Bristol TN / VA – The State Line City

In the 1850s, Bristol began to establish itself as a railroad, coal, and pharmaceutical center, split right down the center into two cities by the state line. The Virginia & Tennessee and East Tennessee & Virginia Railroads connected here in 1856, two early rail lines that were part of disparate group of railroads that provided a rail link from the large cities of the northeast with the major cities of the south. During the Civil War, this rail line also became a key transportation link for both the north and the south, as a target and as a supply line.

Throughout the 1900s, Bristol was the junction of the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western Railway. Today, it is a crew change point for the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Many remnants of the cities’ railroad past can still be seen today including Union Station, several yards and spurs, and the 8-stall engine house that was shared by the Norfolk & Western and the Southern.

Bristol Today by Ric Carter

Photos and Narrative by Ric Carter: www.home.CartersXRd.net, http://www.facebook.com/ric.carter

Bristol is considered the birthplace of country music. It was chosen by recording companies partially because of its railroad center. Union Station was the arrival spot of many of the artists and recordists for the 1927 Bristol Sessions. I think it’s wonderful that during the annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion (every September) today uses Union Station as the artist headquarters and dressing rooms.

Locomotive on VA/TN state line (State Street) headed railroad west

View east with Union Station ahead

Union Station, Bristol VA (1902) currently used as an event center, much of it restored

Union Station

N&W Roundhouse (1904?) Virginia end of yard. Much is hidden by trees and undergrowth from ground view. Used by an industry until recently.

UPM Pharmaceuticals/Pfizer, Tennessee end of yard

More Southern Railway information will be added to this page and others in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the railroads, the region, or model railroading.

Southern Railway Sources and Resources

Personal Maps, Timetables & Memorabilia – Documents, maps and track charts that I have from the SOU and predecessor railroads
Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
Book – Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
Book – Harshaw: ‘Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians’
Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
Book – Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone’
Book – Stout: ‘Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service’
Book – Ward: ‘Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979’
Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
Book – Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Southern Railway Handbook’
Book – Withers & Sink: ‘Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial’
Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
Magazine – ‘Trains‘
Magazine – ‘Classic Trains‘
Website – StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot
Website – NCPedia
Website – Hawkinsrails.net
Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
Website – Norfolk Southern Track Charts at Multimodalways.org
Website – TheDieselShop.us
Website – SteamLocomotive.com

Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Southern Railway and its predecessors. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Southern-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.

Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
Book – Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
Book – Harshaw: ‘Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians’
Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
Book – Reisweber: ‘Southern Railway Power’
Book – Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone’
Book – Stout: ‘Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service’
Book – Ward: ‘Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979’
Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
Book – Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Southern Railway Handbook’
Book – Withers & Sink: ‘Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial’
Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
Website – Hawkinsrails.net
Website – Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
Website – Multimodalways.org: Norfolk Southern Track Charts
Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
Website – SteamLocomotive.com
Website – TheDieselShop.us
Website – VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia

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 Southern or Model Railroads.

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org