C&I Colver, PA track plan HO
- Size: 12′ x 18′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Mainline Radius: 30″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 48″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The heart of the Cambria & Indiana Railroad was Colver, PA. Even though it was located on the end of a short branch line, Colver was home to the C&I’s engine house, car shops, a prep plant and tipple, and a small yard where C&I mine runs originated. In addition to serving the C&I’s own massive fleet of coal hoppers, the C&I shops regularly performed maintenance and repairs for other railroads as well, so this adds even more variety to the area. The compact arrangements of these elements make this … Read more
The Norfolk & Western had coal branches all across southern West Virginia. The North Fork Branch stemmed from the busy Bluefield-Williamson mainline of the Pocahontas Division. Like most branches, the North Fork was filled with loaders and a variety of track arrangements to serve them. This is what makes branch line modeling so great for those who love switching. This line was active into the NS era, though I am not sure which loaders remained active.
The Paw Paw Branch, a 13 mile coal branch, was situated near the West Virginia/Pennsylvania border. It was jointly operated by the B&O and Monongahela railroads and their successors. The branch left the Monongahela river at Rivesville, WV where the B&O’s Paw Paw Branch joined with the end of the Monongahela’s trackage along the river at Catawba Jct. The B&O entered the area via its large yard at Fairmont, WV, just a few miles south of Rivesville. The Monongahela’s trackage extended along the river to the main … 
Few branches in the Appalachians saw more coal than the Clinchfield’s Fremont Branch. Like every other coal branch, it was lined with loaders of various sizes, but at the end of the branch lay the massive Moss No. 1 prep plant. There are many characteristics that made the Fremont Branch interesting. First, the profile of the branch climbed a ridgeline from the CRR main, punched through Bear Penn Gap Tunnel, and then descended most of the way to the end of the line at Moss. Second, Moss was … 
It’s difficult to get a lot of operation into a small bedroom. The most common solution is to build a switching layout to get enough operation since a small slice of mainline or branchline is often too compressed for much operation. The Interstate Railroad’s Dorchester Branch, however, packs a lot of operation into a short branch with some interesting switching challenges making it a great prototype for a bedroom layout.
If you like unit trains, big loaders and lots of different railroads, this is a great plan for you! The Waynesburg & Southern was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (a 1/3 shareholder in the Monongahela) and opened in 1968 to serve three large coal loaders being built around Blacksville, WV. From its inception, it was operated as a branch of the Monongahela. The Monongahela had its own branch to Blacksville, but it was too old, too steep and too full of curves to operate unit trains, so it was … 
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 … 
The C&O’s Rend Branch was part of the maze of C&O branches that wound out from Thurmond, WV. The 4-mile long branch extended off the Loup Creek Branch and was home to a handful of coal tipples.
The White Oak Branch originally started as the White Oak Railway which served the mines at Lochgelly and Summerlee. The White Oak interchanged with the C&O at Carlisle, WV, and the Virginian at Oak Hill Jct., WV. The White Oak was sold to both the Virginian and C&O in 1917. Even though it was sold to both railroads, in reality the C&O would interchange cars at Carlisle, and the Virginian (later the N&W) would move them to the mines.