INT Track Plans
You may make printouts/copies of these plans for your personal use. If you would like to link to these plans or use them for any other purpose, please contact the site. All plans are HO scale unless stated otherwise. Enjoy!
- Size: 8′ x 10′
- Scale: N
- Minimum Radius: 15″
- Minimum Aisle Width: N/A
- Designed by Dan Bourque
Stonega, VA, located just north of the Interstate Railroad’s headquarters in Andover, VA, was home to a large wooden tipple and four banks of coke ovens throughout the steam era of the Interstate. While its layout was simple, operations were anything but, and multiple mine run and yard crews worked this busy operation each day.
The Layout
This layout is designed to fit along two walls in a bedroom, basement or garage. It’s designed in N-scale and limited … Read more →
- Size: 12′ x 16′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Radius: 26″ (except 24″ on hidden tracks as noted)
- Minimum Aisle Width: 28″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
There are probably close to a dozen track plans on this website dedicated to this area of the Interstate RR in southwestern Virginia. It so happens this is one of my favorite coal branches in the Appalachians, and the Interstate is the railroad I model (in the Southern era). It also happens I’ve recently moved and am looking to start building a layout again, so this particular track plan is one … Read more →
- Size: 20′ x 15′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Mainline Radius: 27″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 26″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The Interstate Railroad built the Dixiana Branch in 1954 on top of an old narrow-gauge right-of-way from Addington (Holton), VA to Dixiana. At the end of the long branch was a five-track tipple that was transplanted from another coal mine far away. Along the branch, smaller loaders popped up at various sidings and spurs making this a busy branch served by two mines per day after the Southern took over operations in 1965.
The Layout
This layout depicts … Read more →
- Size: 20′ x 15′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Mainline Radius: 27″
- Minimum Aisle Width: N/A″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The Interstate Railroad had four primary branch lines that served the coal fields of southwestern Virginia. The shortest of those branches was the Dorchester Branch which split from the L&N and crossed the Interstate mainline at Dorchester Jct., VA. Its profile crossed a valley via a trestle before descending and then ascending a grade to Dorchester, home of a medium-sized tipple and two banks of coke ovens along with a couple small truck-dump docks at the end … Read more →
- Size: 11′ x 12′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Mainline Radius: 24″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 32″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The Roaring Fork Branch was one of the primary coal branches on the Interstate Railroad. The Roaring Fork Branch left the Interstate’s mainline at Kent Jct, between the towns on Appalachia and Norton, VA. The Branch split at Dunbar, VA, and the ends of both branches hosted a slew of mining operations. During the Interstate era, this area was served by the Interstate’s Roaring Fork Mine Run; during the Southern era, these branches … Read more →
- 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, … Read more →
- Size: 11′ x 14′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Radius: 30″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
It’s difficult to get a lot of operation into a small bedroom. The most common solution is to build a switching layout to get enough operation since a small slice of mainline or branchline is often too compressed for much operation. The Interstate Railroad’s Dorchester Branch, however, packs a lot of operation into a short branch with some interesting switching challenges making it a great prototype for a bedroom layout.
From Dorchester Jct., the Dorchester Branch … Read more →
- Size: 9′ x 9′
- Scale: N
- Minimum Radius: 12″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 48″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The Interstate’s Dixiana branch north of Norton, VA was home to several coal loaders and served by two mine runs per day. A small yard at Norton was used by the Interstate’s first and third mine runs and “Hill Crews” bound for the Clinchfield at Miller Yard to sort cars bound for the Southern and L&N (west) from those bound for the Clinchfield (east) and the N&W at Norton. The N&W’s medium-sized yard at Norton … Read more →
- Size: 21′ x 28′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Radius: 30″ (visible)
- Minimum Aisle Width: 36″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The Interstate’s operations in and around Norton, VA and up the the Dixiana Branch were busy and interesting. In addition to the massive amounts of coal being generated on the branch, the mainline also saw a lot of movement of interchange traffic, particularly between the L&N at Dorchester Jct. and the Clinchfield at Miller Yard, the eastern end of the Interstate’s mainline. This layout (which was partially built in my former basement before … Read more →
- Size: 19′ x 33′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Radius: 30″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
This track plan was designed to fit in a previous basement of mine. It models the west end of the N&W’s Clinch Valley District from Boody (St. Paul), VA to Norton, VA. In all, it represents about 20 miles of mainline and 2 miles of branchline. This was a very busy area with heavy minerun and interchange traffic. In all, there are four railroads represented on this layout: N&W, Interstate, Clinchfield, and L&N.
The Layout
This layout includes most of the coal loaders along the line … Read more →
