Author Archives: Dan Bourque

CRR Diesel-Era Helper Operations on the South End

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CRR 816 Boody, VA

by Dave Beach

CRR Logo PlainThe diesel era helper operations on the South-end up to Altapass were really interesting. I think the pushers at least for coal trains often tied on before Erwin–maybe Johnson City or even Kingsport. I can remember seeing pushers cut into coal trains north of Erwin, but this was before the JC cutoff was built. I don’t know that they ever cut off at Poplar or were put on at Spruce Pine. I suppose that there could have been an occasional boost from the Spruce Pine switcher but doubt that it was a planned operation.

The cutoff at Altapass (or Ridge siding to be more exact) is … Read more →

CRR Steam-Era Helper Operations

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Art - Clinchfield Challenger by Dan Bourque

by Harry Sandlin

CRR Logo PlainThe CRR used pushers and double-headed trains in the post war steam era as train tonnage increased. However, evidence of steam era pushers does not seem nearly as easy to find as in the diesel era. When Steam Ran the Clinchfield by James Goforth has several photos of double-headed trains, including merchandise trains. In Goforth’s book, the most dramatic evidence of pusher service is a photograph on page 100 of a southbound coal train with L-1 Mallet No.706 as pusher. The train had stopped to take on water at Boone, TN early in the afternoon of June 1, 1947. Class E-1 4-6-6-4 No. 656 shoved from the … Read more →

CRR N&W St Paul, VA track plan HO

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Track plan CRR N&W St Paul, VA HO scale
  • Size: 12′ x 18′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 50″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR Logo PlainSt Paul, Virginia, was a unique piece of railroad. The N&W, travelling from East to West, and the Clinchfield, travelling from North to South, intersect and run parallel through the town with wyes at either end. The CRR and N&W interchanged at Boody, and there were a few small industries in town. St Paul offers a lot of variety in operation depending on the time period modeled. Up to the 60s, the N&W and CRR were the only game … Read more →

CRR Operations on the Fremont Branch: the Moss Turn

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CRR 3008 Dante, VA

by Scott Jessee

This article is a first-hand recollection of operations on the Fremont Branch as told by Scott Jessee, a Train Order Operator and Yardmaster at Dante, VA.  To view a track plan for this area, click here. -Dan Bourque

CRR Logo PlainThe 1st Moss Turn would go to work at 0700 hours with 9000hp on the Head end and 6000hp Pushing. It would usually get 10 to 20 Mtys out of Dante for the Lick Dock that was located at Moss #1 and would take more mtys if Moss #1 would need them. The 1st Moss Turn would then pick-up raw … Read more →

A Brief History of Coal Hoppers

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Southern 70T coal hopper

by David Thompson

To understand the history of the modern coal hopper, we have to start out at the dawn of the steel-car era. In the 1890s, the typical coal car was either a hopper-bottom gondola (flat floors over the trucks) or full-blown hopper cars with sloping floors and horizontal drop doors under the center sill. Sawtooth-style hoppers came into somewhat common use in that decade, with the 35-ton Pennsy GG of 1895 combining the sawtooth hoppers and a sloped floor. About this time, Carnegie Steel was taking some tentative steps toward building steel ore cars for the newly-extended PB≤ and, as things turned out, the Schoen Pressed Steel Car Company ended up as the pioneer of the … Read more →

CRR North End Extension track plan HO by Bob Helm

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Track plan CRR North End Extension HO scale - Main
  • Size: 30′ x 43′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Bob Helm

CRR Logo PlainBob Helm designed this beautiful double-deck layout which captures every mainline switch from Dante to Elkhorn City on the Clinchfield Railroad. The Railroad begins at Dante, VA with the north half of Dante yard and the engine facilities and travels all the way to Elkhorn City, KY, the CRR’s interchange point with the C&O. The layout includes 6 passing sidings, two major yards, three major coal branches (including the Haysi RR), and more than 20 coal tipples including the huge Moss #1 prep plant.

Upper Deck

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ABCs of Coal Loads

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Coal load - truck dump

by Dan Bourque

In ABCs of Coal Loaders, we learned about the different types of loaders used to load coal cars.  Now let’s do a study of how the type of loader affects the appearance of the coal load.

When most of us think of coal loads, we think of the gently sloped and slightly humped pile of black stuff rising just barely over the top of the car. If you’re modeling a coal train far, far away from its loading point, this type of load is perfect. However, if you’re modeling the Appalachians, chances are you’re going to have a loader or two on your layout. For those of you in this category, you have to … Read more →

INT Dixiana Branch track plan HO

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Track plan INT Dixiana Branch HO scale
  • Size: 10′ x 12′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 24″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 24″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Interstate Logo PlainThe Interstate’s Dixiana Branch sprouted from their Glamorgan Branch north of Norton, VA and served a handful of loaders including the large Dixiana No 1 tipple.

The Layout

This bedroom-sized layout represents the Interstate’s Dixiana and Glamorgan Branches as they appeared in the 60s and 70s during the transition from the Interstate to the Southern Railway. It begins at Holton, a few miles north of Norton and the site of the wye where the Dixiana … Read more →

ABCs of Coal Loaders

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Tipple diagram

by Dan Bourque

Tipple diagramIn ABCs of Coal, we learned a little about how coal is formed, now we’re going to look at coal where it meets the rails–at the tipple. I’m not going to go into depth about mining techniques, but here’s the basics. Coal is usually mined in two ways. The first is the traditional mine using a series of shafts and elevators to bring the excavated coal to the surface. The second is the strip mine where the ground on top of the coal is removed to expose the coal. Bulldozers, big buckets, and … Read more →

INT Appalachia, VA track plan HO

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Track plan INT Appalacia, VA HO scale
  • Size: 20′ x 25′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Interstate Logo PlainAppalachia, Virginia and the surrounding area was an important part of the Interstate/Southern/L&N triangle. Before the purchase of the Interstate by the Southern, Appalachia was the main interchange and outlet for Southbound Interstate coal via the Southern. The Interstate maintained its headquarters and shops at Andover, just two miles north of Appalachia. Andover was the primary coal-collection point on the railroad. The north end of Andover is the beginning of the Roda branch which serves … Read more →