I did this so you don't have to

[butch]

Put this in the "I did this so you don't have to" category.  This rail-trail is on the old Interstate RR grade south of Coeburn VA.  Since the Southern bought the Interstate RR in 1960, this line was Southern until this section of the line was abandoned in the mid 80s.

I had heard about the trail from a friend and thought it would be a nice addition to my holiday weekend travels.  It is a down and back trail from the parking area to the former Miller Yard junction with the old Clinchfield.  It was listed as 5.8 miles so I figured about 3 miles down and three miles back with a tunnel, several bridges and other sites in the gorge.  Then I arrived at the trailhead and realized the 5.8 miles was the one way distance.  Not being one to pass up a challenge, I decided to do it anyway.  The trail is in outstanding condition.  Here is the hike in numbers:

 1-Swede Tunnel
 1-black bear cub [didn't see mama, and didn't go looking]
 2-snakes, a black rat snake and a copperhead
 2-decent sized waterfalls
 3-bridges that have had been redone for foot traffic
 4.25-hours it took to make the hike including a break at the turn-around point
 5.8-the posted one-way trail mileage
 6-old style Southern mile markers that have been repainted with the trail mileage
 11.6-total hike distance
 20-approximate number of benches to take a break on
 
Unless you are a devoted aficionado of the Interstate RR, are really into hiking/running/biking, or have your heart set on a photo of a CSX train on the old Clinchfield bridge over the confluence of the Guest and Powell Rivers, I would suggest hiking down to the first mile marker and back.  That will give you the tunnel, the first bridge and several great views of the gorge.  [I was told that the fishing is best between the 1st and 2nd mile markers.] 

The pix are Swede Tunnel, trail MP2, the rat snake, and the old Clinchfield bridge.

[E.M. Bell]

Looks like someone has been twisting on that ol snake...should have kept at it to...

[Backyard]

  Great pics, thanks!

I don't know of a solid black rat snake, if it's a king snake, it only eats other snakes.  Or it could be a black-racer.

[butch]

Thanks.  You may be right on the snake.  There are so many different rat snakes I tend to generalize.

[lwjabo]

Rat snake no problem. The Copper Head now that's a different story.
The Interstate was ran by a man named Tom Gurley when Southern bought it. Gurley was a graduate from GT and he was born and raised just west of Atlanta near Dallas Ga. The story goes he went to college with the son of the man who owned the Interstate. When he graduated he was hired by the Interstate and worked his way up. He was the Superintendent of the old Georgia Div when I hired out. I was told they gave the job to Gurley to make the sale to Southern. He negated him self a job. He was much easier to deal with than another GT man named Bill Brosnan.

[Branch Forks]

Partly due to Butch's recommendation here, I visited this trail yesterday by bike. Very enjoyable as far as trails go. It's called the Guest River Gorge Trail if anyone's looking for more info on the web. It really is down in a gorge. The area appears to be inaccessible by any means other than the trail or possibly the last boat ride you ever take. One would get a better view of the gorge and river when the leaves are off.

Afterwards I drove around Coeburn and traced the rest of the Interstate right-of-way that was not included in the trail (and not still in use as NS's Clinch Valley Extension west of Tacoma). The grade is easy to access and mostly used for driveways and private roads here and there. Not much in the way of structures remaining except two good size bridge abutments over a creek.

[butch]

Glad you enjoyed the trail.  Did you find the other tunnel?  It's not hard to locate, but both portals are on private property.

[Branch Forks]

No, I didn't know there was a second one. I lost sight of the grade there at one point. Looking at the topo map now, that was near the second tunnel.

[butch]

There are a bunch of tunnels between Coeburn and St. Paul too, but most of them would require serious hiking.