A Weekend in the Loops of Western North Carolina

Clinchfield Loops Tunnels III

Continuing down the old Clinchfield route, this page highlights the next five tunnels.

Lower Briddle Tunnel’s northern portal is encased in ice on this frigid morning.

This is a view of the tracks approaching the Lower Briddle Tunnel taken from the tracks near the Upper Briddle Tunnel. The tracks entering and exiting The Loop are only a few hundred feet apart. But they are also a few hundred feet apart vertically due to traversing The Loop.

I didn’t actually make it to Speedy Tunnel. It is located between the ridges breached by the two Pine Tunnels and the two Briddle Tunnels. Reaching this area would have required an extended hike over one of the ridges and I wasn’t able to investigate the viability of such a trek. I “settled” for this view of the southern portal of Speedy Tunnel taken through Byrd Ridge Tunnel and Lower Pine Tunnel.

This is Lower Pine Tunnel’s southern portal viewed from near Byrd Ridge Tunnel.

Here a southbound load of coal exits the Byrd Ridge Tunnel’s southern portal early on a gloomy morning.

Past Camp Two and around another sweeping bend, the southern portal of the 1^st Rocky Tunnel yields another southbound load of coal.

Click here to continue with the final portion of the tour Clinchfield Loops.

Or click here to see photos of phase one of my trip, the Southern Loops.

Comments to butch@uky.edu.