CSX Transportation Historical Society

Tennessee Copper Basin Rails

Tennessee Chemical Co. acquired the Copperhill plant from Cities Service in 1963. However in these images taken by Mac Connery on 06-22-1987 the locomotives had not been re-lettered. This attractive paint scheme was initiated by previous owner Tennessee Copper Co.

1. Tennessee Chemical ALCo S-1 105 (660 HP) waiting at the mine site for the train of air-dump cars to be loaded. 06-22-1987.

2. A self-propelled locomotive crane loading the dump cars with ore. Tenn Chemical TCDX DE-1 from Mac Connery.

3. Tenn Chemical American diesel-electric crane TCDX #DE-1.

4. Tenn Chemical 105 heading back to the smelter with five loads of ore.

5. Tennessee Chemical S-1 105 was built in 1947. It is ex-Cities Service Co., nee-Tennessee Copper.

6. Tenn Chemical 105.

7. Tenn Chemical 105 switches in the CSX (ex-L&N) yard.

8. Tenn Chemical 106 is an ALCo S-4 (1000 HP) acquired new by Tennessee Copper in 1953.

9. Tenn Chemical 107 is an ALCo S-6 (900 HP) acquired by TCC in 1957. Mac said EMDs 108 and 109 were in the shop and not photographed. The ALCos would be sold or scraped. 06-22-1987.

10. TCC loco roster by M Connery.

11. Copperhill operations Image. Page 1.

12. Copperhill operations Image. Page 2.

13. Copperhill operations Image. Page 3.

14. Copperhill operations Image. Page 4.

15. Tennessee Mine head-frame and surface facilities. Copperhill operations Image. Page 5.

16. Copperhill operations Image. Page 6.

17. Copperhill operations Image. Page 7.

18. Copperhill operations Image. Page 8.

19. L&N Knoxville & Atlanta Div. emp. tt. #4 for 10-26-1969.

20. L&N K&A #4. 10-26-1969.

21. CSX Atlanta Div. emp. tt. #2 for 10-25-1987. Etowah-Elizabeth.

22. USGS Epworth GA quad, 1:24,000 scale for 1988 showing CSX yard and plant area on west side of Copperhill. Epworth, GA-TN, 1:24,000 quad, 1988, USGS.

23. CSX 6055-5512-2527-5572 (GP40-2/B30-7/GP38/B30-7) switching Copperhill yard on 07-28-1997.

24. Tennessee Chemical’s track leads off to the left up a steep grade to the sulfuric acid plant. CSX. Copperhill.

25. CSX 6055 pulls south into the edge of town to switch. 07-28-1997. Copperhill.

26. Former L&N depot at Blue Ridge GA, also photographed on 07-28-1997. The track doesn’t look active here.

27. L&N connected with the Southern’s branch out of Asheville at Murphy NC. 07-28-1997.

28. Dates in Copper Mining History, updated to 2006.

29. Tennessee Valley Railroad (TVRM) former CSX yard looking north. 09-18-2023. Copperhill TN.

30. TVRM GMTX 2005 parked next to the scales. Copperhill TN.

31. TVR Copperhill yard looking south. 09-18-2023. Copperhill TN.

32. Abandoned Tennessee Chemical railroad bridge across TN 68 looking north toward Ducktown TN. From the attached map of Cities Service facilities, I’m guessing this line went west to the Tennessee Shaft mine (location #16).

33. USGS Ducktown quad, 1:24,000 scale photo revised 1990 showing Tennessee Shaft spur crossing TN 68. Ducktown, TN, 1:24,000 quad, 1957, USGS.

34. USGS Ducktown quad, 1:24,000 scale for 1957 doesn’t show a rail line to the “Old Tennessee Mine”, so that may have been built later. Between the Copperhill site and US 64 intersection, I only saw one road entrance into this fenced area on the east side of TN 68. The entrance was open at first and closed later. Ducktown TN, 1:24,000 quad, 1957, USGS.

We still had a long drive ahead to Kentucky, so there wasn’t time to explore east on US 64 after visiting the museum. More on the Ducktown Basin Museum and Burra Burra Mine Site later.