ABCs of Mine Run Operations
by Dan Bourque
In order to effectively model coal operations on your layout, you first have to understand how a mine run works on the prototype. In this article, I’ve drawn up a make-believe yard and branch line that our mine run (known as a “shifter” on some railroads like the N&W and Clinchfield) has to work. Like tipples, no two mine runs are exactly alike, and each has its own set of operating challenges. Our mine run will take us through several of these challenges and how a crew might handle them.
Our mine run starts in the yard with 2 … Read more
The Martins Fork Branch, despite its name, was actually a mainline on the L&N’s Cumberland Valley Division. The line extends from Loyall, KY to Smiley, VA where it goes through the Hagans switchback to meet up with the old CV main. As a mainline, it handled most of the coal traffic from Loyall bound for the Southern, Clinchfield, and N&W. In addition to being a mainline, it was also home to several loaders and other, smaller coal branches, including the Crummies Creek Branch with its Lick Branch Spur which … 
Elmore was the center of Virginian Railway operations in the coal fields. Mullens, just north (railroad west) of Elmore, was home to a major engine facility and the western terminus of electrification on the Virginian. Traffic through Elmore was predominantly coal, but there was meager non-coal traffic in the form of traffic to and from the NYC and C&O at Deepwater, WV. Because of the tipples included, this trackplan best fits the timeframe between 1940 and 1970. Prior to 1962, the mainline was electrified and the Virginian … 
The St. Charles Branch was a tree-shaped branch of the Southern northwest of Appalachia, VA. The Southern owned the branch, but the L&N (and the CSX today) had trackage rights over the entire branch. It appears that a Southern mine run was operated out of St. Charles (two mine runs in the 70s) and served all of the mines up the branch lines. The coal would then be moved south through Pocket and over to the yard at Appalachia (later Andover), VA. … 
The N&W’s Pocahontas Division was full of small branch lines serving numerous coal tipples. The Pond Creek Branch was one of the smaller of these branches and makes a great subject for a bedroom-sized layout.
If you’re modeling the L&N’s Cumberland Valley Division, this book is a definite “must have.” For the rest of you, this book provides a great portrait of Appalachian railroading through the decades as seen from a next-door neighbor’s perspective. Ron Flanary goes town-by-town along the CV with hundreds of unique photos of some hard-to-reach places. The text is …