My understanding is that management showed up there this morning with a Kentucky State Police escort.

The Corbin Locomotive Service Shop, Diesel Repair Shop, and Car Repair Shop are shutdown as of today. Some employees will be kept on in order to work what few through trains still come through the yard. The 180 employees that got the boot today basically came to work thinking they had a job and got told they no longer didn't.

They're supposedly getting two months pay but in the employment black hole that's central and south Kentucky that's just two months to dwell on how screwed you are. The company is citing a Billion dollar loss in this section of the system because of the massive cuts in coal production out of the southeast portion of the state.

The local Lexington news report is here:
http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines ... 16191.html

Ironically the report heavily features shots of the newly arrived "French Broad River" sleeping car that's supposed to become part of the towns new railroad museum that's meant to focus on how the yards helped the town.

Nobody likes it, but in this day and age it's become extremely commonplace to shut down operations like this with no notice. It's long been common in the bar and restaurant trade, and it's not like a railroad has a lot of merchandise to clear off the shelves in a fire sale like a Radio Shack, KMart, or supermarket does. Just as the transportation logistics business's customers have largely shifted to "just in time" delivery/inventory, so too must the business. Never mind the modern day potential to thoroughly sabotage a business with a USB drive in the wrong computer....

The relevance to this field: Constantly be proactive. If you are coveting that station, branch line, spare parts/rail, or rolling stock for preservation, have a strategic plan prepared in advance, and assume that, unlike the old days when railroads had to drag out abandonment through the ICC and thus buy you plenty of time to act, you will have to spring into action at the drop of a hat. Who knows, maybe after a dozen years of formality "if you ever want to sell...." letters to company HQs, maybe they'll be willing as they retreat to deed over that last branch line to the county on behalf of the historical society, and maybe throw in an old loco and caboose as part of the deal, or leave a yard full of track material behind for you to relay on your line......

Remember what happened with the East Broad Top? They did the same thing. "Drop your tools and go home, boys!"

That's why everything was still there, including hopper cars that were still under construction. No long wind down or decline. They just decided to call it quits.

I was told today that the yard has been sold to G&W.

Hello all, I realize this is already a bit old, but I just came across this and thought that it may be worth sharing. Its a very interesting "diary" entry from the engineer who pulled one of the last, if not the last CSX freight trains out of Erwin. Its well worth the read.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jon-flan ... 6410414616

http://www.mcdowellnews.com/news/the-la ... l?mode=jqm

What a hauntingly beautiful piece of writing. Thank you for posting it.

I believe there are -some- trains that may operate thru there but would not make use of the yard. The mainline if not used would be kept maintained operable, things happen.