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 with … Read more

Book review – N&W Clinch Valley Line

By Ed Wolfe
HEW Enterprises 2013
ISBN 978-0-9720692-4-3

45star

Review by Dan Bourque

Book - N&W Clinch Valley LineThose of you familiar with Ed Wolfe’s previous books won’t be surprised by this book’s high rating. Ed, with help from many including his co-authors Charles Wilson, Jr. and Paul Mandelkern, delivers again with this history of the Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley line. The N&W’s Clinch Valley line extended from the N&W’s main at Bluefield, WV to it’s interchange with the Louisville & … Read more

B&LE and PRR Western Allegheny, PA track plan HO

Track plan B&LE PRR Western Allegheny, PA HO scale
  • Size: 12′ x 18′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 24″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

B&LE Logo PlainThe Western Allegheny Railroad was incorporated in 1902 to serve the coal fields of Butler and Allegheny Counties in western Pennsylvania. The WA was originally operated by the B&LE until 1908 when the WA gained its independence. It was purchased by the Pennsy in 1926 as part of a plan for a new mainline to bypass Pittsburgh, but these plans fell victim to the Great Depression. Because it had no direct connection with the Pennsy, it was operated as an independent branch and interchanged its … 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

RJC – Turning the Bigler Shuttle

RJC EMDs at Stifflertown, PA

RJ Corman Operations at Stifflertown, PA
by Henry Statkowski Photos and figures by the author

RJC Logo (plain)R.J. Corman’s Pennsylvania Line operates a coal train between Rosebud Mining’s Stifflertown, Pennsylvania mine in southwestern Clearfield County and their Bigler coal preparation plant in northeastern Clearfield County. It’s a 60-mile run using SD40-2 variants (SD40-2s & SD40T-2s) and 100-ton coal gondolas, formerly handled by a multitude of coal trucks (locally referred to as “coal buckets”) over public highways. The over-the-road transport was labor intensive – rail transport over already-existing rail lines was a logical step. Loading the train at Stifflertown is performed by front-end loaders at a coal dock, with the … Read more

INT Roaring Fork Branch, VA track plan HO

Track plan INT Roaring Fork Branch HO scale
  • Size: 11′ x 12′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 24″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 32″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Interstate Logo PlainThe 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

SOU Murphy Branch, NC track plan HO

Track plan SOU Murphy Branch, NC HO scale
  • Size: 13′ x 14′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 24″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Southern Logo (plain)While not a coal branch, the Southern’s Murphy Branch in western North Carolina was certainly set in the Appalachians. The branch, which struck out westward from the Southern’s large yard at Asheville, NC, was loaded with great Appalachian industries such as pulpwood loading, paper mills, coal dealers, fuel oil dealers, furniture plants, etc. and even an interchange with the L&N’s own Murphy Branch at the line’s terminus in Murphy, NC. The use of old F-units and first-generation geeps into the early ’70s added to the branch’s … Read more

CRR CSX Kingsport Sub track plan HO

Track plan CSX Kingsport Sub HO scale
  • Size: 47′ x 51′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 30″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR Logo PlainThe north end of the Clinchfield Railroad is an amazing piece of railroad, full of tunnels and spectacular bridges. Besides the scenery, the Clinchfield’s mainline and branches were loaded with coal tipples, and the connection with the C&O at Elkhorn City, KY meant a lot of overhead non-coal traffic. When the CSX was formed in 1986, trains roamed freely past Elkhorn City, and the former C&O yard at Shelby, KY became the new stopping point, but other than that, … 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

K&T Steam Era track plan O

Track plan K&T steam era O scale
  • Size: 20′ x 22′
  • Scale: O
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 48″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 36″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

K&T Logo PlainThe K&T was a compact little road that ran short trains to a handful of loaders. As such it makes a great subject for a layout of modest proportions or a layout of a larger scale.

The Layout

This layout, my first attempt at an O scale layout, captures the key elements of the K&T in the 1950s when coal trains were still going as far as Oz to serve the handful of remaining coal loaders using Southern hoppers and a small fleet of aging steam engines. The idea … Read more