B&O West End Cumberland Div, WV track plan N
- Size: 26′ x 31′
- Scale: N
- Minimum Radius: 21″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The West End of the Baltimore and Ohio’s Cumberland Division was home to some of the most serious mountain railroading in the U.S. The B&O’s crossing of the Appalachians through West Virginia required four long grades of around 2% or more between Keyser, WV to the east and Grafton, WV to the west including 17-Mile Grade, Cranberry Grade, Cheat River Grade and Newburg Grade. To move the heavy traffic and coal through this corridor required a double-track main and helpers gallore. In the steam era, there were multiple helper bases including Hardman, … Read more
Before you say “you’re crazy,” this was just the product which emerged after I asked myself the question “what layout would I build if time and money were no object?” What I settled on was modeling the entire Interstate RR as close to the prototype and with as little compression as possible.