Towns and Nature: Corbin, KY: L&N Depot, Railyard, (2015 Closed) Shops and "Urban Tunnel"

Depot: (Satellite)

Railyard: (Satellite, it has a lot of tracks to store coal cars. When I accessed it, there were some cuts of empty hoppers and a cut of covered hoppers in the west yard.)

Car Shop: (Satellite, the roundhouse was east of here)

Locomotive Shop: (Satellite)

Turntable: (Satellite, but this was not the location of the roundhouse)

Yard Tower: (Satellite)

Urban tunnel: (Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

Street View, Nov 2021

Street View

CSX closed the shops in 2015 because they handled primarily coal trains. 180 employees were impacted. [CSX]

"CSX's coal revenue has declined more than $1 billion over the past four years [2011-15]. The company attributed the decline to low natural gas prices and regulatory action." "The Corbin announcement is the second time in a month that CSX said it would close facilities and lay off employees in the Appalachia region as a result of lower coal traffic. Last week, CSX announced it would reduce train operations in Erwin, Tenn., which will impact 300 contract and management employees." [ProgressiveRailroading]

A newspaper reports that 225 jobs are impacted. [TheTimesTribune]

Robby Vaughn posted
CSX Corbin, KY Yards (former L&N) Part 2. Another aerial from Corbin and Kentucky-focused groups making the rounds and again unknown who the originator is so all credit where credit is due. Had to share since the quality is excellent! Looks to be mid-summer perhaps 2022. The West Yard is to the left, Car Shops, Locomotive Shops, Service Center, Turntable down the center, East Yard to the right of that. The former US Steel central wash plant remains and the associated Steel Yard on the far right. The little straight tracks to the top right are the East & Steel Yard leads out the CV Subdivision and the "Highline" access for East Yard trains bound for the KY. From reports, the East Yard is being dismantled as we speak so this scene may never be duplicated.

This must have been part 1.

Robby Vaughn posted
CSX Corbin, KY Yards (former L&N). This is getting passed around some of the Kentucky groups and I have no idea who was behind the camera or drone but all credit to the originator. One of the better aerials of Corbin taken in 2021 or maybe 2022 from the looks of it with the track layout mostly intact. The East Yard is in the process of removal so the same shot today would be vastly different. My grandmother lived on the corner where the red arrow is. In the 1970's, a whistle would have me sprinting off the porch and down two blocks to watch the action. If only I had owned a camera...
Charles Elliott: When I worked there they had a west and east yards the west yard of I'm correct was for all the coal train's and the east yard were everything else the new shop was build;around 1986 I think I worked on the locomotive shop from 1986 until 1990 as a pipe fitter.
Robby Vaughn: Charles Elliott Yep, they did a huge yard rebuild in the 80's. My brother didn't want to go to school so dad got him a job on the track gang in the East if I remember correctly. A few days later he enrolled at the University of Kentucky.
Wesley Bowers: Patio Yard could basically handle all of the local traffic for customer cars. With the fall off of coal, Corbin Terminal has essentially outlived being the fully functional yard that is once was. I’m not downplaying it’s importance but the reality is coal is on the way out. Between Patio and Loyall. Corbin really isn’t needed. It’s evident by how empty it is in this picture. Most of those cars are stored there anyways.
Evan Miller: Wesley Bowers The best description of CSX’s view of Cincy-Atlanta is that they won’t want it, but don’t want to get rid of it either.

Ryan Chugg posted
CSX's Corbin,KY Locomotive facility in 2013.
Chad Anderson: Use to love driving thru this yard in the 90s. You could see almost anything CSX owned or borrowed.

Sam Carlson posted
L&N Corbin Shops in May 1977. Some pretty rare units were there!

I deliberately included the signal in the lower-left corner because in this day and age of PTC (Positive Train Control), searchlight signals have become rare.

Street View, Jul 2022

Three of the many images in csxthsociety.

a, p2

b, p5

c, p9

According to a 1978 topo, the locomotive shops and the current turntable were added after 1978.

1952 Corbin Quad @ 24,000

"Urban tunnel" is my term for a long underpass because of a railyard. The first one I encountered was Austin Blvd. under the BNSF/CB&Q yard in Cicero, IL. Note the traffic signal to indicate turns for using the one traffic lane.