INT Roda Branch, VA track plan HO
- Size: 12′ x 20′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Radius: 27″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
This layout is designed for the guy who wants to be able to run mine runs without having to reset hoppers all the time. In fact, because of the two empties-in/loads-out tipples and corresponding loads-in/empties-out interchanges, mine runs can shuttle back in forth endlessly, or you can just sit back and let trains run in a circle around the layout.
The area near Appalachia, Virginia was a busy place for the Interstate Railroad. In Appalachia, the … Read more
The L&N had coal branches of many sizes and varieties. The Crummies Creek Branch was one of the shorter coal branches on the Cumberland Valley Division, but it was home to several loaders all packed into a small area. The Crummies Creek Branch split from the Martins Fork main at Popeville, south of the yard at Loyall, Kentucky. It was the southernmost of the coal branches on the Martins Fork, and its profile was strange because it dropped down from the main before climbing again. Shortly after leaving the … 
The B&O’s Cowens and Pickens Subs, later the CSX Cowen Sub and most recently the Appalachian & Ohio Railroad, has always been one of the major coal branches in northeastern WV. In its current iteration (2010), the line is about 120 miles long with 153 miles of track including smaller branches, it serves seven unit train loaders, and it connects with three short lines. While most of the grades on the line are “coal train friendly” (upgrade for empties/downgrade … 
Sometimes in the coalfields, even the fiercest of competitors join forces for a common benefit. The Cherry Tree & Dixonville was formed in 1903 as a paper company owned jointly by the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad. The CT&D was essentially 34 miles of coal branches which extended from the PRR’s Susquehanna Extension Branch and the NYCs Pittsburg & Eastern line from Clearfield, PA, the heart of NYC coal operations in Pennsylvania. The NYC operated mine runs on the CT&D out of … 
The Adena, Cadiz & New Athens Railway was run as a branch of the Wheeling & Lake Erie, and later the Nickel Plate, N&W and NS. The line extended 10 miles from Adena to the large Georgetown Preparation Plant at Cadiz, OH where it met up with the Pennsylvania Railroad and later the PC and Conrail. The NKP and PRR worked the preparation plant jointly. Between Adena and Cadiz were several short branches and tipples, especially in the Georgetown/Hanna area. The Hanna Coal Company’s Georgetown #12 mine had 5 tipples alone … 
The heart of the WM’s coal fields was Elkins, WV. The yard at Elkins was the sending and gathering point for mine runs and locals working the four lines west including the B&O connection to Belington, WV, the branch to Mill Creek, WV, the winding line to Webster Springs, WV and the branch to a connection with the C&O at Durbin, WV. These lines supplied the WM with loads of coal and lumber products. From Elkins, the loads needed … 
This layout is great for those who like both the Baltimore & Ohio and the Western Maryland pre-Chessie and like a slow pace and lots of switching. The Western Maryland’s coal operations in West Virginia were mostly centered around Elkins, but there was an interesting exception a bit further west. The WM served three small coal branches out of the tiny town of Chiefton, WV. The interesting thing is that the WM main runs nowhere near Chiefton. Instead, the … 
Elmore, WV was the heart of the Virginian Railway’s coal operations. Besides being the major coal marshaling yard and and the base for mine runs and helpers, Elmore (along with nearby Mullens) was home to large facilities for big steam working the coal branches and mainline west and the electrics working the helper grade east and mainline to the Virginia coast. It was precisely for these attributes that a friend wanted to model this area.
The Norfolk & Western had coal branches all across southern West Virginia. The North Fork Branch stemmed from the busy Bluefield-Williamson mainline of the Pocahontas Division. Like most branches, the North Fork was filled with loaders and a variety of track arrangements to serve them. This is what makes branch line modeling so great for those who love switching. This line was active into the NS era, though I am not sure which loaders remained active.
The Paw Paw Branch, a 13 mile coal branch, was situated near the West Virginia/Pennsylvania border. It was jointly operated by the B&O and Monongahela railroads and their successors. The branch left the Monongahela river at Rivesville, WV where the B&O’s Paw Paw Branch joined with the end of the Monongahela’s trackage along the river at Catawba Jct. The B&O entered the area via its large yard at Fairmont, WV, just a few miles south of Rivesville. The Monongahela’s trackage extended along the river to the main …