The line between Knoxville and Asheville

[The Idiot Railfan]

Another road trip has spurred my need for knowledge of yet another NS line.  I have known the existance of an ex-Southern route between Knoxville and Asheville for a while now, yet never took the time to pay much attention to it.  On the way back from the In-Laws today, we passed thru Asheville and I had spotted the yard on the southwest side of town from the interstate.  I opened up the Gazetteers, and began tracing the line westward.  Suddenly I am realizing that the line hugs the French Broad River pretty tightly for about 2/3 of the distance between the two cities.

For those who don't know me that well, I am a scenery hunter when it comes to my RR photography.  For some reason, I am particularly attracted to rail lines that follow along a body of water, and/or nestled at the base of mountains.  So, a couple of questions to determine if I need to explore this line more or not:

1.  So that I don't sound like an ass when I further reference this line, what is the name of it, and what division does it belong under?

2.  Is the line CTC or manually dispatched?

3.  What's the traffic base like?

4.  Has anyone else ever tried photographing along this line?  Has anyone ever canoed the F.B. River north/west of Asheville?  Are the tracks in plain sight of the river, or are they blocked by a constant line of trees (similar to the Buffalo Line, if you've ever tried to canoe the Susquehanna before)?


Curiousity has got the best of me :?  :?  :?

[NS6789]

THIS IS CALLED THE S LINE. ITS STARTS AT NEWLINE IN MORRISTOWN. IT BELONGS TO THE CENTRAL DIVISION AND AS FAR AS I KNOW ITS CTC. I COULD BE WRONG. TRAFFIC IS NORMALLY 10-14 (?) TRAINS A DAY. MOSTLY FREIGHT. COAL TRAINS TAKE THE S LINE AT BULLSGAP. THE TWO MEET UP THIS SIDE OF NEWPORT.

[stillbre]

Mark,
As mentioned, that is the S-Line.  It runs from Salisbury NC to somewhere near Morristown TN where it connects with the Knoxville-Bristol line.  East of Asheville belongs to the Piedmont Division, west of Asheville to the Central Division.  Not sure about west of Asheville, but east it is dispatched via track warrants with ABS signaling.  I know west of Asheville they use track warrants but I've never seen a signal so don't know what they use.
Traffic is a littel of the slow side.  Through freights are 134/135 and 165/166 operating between Linwood and Chattanooga.  Coal is pretty abundant.  Loads destined for CP&L Skyland, Duke Power Allen (belmont NC), Duke Power Buck (Spencer NC) and every once in a while for Duke Power Marshall (Mooresville NC) and their corresponding empties.  Allen recieves trains about every other day and Buck every 2-3 days.  Not sure how often Skyland gets one.  Occasional grain trains to Barber NC run but this is maybe once every couple weeks if that often.
As far as photography, it is a very scenic line.  I'd love to do some railfanning on it but haven't yet.  I'd say if you could find a train running in the daylight, you could get some really nice pictures.  From the looks of it in the Atlas, most of the line should be pretty accesible off US70.
Good luck.

[Michael Knight]

This route is called the River Line or sometimes referred to as the "S" line due to the milepost prefix. It connects with the  "A" line to Knoxville & Bristol at  New Line, Mp 91.4A / S228.0. It connects with the "A" line again via the 17 mile "BL" line at Douglas, MP S216.5 which serves as a connection for coal traffic out of Bulls Gap. The line is all TC, controlled by the East End Dispacther in Knoxville. East of Murphy Jct., Mp S142.3 the line becomes part of the Piedmont Div. The route hosts four daily freight trains, plus coal, grain, and ballast trains. Recently, Knoxville to Macon 139 and counterpart 140 have been running via Asheville in order to avoid Atlanta. However, I've seen them on there normal route via the "I" line at Cleveland lately. It is common for trains to stop and pickup or setout at Leadvale, Mp S213.5. Local industries on the western end of the line are served by the Morristown swicther. The line is very, very scenic and in the fall the colors are beautiful.