The Clinchfield: To railroaders and train-enthusiasts alike, the name is legendary. The Clinchfield spun its steel rails across, over, and through America’s great Appalachian Mountains, hauled millions of tons of coal and manifest freight, and operated with such verve and through such majestic scenery as to be called the “Rio Grande of the East.” And now, you can climb aboard the Clinchfield – with the remarkable new Train Sim World 2 Clinchfield Railroad route! In recent articles here at Dovetail Live, we’ve taken a look at the Clinchfield’s history, locomotives, and operations. Let’s now highlight the new Train Sim World 2 route’s many extraordinary features.

The Train Sim World 2 Clinchfield Railroad route superbly re-creates the famous and coal-rich “north end” of the railroad, extending from CRR’s northern terminus and junction with the Chesapeake & Ohio at Elkhorn City, Kentucky to the important operating center of Dante, Virginia, a distance of 35 main line route miles.

The new Train Sim World 2 route also includes Clinchfield’s rugged, steep, and unforgiving north-end branch lines, which together produced more than half the coal tonnage of the railroad. The Greenbriar (Haysi) Branch, McClure Spur, Fremont Branch, and Nora Spur are all included in the route, adding another 27 miles of memorable railroading.

Set in the late 1970s/early 1980s, the now-available Train Sim World 2 route includes many of the Clinchfield’s famous and scenic locations, including awe-inspiring 115-foot-high Pool Point Trestle, the rugged Breaks of the Big Sandy, the rocky cliffs of the Towers, Hills Mill Bridge, 7,854-foot-long Sandy Ridge Tunnel, Dante’s iconic Union Baptist Church, and countless more eye-catching locations!

Clinchfield’s important yards at Elkhorn City, where the CRR connected with C&O’s Big Sandy Subdivision, and Dante, where legions of coal hoppers were gathered, weighed, sorted, and assembled for further transit, are featured in the route. Dante is highlighted by the CRR’s always busy engine servicing facilities and snug diesel shop.

The Clinchfield originated upwards of seven million tons of coal a year, virtually all of which came from the scores of mines, loaders, docks, and tipples on the north end of the railroad. With the new Train Sim World 2 Clinchfield Railroad route, you’ll call at a variety of mainline and branch coal loading facilities including the giant Moss mine and coal processing plant on the Fremont Branch, remote Blue Diamond and Kilgore Mines of the Nora Spur, massive and modern McClure Mine on the new McClure Spur, Pittco and Crooked Branch Mines on the Greenbriar Branch, and numerous main line mines and loaders such as the docks at Elkhorn City and mines and loaders at Splash Dam, Rex, Trammel, and many other locations.

Two generations of the Clinchfield’s classic and powerful diesel motive power are authentically and beautifully recreated and featured with the route. From the first generation comes the legendary Electro-Motive F7A cab and F7B booster locomotives. Representing the second generation is the potent 3,000-horsepower, six-axle Electro-Motive SD40. Together these two types of locomotives were the workhorses of the Clinchfield for more than three decades, from the era when the railroad replaced steam power right through the merger of the CRR into successor Seaboard System.

NOTE: To master the automatic brakes on the Clinchfield EMD F7 check your brake valve cutout lever is set correctly. This should be cut in on the driven locomotive and cut out on all other locomotives in the train.

For use on coal trains, manifest freights, and the railroad’s priority “Florida Perishable, the Train Sim World 2 route includes 80- and 100-ton coal hoppers, a Clinchfield 50-foot standard boxcar, a CRR Fruit Growers Express insulated boxcar, and the railroad’s much admired “Santa Fe” style steel cupola caboose with complete interior.

The route includes three training tutorials, six creative scenarios, and a remarkable selection of approximately 50 timetabled services that will put you to work and absolutely challenge your skills as an engineer in a variety of main line and branch line duties.

Now is the time to climb aboard the Clinchfield – with the new Train Sim World 2 Clinchfield Railroad route, which is available for PlayStation4, Xbox One, and Steam! – Gary Dolzall

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The scenic and remote Greenbriar Branch (also known as the Haysi Railroad) hosted multiple busy mines and loaders, including the Rual Mine (above) and distinctive Crooked Branch Tipple (below). The Clinchfield originated upwards of seven million tons of coal a year, virtually all of which came from the scores of mines, loaders, docks, and tipples on the north end of the railroad.