Customer Reviews

Clinchfield Railroad in the Coalfields

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Bob has done a GREAT job bringing the real Clinchfield to a book! He features details about the NORTH end, where Dante is the main yard and describes the mine runs and the railroad features in excellent detail. A MUST HAVE for ANY railfan interested in the Appalachian Coal areas!!

Clinchfield Railroad in the Coalfields Bob Helms book is full of good information on Railroading on the the old Clinchfield line from Elkhorn City, KY south. A book that a clinchfield fan will use as a good reference when following the line.

Given that the title is "Clinchfield Railroad in the Coalfields", the book is obviously focused on the Clinchfield Railroad. But in reading the written materials and viewing the excellent photographs, you really get a good sense of how coal moves throughout the Appalachia's. This book is filled with great photographs that are excellent for the modeler looking for inspiration and details related to coal-mining and hauling coal through West Virginia. Certainly the book is centered around the Clinchfield Railroad, but many of the details and scenes are "universal" to all of the coal-haulers of the region.

I was a little bit on the fence about buying it when I saw it in the bookstore thinking it would be just another book to buy, look at some pictures, and then stick on the shelf forever. But after a few days thinking, I said "What the heck" and ordered it here off of Amazon. I'm really glad I did because in sitting down and reading it, it turned out to be a really good book. I recommend it.

I bought this book as a Christmas gift for my husband who is a model railroad enthusiast. Both of us grew up near the Clinchfield Railroad and the lives of our parents and grandparents are closely linked to it either through coal mining or working on the railroad itself. My husband is in the process of building a model of the Clinchfield Railroad as it used to be near Dante, where both sets of our grandparents lived during a part of their lives. The pictures are wonderful and bring back special memories.