you locate the railroads. Yellow represents the CSX/Clinchfield, Blue the 3Cs.
Use the numbers on the map for the 3Cs Guide below.
3Cs Roadbed Guide for Warriors’ Path
- 1) Roadbed enters the park through the campground
- 2) Large fill with stone culvert (see photo below)
- 3) Main entrance road to the park uses the 3Cs grade for a short distance
- 4) Many 3Cs cuts up on a high ridge, paralleling Hemlock Road, overlooking the lake
- 5) Valley crossed with large CRR fill. 3Cs fills on either side of the valley. Timber bridge would have been built here. Disc golf hole #14 is between the 3Cs fills. (See photo below)
- 6) Large cut between valley and Warrior Drive (see photo below)
- 7) 3Cs and CRR/CSX cross Warrior Drive (see photo below). The 3Cs crossing is where the present metal park gates are located.
- 8) Stone culvert under 3Cs fill (see photo below)
- 9) 3Cs exits the park through large cut, now part of hole 4 of the disc golf course (see photo below)
3Cs and CRR/CSX Photos in Warriors’ Path State Park
Photo for #2 – 3Cs large fill and stone culvert
Photo for #5 – Large valley with CRR/CSX fill and where a 3Cs timber trestle was planned
Valley is used for disc golf hole #14. 3Cs fills on both sides of disc golf.
Photo for #6 – 3Cs large cut near Warrior Drive
Photo for #7 – Crossing of Warrior Drive for both 3Cs and CRR/CSX
Photo for #8 – Stone culvert at bottom of fill
Photo for #9 – Large 3Cs cut now used for disc golf hole #4
For More Information – Sources and Resources
The following are wonderful resources for those interested in Appalachian Railroads. They also serve as sources of information for Appalachian-Railroads.org
- Association/Archives: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society
- Association/Archives: Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society
- Association/Archives: Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society
- Association/Archives: Norfolk & Western Historical Society
- Association/Archives: Southern Railway Historical Association
- Archives of Appalachia: ETSU, Johnson City TN
- Book: Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
- Book: Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
- Book: 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: King: ‘Clinchfield Country’
- Book: Marsh: ‘Clinchfield in Color’
- 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: Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
- Magazine: ‘Trains‘
- Magazine: ‘Classic Trains‘
- 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: WvncRails.org – North Carolina and West Virginia Railroads
- Video: Ken Marsh on Kingsport area railroads and region’s history Video #1
- Video: Ken Marsh on railroads and region’s history Video #2:
- Article: Flanary: ‘The Quick Service Route, The Clinchfield Railroad‘
- Articles: ‘Johnson City Comet‘
- Article: Scientific American: ‘The Costliest Railroad in America‘
- Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps and track charts
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
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.