Local leaders invited to ride Nolichucky rails
The governments of Mitchell County and Spruce Pine joined railroad workers and Tennessee dignitaries to ride the new track from Erwin to Poplar to celebrate reopening the railroad recently.
The grand opening celebration began in Erwin, Tennessee.
“I’m delighted to be here, celebrating a momentous day for CSX and the communities of Tennessee and North Carolina,” said CSX CEO Steve Angel. “About a year ago, Hurricane Helene devastated 60 miles of this critical rail corridor. … This (reconstruction) project is a testament to what people can accomplish when we come together.”
Angel replaced former CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs in September.
Angel said that in the past year, work crews have laid down 35,000 feet of linear track in the Nolichucky Gorge. The CEO also said that he believes this new track will be an improvement over the older rail.
“From the modern design of the Poplar Bridge to the sustainable use of materials, this project exemplifies how we move America forward,” he said.
Chief Operating Officer Mike Coy also spoke about the importance of cooperation in this project.
“While Hurricane Helene may have destroyed 60 miles of track, we’ve rebuilt it much stronger,” Coy said. “This was one of the largest reconstruction projects in CSX history.”
Coy said that the damage was so bad the reconstruction effort had to start “from scratch.”
“I’ve experienced many, many disasters,” he said. “Never in my life, in my career, have I seen anything like this.”
In addition to Mitchell County and Spruce Pine government officials, CSX also invited community leaders to ride the train in celebration of finishing the rebuilding effort. Misty Hughes, who runs the Poplar Community Center, said that she has had many conversations with CSX officials over the past year about the impact that the rebuilding was having on the community.
“To be honest, we were inundated with dump trucks and tractor trailers,” Hughes said. “And, you know, we tried to be patient and realize that they had a job to do.”
Hughes said that CSX brought in a lot of emergency supplies to help the Poplar community after the storm, such as fuel, generators, and a Starlink hookup, and they frequently asked if there were community complaints or suggestions for how the rebuild could go more smoothly.
“They would check on us every day,” she said.
However, the rebuilding traffic was still a struggle for Poplar, with the traffic and the dust and noise.
“The rebuild process has been hard,” Hughes said. “It added another hour and 20 minutes to your commute.”
On the train as it crossed from Tennessee into Mitchell County, Chief Engineer Ed Sparks explained the rebuilding process to those in the rearmost observation car.
Sparks noted that there were people who were concerned about the impact of rebuilding the railroad on the environment and water recreation opportunities.
“We worked with local officials to do things the right way, but sometimes there’s differing opinions as to what the right way might be,” he said. “We had complaints from the kayaking community about our work.”
Sparks said that having the railroad open again makes a big difference in the ability to move freight around the country.
“This line being out, Winston traffic was detouring through Richmond, Va.,” he said. “This is our interstate, and there are no side roads.