C&O NYC Nicholas Fayette & Greenbriar Railroad, WV track plan N

C&O NYC NF&G N scale track plan
  • Size: 22′ x 30′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 20″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

NF&G Map Rainelle, WVNYC LogoThe Nicholas, Fayette & Greenbriar railroad, more commonly known as the NF&G, was a paper railroad set up by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1929 to resolve the battle between the C&O and NYC on which road would serve the rich coal deposits being developed along the Gauley and Meadow Rivers. The heart of the NF&G was … Read more

URR Clairton Branch, PA track plan N

  • Size: 18′ x 19′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 15″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Union Railroad LogoThis plan is good for those who like big industries and modeling a small area in a big space with little compression. The Union Railroad has served US Steel’s Pittsburgh, PA steel mills for more than a century. While the URR’s own coal tipples played out long ago, the Union still hauls a lot of coal from it’s coal-hauling neighbors and serves the largest coke plant in the nation at Clairton. N scale was chosen for this layout to allow the huge industrial … Read more

N&W Dumps Creek Branch, VA track plan N

N&W Dumps Creek Branch track plan in HO lower deck
  • Size: 23′ x 24′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 18″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

N&W Logo blue PlainThe N&W’s Dumps Creek Branch operated more like a self contained short line than a branch. In it’s 16 miles, the signaled branch served several large loaders of the Clinchfield Coal Company, a pair of the company’s large preparation plants and a power plant. It had its own yard at Carbo, VA with a small shop, and it operated big power on several trains daily hauling coal up and over the Sandy Ridge through a tunnel more than a mile long.

The Layout

This layout represents the Dumps Creek Branch in … Read more

MTR Westland Branch, PA track plan N

Montour Westland Branch N scale track plan by Dan Bourque
  • Size: 10’x12′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 15″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 32″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Montour RR LogoThe Montour’s 4-mile long Westland Branch extended south from the Montour mainline to serve two coal tipples. It was constructed as the “Midland Spur” in 1922, and for most of its 60-year existence, it served the Westland Tipple at the end of the branch and the Morris Tipple near the junction with the mainline. This bedroom-sized N-scale layout represents the branch during the diesel era when it was served by the Montour’s fleet of SW9 switchers.

The Layout

This layout is a … Read more

CRR N&W St Paul, VA track plan N

Track plan CRR N&W St Paul, VA N scale
  • Size: 10′ x 12′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 18″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 22″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR Logo PlainSt Paul, Virginia, was a unique piece of railroad. The N&W, travelling from East to West, and the Clinchfield, travelling from North to South, intersect and run parallel through the town with wyes at either end. The CRR and N&W interchanged at Boody, and there were a few small industries in town. St Paul offers a lot of variety in operation depending on the time period modeled. Up to the 60s, the N&W and CRR were the only game in … Read more

CRR Elkhorn City, KY track plan N

Track plan CRR C&O Elkhorn City, KY N scale
  • Size: 11′ x 12′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 18″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR Logo PlainElkhorn City was the Northernmost point on the Clinchfield RR and was an important interchange point between the CRR and C&O. Both merchandise and coal trains were exchanged daily with the majority of the coal moving south from the C&O to the CRR. In addition to a modest engine servicing facility, Elkhorn City was home to several truck-dump coal loaders located alongside the yard tracks.

The Layout

This track plan includes all of the major tracks in the yard and most of the loaders along … Read more

B&LE Shenango, PA track plan N

Track plan B&LE Shenango, PA N scale
  • Size: 15′ x 20′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 20″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

B&LE Logo PlainThe Shenango/Greenville area of the B&LE was unique in that it was a major hub of a railroad and yet not on the mainline. In 1902, the K-O cutoff from Kremis (south of Shenango) to Osgood (north of Greenville) was completed which greatly improved the grades and curvature by keeping the main out of the Shenango River Valley. However, the old line remained important because it hosted three interchanges and was home to the B&LE’s major engine and car shops. Shenango Yard was the site … Read more

K&T Diesel Era track plan N

Track plan K&T diesel era N scale
  • Size: 10′ x 10′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 13.5″ (18″ for Southern)
  • Minimum Aisle Width: N/A
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

K&T Logo PlainThe Kentucky & Tennessee in the diesel era was a simple operation. A handful of used Alco S2 switchers moved coal hoppers between the connection with the Southern at Stearns, KY to the lone tipple at Justus, about 3 miles from Stearns. Justus loaded about 30 Southern 100T hoppers per day via a small flood loader directly over the main. The hoppers were picked up and dropped off in the ample interchange yard in Stearns where the K&T interchanged with the Southern’s busy CNO&TP mainline. Despite … Read more

L&N Loyall-Varilla, KY track plan N

Track plan L&N Loyall-Varilla, KY N scale
  • Size: 12′ x 12′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 15″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

L&N Logo PlainLoyall, Kentucky was the heart of the L&N’s Cumberland Valley (CV) Division. The CV was a spider of coal branches, many of which were worked by mine runs out of Loyall. The vast majority of these mine runs went South and East (also railroad South) from Loyall, but one, the Loyall-Varilla Mine Run, served a handful of loaders and short branches west (railroad North) of Loyall along the mainline between Loyall and the large yard and division terminus at Corbin, KY.

The Layout

This layout captures most of … Read more

NYC VGN Deepwater, WV track plan N

Track plan NYC VGN Deepwater, WV N scale
  • Size: 12.5′ x 18′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 16″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

NYC Logo PlainDeepwater, WV is a tiny town in the middle of West Virginia, but it was home to three major railroads: the C&O, NYC and Virginian. The C&O’s mainline through the coal fields between Charleston, WV and Hinton ran along the south bank of the Kanawha River through Deepwater, and the New York Central hugged the north bank of the Kanawha on its way from Charleston to Gauley Bridge, WV and the Nicholas, Fayette & Greenbrier (NF&G) coal field … Read more