The east end is at an interchange with the Norfolk Southern Railway Appalachia District, where CSX trains can proceed south to the Kingsport Subdivision at Frisco, Tennessee, via trackage rights.
In 1886, the Middlesborough Belt Rail Road (MBRR) was constructed, encircling the town and running up Bennett's Fork to the southwest.
[9] The present CV main from Pineville into Harlan County, Kentucky began life in 1908 as the Wasioto and Black Mountain Railroad.
Service reached Baxter in April of that year, with the first passenger train arriving in the town of Harlan proper on July 17.
The L&N would continue rapid expansion in Harlan County, constructing a branch up the Poor Fork to Benham, Kentucky by September 4.
With the new agreement, plans were made to connect the Cumberland Valley Division with the CC&O mainline at Spears Ferry, Virginia, just west of Gate City.
Plans were made to build the connection from the end of the L&N line in Chevrolet, Kentucky, under Cumberland Mountain, and on towards Spears Ferry.
[12] Further plans for the CC&O Connection were scrapped due to financial uncertainty, and the L&N opted to leave the switchback in place.