This story originally appeared on Trains.com.

ERWIN, Tenn. — CSX Transportation’s former Clinchfield Railroad mainline has been devastated by the once-in-a-generation flood from Hurricane Helene. While the full extent of the damage is still being assessed, photographs along the historic Clinchfield route reveal extensive destruction, worsened by the area's remote location. High water levels are preventing emergency crews and railroad officials from reaching communities along the right-of-way, and in some instances, road and rail bridges have been damaged or completely destroyed.

With roads impassable and washouts on the railroad hindering inspections and repairs, CSX's Blue Ridge Subdivision and a significant portion of its Clinchfield line are expected to remain out of service for the foreseeable future. It will be several days, at the earliest, before the railroad can provide comprehensive details on the impact and the planned recovery efforts.

A view of the damage looking west from the east end of the Nolichucky River near North Poplar (milepost Z 148.1) in Poplar, N.C. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Levi)

Extensive damage was observed along the right-of-way between milepost Z 138.0 in Erwin and Spruce Pine, North Carolina, at milepost Z 182.0, covering a distance of 44 miles. A bridge approximately 375 feet long that crossed the Nolichucky River at Poplar is missing, with only concrete piers visible above the swollen, muddy waters. The railroad runs alongside the banks of the Nolichucky and North Toe rivers for roughly 40 miles between Erwin and Spruce Pine.