Goforth, James A.

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1917 - 2008

Biography

James A. Goforth was born July 15, 1917 in Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1939 with a B.S. degree.

From 1939-1942 Goforth worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Kentucky. WPA was a federally funded public works program to provide employment to the unemployed during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1942-1943, he was a structural analyst for the Bristol Aircraft Division, Bristol, Virginia. Goforth launched a new career in 1943 with Clinchfield Railway. At Clinchfield, he served as assistant engineer for design and construction (1943-55); maintenance engineer (1955-68), and chief engineer (1968-73). Goforth served as city engineer and consulting engineer for the City of Johnson City, Tennessee. He returned to Clinchfield Railway in 1979 as chief engineer and retired in 1981. In retirement, he remained a consulting engineer until 1987.

Goforth served as chapter historian for the Watauga Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. He has published "Building The Clinchfield - A Construction History" (1983) and has contributed to "An Encyclopedia of East Tennessee" (1981) and "History of Washington County, Tennessee"(1988). He was the editor of Whistle Stop, the newsletter of the Watauga Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Goforth was a member of the following professional and civic organizations: Registered Professional Engineer in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia; charter member of Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers; American Railway Engineering Association; American Railway Bridge and Building Association; Tennessee State Grade Crossing Committee; and Erwin Kiwanis Club.

James A. Goforth died in Erwin, Tennessee on November 29, 2008.

Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:

Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway, Engineering Department Collection

Collection — other: Box 1

Identifier: AppMs-047

Arrangement

The collection is organized into five series: Series 1, Office Records of the Engineering Department, 1908-1967; Series 2, Publications, 1909-1968; Series 3, Correspondence, 1909-1978; Series 4, Speeches, 1962-1964; and Series 5, Minutes of the ICC Hearing on Valuation of the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway, October 28, 1926.

Dates: 1908-1978

Found in: Archives of Appalachia / Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway, Engineering Department Collection

Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway Records

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: AppMs-96

Arrangement This collection was received in three distinct donations: original acquisition, first addendum, and second addendum. The original acquisition is broken down into twelve series: Series 1, Minutes; Series 2, Annual Reports; Series 3, Industrial Agent Correspondence; Series 4, Engineering Files; Series 5 Accident and Personal Injury Files; Series 6, Special Excursion Files; Series 7, Subject Files; Series 8, Holston Land Company; Series 9, Black Mountain Railway; Series 10,...

Dates: 1899 - 1983; Majority of material found within 1909 - 1954

Found in: Archives of Appalachia / Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway Records

James A. Goforth Collection

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: AppMs-80

Scope and Contents

The Goforth Collection includes copy negatives with corresponding prints, engineering drawings, and maps relating to the develoment of railroads in Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. The prints and negatives depict places along the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway. These were taken in the months from August through October 1909. The engineering drawings include specifications for bridges, tunnels, stations, pump houses, dwellings, trestles and loading platforms.

Dates: 1887 - 1956

Found in: Archives of Appalachia / James A. Goforth Collection

Carl B. Knight Papers

Collection — other: Boxes 1-4

Identifier: AppMs-209

Arrangement The collection is divided into two series: Series 1, correspondence and newspaper clippings, 1972-1983; and Series 2, reports and periodicals, 1976-1983. Series 1 contains papers that document the general administrative operation of Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway; the sale of the CC&O Railway Company to CSX; and lawsuits between CC&O and Stanley Hershfang and CC&O and the Holston Land Company. Series 2 contains stockholder reports for the Carolina,...

Dates: 1972-1983

Found in: Archives of Appalachia / Carl B. Knight Papers