Trip to Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina - 5

Hi, The L'Hoist railroad (previously Franklin Minerals) has been on my do do list for many years so for me it was a primary target of this trip. The railroad runs on a former Southern Ry branch (originally Tennessee Central) from Crab Orchard TN where the company has a quarry and processing plant to an interchange with NS in Rockwood, TN. An excellent article on this operation can be found in the July 2018 issue of Railfan & Railroad Magazine. Note that no photography is permitted anywhere within the plant.

We got to Crab Orchard a few minutes after 8 on Monday morning. This is one of the most likely days for the train to run but there was not activity. Finally, a few minutes after 10 the crew began to assemble their train (above and below) as seen from below the I40 overpass.

Following the train was easy using a GPS. Our next location was Ozone,

then Daysville,

and then east of Westel along US 70.

There is a huge junkyard in Rockwood. In the back of the facility the railroad crossed a trestle (above and below). We attempted to find someone to ask for permission to be on the property but no one seemed to be around so we just set up, took our pictures and left.

These photos were taken at the interchange as the train arrived,

dropped its loads,

coupled up to its empties,

and left town (above and below).

We photographed the train returning to Crab Orchard again east of Westel,

at Daysville,

and at Ozone. Thanks for looking.