Author Archives: Dan Bourque

BNSF Kootenai River Sub, MT track plan HO

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BNSF Kootenai River Sub, MT HO scale track plan - Lower
  • Size: 18′ x 27′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Visible Mainline Radius: 33″
  • Minimum Radius: 30″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

I’ve been working on several non-Appalachian track plans recently, and I thought I’d share one. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe runs through some beautiful territory, and the BNSF’s Kootenai River Sub on the border of Montana and Idaho has to be one of the most spectacular! Originally part of the Great Northern’s mainline across the northern US, this line picks up just west of what is probably the Great Northern’s most famous line across the continental divide via Marias Pass and Glacier National Park. Still one the nation’s major east-west routes and the route of Amtrak’s … Read more →

C&O E&BV Sub, KY track plan HO

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C&O E&BV Sub HO scale track plan by Dan Bourque
  • Size: 27′ x 30′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

C&O LogoThe C&O was the king of coal hauling in the Appalachians, and some of the largest operations it served were in eastern Kentucky on the Big Sandy Subdivision. One of the coolest parts of the Big Sandy was the area geographically south of Martin, KY including the Long Fork Sub and Elkhorn & Beaver Valley (E&BV) which followed the left and right forks of Beaver Creek, respectively. The Long Fork Sub was densely packed with loaders of all shapes and sizes … Read more →

CRR Loops, NC track plan N

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CRR Loops, NC N-scale track plan - lower
  • Size: 12′ x 19 ′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 18″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR LogoOne of the Clinchfield’s signature locations was its descent of the Blue Ridge between Altapass and Sevier, North Carolina, a section of the railroad known as “the loops.” Where neighbors took a more aggressive approach that led to operational headaches like the Southern’s 4+ percent grade at Saluda, the Clinchfield managed to wrap itself around the hills in a series of loops that kept the descent/climb at a very manageable 1.2 percent (compensated for curvature). This easy profile meant … Read more →

CSX RJC New River and Kanawha, WV track plan HO

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CSX New River, WV HO scale track plan - main
  • Size: 25′ x 47 ′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 36″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: N/A
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

RJC LogoCSX LogoThe CSX runs through the heart of West Virginia coal country along the New River and Kanawha River plying the rails the C&O ran for a century before. Thurmond, WV, once a major yard and mine terminal, is now just a small junction between the CSX and the RJ Corman’s line to a flood loader near Pax, WV, but its classic depot still stands as a reminder of the C&O’s glory days. While most of the loaders … Read more →

Double Pinwheel Helix

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Double Pinwheel Helix 6

Lots of track plans need a helix, especially if you’re trying to build a double-deck layout to capture your favorite mountain railroad. Ever wonder why I draw most of my helices on Appalachian Railroad Modeling track plans as octagons? Here’s why…

I’ve never heard any model railroader talk about how much fun it was to build a helix, but I know plenty who dread this step in their construction. Building a helix is daunting because it’s a whole lot of track and subroadbed crammed into a vertical circle, and it’s usually hidden, so its construction needs to be bulletproof. My layout requires not one helix but two, so I wanted to find a way to make them in the most … Read more →

N&W Pocahontas Main, WV track plan HO

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NW Pocahontas Main HO scale track plan by Dan Bourque
  • Size: 11′ x 21 ′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

N&W Logo (Tuscan)The N&W’s Pocahontas Division encompassed the bulk of its coal field lines in West Virginia. While it was home to lots of coal, the “Pokey” main was also the primary artery of the entire railroad connecting the Midwest with the road’s eastern terminus of Norfolk, VA. As such, the main was a robust affair, double tracked with sidings and concrete coaling towers spanning the main between the large yards of Williamson, WV and Bluefield, VA, and traffic was a mix of coal, other freight, and the hottest passenger … Read more →

Two Key Questions for Track Plan Compression – Derby, VA Case Study

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Derby, VA track plan ideas

One of the toughest parts of prototype modeling is knowing where and what to compress to keep as true to the prototype as possible for a given space. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to compress any scenes, but that’s a fairy tale for all but the most compact of prototypes. We’re stuck with the challenge of trying to find the right balance of scenery elements and operations to model our prototype within our space constraints.

The coal mining town of Derby, VA on the Interstate Railroad offers a good case study of how to compress a prototype operation to fit into a range of spaces with different trade-offs, and it’s covered in good detail in Ed and … Read more →

N&W Abingdon Branch, VA, NC track plan HO

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NW Abingdon Branch HO scale track plan by Dan Bourque
  • Size: 15′ x 24 ′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

N&W Logo (Tuscan)The Norfolk and Western’s Abingdon Branch was a sleepy operation that connected small towns in the mountains of North Carolina with the N&W main at Abingdon, Virginia. The line was known for its steep grades (3%), sharp curves, numerous bridges and mixed trains (freight and passenger). This line was home to the famed “Virginia Creeper” mixed train–today, much of the line is preserved as the Virginia Creeper Trail. The highest point on the N&W was on this branch as well, the top of the grade at Whitetop, VA … Read more →

New Manns Creek Railway Models and More

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C&O Sewell, WV HO scale model scene by Tom Maule

If you haven’t seen them yet, you HAVE to check out the newest model photos! First up is some absolutely stunning work by Tom Maule who models the Manns Creek Railway in HOn3. For those unfamiliar with the Manns Creek, it was a 3′ narrow gauge operation that transported coal from mines at Clifftop, WV down into the New River Gorge where it connected with the C&O at Sewell, WV. Tom’s layout is almost entirely scratchbuilt including the 20-ton hoppers, the tipple and coke ovens at Sewell, and the town of Sewell on the mountainside. Tom also models the month of November, 1952, so his layout reflects barren trees, all of which have been painstakingly modeled. Truly awesome work that … Read more →

NYC Piney Fork Secondary, OH track plan HO

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NYC Piney Fork Secondary HO scale track plan by Dan Bourque
  • Size: 14′ x 17′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 24″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

NYC LogoFew people picture the New York Central when they picture coal-hauling railroads, but the NYC was a major player in the coal fields of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. The NYC’s Piney Fork Secondary ran south from Alliance, OH into the rich coal deposits of eastern Ohio where it intertwined with coal lines of the Pennsy, the Pittsburgh & West Virginia (later N&W), and the Nickel Plate Road (formerly Wheeling & Lake Erie and later N&W). The nerve center for NYC’s … Read more →