Author Archives: Dan Bourque

Unity Railways, PA track plan HO

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Track Plan Unity Railways HO scale
  • Size: 12′ x 14′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 36″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

B&LE LogoThis plan is perfect for those who want a simple layout and like the railroads around Pittsburgh, PA.  Despite its modest size, there are four railroads represented on this layout along with a yard, an interchange and a large coal loader.  This layout represents a compressed version of the four-mile long Unity Railways Company in its entirety. Dating back to 1915, Unity Railways was constructed to haul coal from the operation at Renton, PA to a connection with the Bessemer & Lake Erie at Unity Jct., PA. Along this short route was a connection … Read more →

SOU St Charles Branch, VA bedroom track plan HO

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Southern St Charles Branch track plan HO scale by Dan Bourque
  • Size: 13′ x 14′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 24″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 33″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Southern LogoThe St Charles branch can be found in extreme southwestern Virginia. A neighbor of the Interstate Railroad, the lines of this branch extended from the Southern’s yard at Appalachia, Virginia, down the Powell River, and then fingered out along several creeks up toward the Kentucky border. Like many other Southern Railway coal lines, it was jointly operated with the L&N who had trackage rights on the St Charles branch from its connection at Pocket, VA. Traffic and tipples ebbed and flowed over the years, but CSX and NS unit trains continue … Read more →

Book Review – Virginian Railway Memories

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By Aubrey Wiley

45star

Review by Dan Bourque

Virginian Railway Memories BookVirginian Railway Memories by Aubrey Wiley is unlike any other railroad book I’ve ever read. It took me a while to put my finger on why it’s so unique, but I finally figured out what it reminded me of–my grandfather’s scrapbooks. My grandfather worked for NASA for 30 years, and he kept amazing scrapbooks with information you couldn’t find anywhere … Read more →

N&W Dumps Creek Branch, VA track plan N

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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 →

Caught all the latest?

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WM Challenger O scale by Lee Turner

Have you seen all the latest on Appalachian Railroad Modeling? First, thanks to Lee Turner for contributing some beautiful photos of his custom-weathered Western Maryland steam in O-scale. See them on the Western Maryland model photos page.

There are also a couple new track plans to check out. The first is an HO-scale bedroom-sized plan for the Clinchfield’s Nora Spur that captures all the loaders and operations on this busy coal branch using two decks without a lengthy helix. This plan is perfect for the modeler with a modest space who enjoys switching that requires a lot of interesting moves.

Oneida, Tennessee … <a href=Read more →

SOU Oneida, Tennessee and Brimstone, TN track plan HO

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Oneida, Tennessee and Brimstone HO scale track plan - lower level
  • Size: 27′ x 30′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 30″ (27″ Brimstone)
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 32″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Southern LogoOne of the Southern Railway’s most famous lines is its Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific (CNO&TP) main through Tennessee and Kentucky where it was known as “the Rathole” for all its tunnels and bridges. Though this busy line ran through the heart of Tennessee coal country, it didn’t serve the coal operators directly. Instead, the CNO&TP interchanged with several short lines that ventured down into the valleys full of tipples to bring the coal up the slopes of the Cumberland Plateau to its mainline. These short lines included … Read more →

Book Review – Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads in Color, Vol 2: Virginia

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By Stephen M. Timko
Morning Sun Books 2014
ISBN 1-58248-419-8

5star

 Review by Dan Bourque

Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads in Color Vol 2 VirginiaStephen Timko’s Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads in Color, Vol 2 follows-up his earlier work on Kentucky with a photo album covering the Virginia coal fields. Like volume 1, Stephen has partnered with photographer Everett Young to produce a stunning pictorial of the life of Appalachian coal hauling railroads in … Read more →

CRR Nora Spur, VA track plan HO

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Track plan CRR Nora Spur HO scale
  • Size: 12′ x 18′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 28″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR LogoThe Nora Spur was one of the Clinchfield’s coal-loading branches in Virginia which left the mainline between Dante, VA and Elkhorn City, KY. The six-mile long branch hosted no fewer than six loaders between the mainline and the Blue Diamond tipple at the end of the line and featured grades in excess of 3%.

The Layout

This layout is designed to capture the feel of the branch and its operations in the early ’80s after the addition of the loader at … Read more →

Book Review – Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads in Color, Vol 1: Kentucky

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By Stephen M. Timko
Morning Sun Books 2012
ISBN 1-58248-373-6

45star

Review by Dan Bourque

Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads in Color vol 1 KentuckyI can’t believe I waited two years to finally buy this book! in Appalachian Coal Mines and Railroads, Vol 1, Stephen Timko has teamed up with photographer Everett Young to cover the coal fields of Kentucky. This book has the feel of a photo album with the pictures telling … Read more →

MTR Westland Branch, PA track plan N

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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 →