Category Archives: Basement-sized

N&W Pocahontas Main, WV track plan O

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N&W Pocahontas Main, WV O scale track plan
  • Size: 13′ x 46 ′
  • Scale: O
  • Minimum Radius: 56″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 36″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

N&W Logo (Tuscan)The N&W’s Pocahontas Division Mainline was the heart of the N&W. The double-track main cut through the mountains of the West Virginia coal fields with branch lines of various sizes plying the hollers and feeding an endless string of coal hoppers to the main. As the N&W’s main east-west artery, the “Pokey” main also hosted numerous non-coal freights and the N&W’s hottest passenger trains. Add in dozens of tunnels and bridges, small mountain towns and some company towns, and you’ve got the makings of a great model railroad in … Read more →

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 →

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 →

B&M Connecticut River Division, VT track plan N

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B&M Connecticut River Div, VT N Scale Track Plan - Lower
  • Size: 14′ x 31′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 15″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Here’s another track plan that’s a bit out-of-scope for the railroads covered on this site, but it’s a fun one for the northern area of the Appalachians. The Boston and Maine’s Connecticut River Division straddled the namesake Connecticut River along the border of Vermont and New Hampshire. The Central Vermont (CV) had trackage rights over this line from Brattleboro to Windsor, VT, and it formed part of the CV’s single north-south mainline. The favor was returned with the B&M having trackage rights on CV track from Windsor to White River Junction, VT where the B&M met up with other B&M lines … Read more →

FJ&G, NY track plan HO

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FJ&G, NY HO Scale Track Plan - Upper
  • Size: 13′ x 31′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 24″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

The Fonda, Johnstown and Gloverville, better known as the FJ&G, wasn’t exactly a “coal hauler,” but it’s a fun little railroad nonetheless. Nestled on the fringes of the Appalachians in New York, the FJ&G served many industries along its line and connected with the New York Central. The primary industry in the area was leather, but in addition to dozens of tanneries, the FJ&G served many customers including manufacturers and coal dealers.

The Layout

This layout represents the FJ&G in the transition era when power was moving from steam to Alco switchers. By this time, the FJ&G consisted of a single line from its connection with … Read more →

SP Tehachapi Sub, CA track plan HO

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SP Tehachapi Sub, CA HO scale track plan - Upper Deck
  • Size: 24′ x 40′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 35″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 36″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

This track plan represents one of the most iconic pieces of railroad in the United States, the Southern Pacific’s Tehachapi Sub, home of the famous Tehachapi Loop. While certainly not an Appalachian track plan, it’s still a good study in prototype track plan design (and any mountain railroad is still pretty cool). This plan captures the key features of the line between Bakersfield and Mojave, CA circa 1990s when both the SP and ATSF (via trackage rights) ran 30-40 trains daily over this route.

The Layout

While 24′ x 40′ may seem like a lot of space for a layout, it was … Read more →

B&O East End Parkersburg Sub, WV track plan HO

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B&O East End Parkersburg Sub HO scale track plan
  • Size: 14′ x 17′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 28″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

B&O LogoThe B&O’s Parkersburg Sub of the Monongah Division, known as “the Branch,” was a critical part of the B&O’s mainline from Maryland to St. Louis. Despite traveling through coal country, this line was more important as a thoroughfare for fast freights and passenger trains. Still, the yard at Clarksburg, WV was a key base for not only industry but mine runs which ran in every direction on branches and lines north, south and east including many smaller tipples along the mainline between Clarksburg and Grafton, WV making this a … Read more →

P&S South End, PA track plan HO

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P&S South End, PA HO scale track plan
  • Size: 10′ x 30′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″ mainline (24″ on some spurs and the B&O)
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Pittsburg & Shawmut LogoThe south end of the Pittsburg & Shawmut Railroad occupied the west bank of the Allegheny River valley for its last 24 miles from Reesedale to Freeport, Pennsylvania. Along the narrow right-of-way were tipples, numerous industries, interchanges with the B&O and PRR, and the P&S headquarters at Kittaning. Unlike the northern section of the railroad which was marked by tunnels and tall trestles, most of the southern end was water-level with little … Read more →

UP, SP, D&RGW North Fork Sub, CO track plan HO

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UP SP DRGW North Fork Sub, CO HO scale track plan - lower deck
  • Size: 27′ x 38′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

This track plan is decidedly “non-Appalachian,” but I’ve decided to include it because it offers an interesting glimpse into coal-hauling operations of western US railroads, in this case the Denver & Rio Grande Western and later the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific. The D&RGW mainline between Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah ran through Grand Junction, Colorado on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The D&RGW built a line south from Grand Junction into the fertile lands of the Gunnison River Valley and extended that line up the North Fork of the Gunnison River to serve the rich bituminous coal … Read more →