By Robin Hartman

Approximately 600,000 visitors tour the area each year, many beginning their sight-seeing adventure in the Kentucky historic rail town of Stearns, catching a ride on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway (BSFSR) in McCreary County pictured above. Photo courtesy of BSFR.

After an inspection found several hundred feet of sunken track in 2019, the Big South Fork Scenic Railway temporarily shut down. This not only disappointed riders but impacted the region’s tourism dollars. Now, with funding and design work from Kentucky’s Division of Abandoned Mine Lands, it’s full steam ahead.

Known as the “Yellowstone of the East,” the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in southeastern Kentucky and northeastern Tennessee is home to more natural bridges and stone arches than anywhere else east of Colorado and Utah. Approximately 600,000 visitors tour the area each year, many beginning their sight-seeing adventure in the Kentucky historic rail town of Stearns, catching a ride on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway (BSFSR).

Originally constructed in 1901 by the Kentucky and Tennessee Railroad, the rail line supported a huge timber and mining operation, the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company. The town of Stearns became the center of this timber and mining operation that covered 200 square miles.

The 16-mile round-trip excursion on the railroad has for years provided visitors with a unique experience focused on the historical significance of the lumber and coal industries to the region. With a population of only 1,190, tourism is an important element of the area’s economic vitality.

But in early 2019, the scenic railway literally found itself on unstable ground when an inspection revealed 400 linear feet of track had sunk about three feet because of a landslide undercutting the track bed. The BSFSR temporarily closed. 

The McCreary County Heritage Foundation applied for and received Abandoned Mine Lands reclamation funding to help repair the railroad. Before repairs began, an exploratory drilling project was conducted to identify critical geological information and rock depth. Ten bore holes were drilled in specific locations, at the same elevation as the railroad tracks. Depth to rock ranged between 20 and 65 feet from the surface.

Due to the steep terrain, tight working area, and difficulty accessing the site, Kentucky’s Division of Abandoned Mine Lands offered to design the project. Bob Jones, the lead designer for the project, faced many challenges.

“We had great concern about getting equipment and materials to the slide,” Jones said. “The only way to the slide was by rail, no roads led directly to it. Surveying efforts to support design and construction required either travel by a rail service vehicle when available or packing equipment in over a rail bridge.”

The same was true for construction. But creativity and determination on the part of the entire team helped to overcome several obstacles.  

“There’s a tunnel between Stearns and the slide that was just large enough [with one inch to spare] to fit a 45-ton drill transported by locomotive,” said Jones. “That was key. The drill was needed to construct the [retaining] wall as designed.”

To repair the slide and prevent future movement, a 400-foot steel piling wall was constructed into bedrock and reinforced with a concrete cap and five concrete deadmen, or anchors, for additional strength and support. Drainage was installed to prevent erosion.

The contractor, Jackson & Jackson Reclamation Services, Inc., purchased high-rail equipment that allowed their trucks to drive on the railroad tracks and deliver construction materials to the slide area.

Concrete was hauled to Barthell from two nearby concrete plants. Once on-site, the delivery trucks pulled onto a large mound constructed of 1,800 tons of rock – ultimately backfill material for the retaining wall– and offloaded to the contractor’s trucks equipped with the high-rails. The concrete was then transported about a mile to the slide area via the railroad tracks.

The reclamation project took a little over 14 months and totaled nearly $1.6 million.

Ray Moncrief, president of Outdoor Venture Corporation and a member of the McCreary County Heritage Foundation, said the project exemplified Team Kentucky.

“I cannot say enough about the AML staff. They are people who do not take no for an answer.  They are can-do professionals that did, in fact, deliver a high-quality, permanent solution to a threatened slide area of the Big South Fork Scenic Railway,” Moncrief said.

“Through this project, AML invested in the people of McCreary County and will allow the railroad to deliver a unique tourism experience to thousands of visitors from all over the country and even the world. We, as the McCreary County Heritage Foundation, are humbled by the partnership that it took to complete this excellent project.”

In October 2022, the Federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) presented Kentucky with the Appalachian States Award for the project. The annual award recognizes exemplary reclamation projects that reclaim coal mine sites that were abandoned prior to the signing of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.