CRR Kingsport, TN track plan HO

Track plan CRR Kingsport, TN HO scale
  • Size: 7′ x 20′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR Logo PlainThis track plan is a little different for ARM because it doesn’t have a single coal loader. Instead, it focuses on Kingsport, Tennessee, an industrial area along the Clinchfield mainline. Despite the lack of coal loaders, this area still had plenty of hills and tunnels, and the mainline still offered plenty of coal trains moving through. Still, the large industries in Kingsport are what kept the railroad busy. The largest customer in Kingsport was (and still is) Eastman Kodak (now Eastman Chemical). In fact, Eastman basically occupies the entire west … Read more

L&N K&A Coal Fields track plan HO

Track plan L&N K&A Coal Fields HO scale - upper
  • Size: 22′ x 22′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

L&N Logo PlainThis layout represents the L&N’s former Knoxville & Atlanta division south of Corbin. This area is a fantastic blend of coal, mainline traffic and fantastic scenery, and the L&N shared a coal branch with the Southern Railway.

The Layout

Southern Logo (plain)The layout is designed to represent operations in the ’70s, though some of the loaders like Roosevelt were probably inactive or gone by this time. The lower level represents … Read more

C&O Quinnimont, WV track plan HO

Track plan C&O Quinnimont, WV HO scale - Upper
  • Size: 20′ x 22′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 24″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

C&O Logo PlainThis layout is designed to fit into roughly half of a standard two-car garage.  It oozes over the centerline a little, but you may still be able to squeeze your wife’s Volkswagon into her half 😉

The Layout

Let me start by saying I have never been to Quinnimont, and I have never seen track diagrams of Quinnimont.  This plan is based on a few pictures and topo maps of the area.  Quinnimont was an important spot on the C&O’s New River line in West Virginia.  It was where … Read more

INT Dixiana Branch beginner track plan HO

Track plan INT Dixiana, VA beginner HO scale
  • Size: 8′ x 20′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 18″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 40″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Interstate Logo PlainThis beginner’s track plan is designed for one half of a long garage, and it’s designed to use commercial switches and flextrack laid on cookie-cutter sheets of plywood. The subject is the Interstate Railroad’s Dixiana and Glamorgan Branches north of Norton, VA.

Track Plan

I designed this plan with enough of the prototype’s tipples and associated switching to keep a couple of operators occupied for a while.   However, because most beginners (and most non-beginners … Read more

C&O Cabin Creek Sub, WV track plan HO

Track plan C&O Cabin Creek, WV HO scale - Upper
  • Size: 17′ x 22′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″ (28″ on wye)
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 36″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

C&O Logo PlainThis layout is designed to fit into roughly half of a standard two-car garage.  It oozes over the centerline a little, but you may still be able to squeeze your wife’s Volkswagon into her half 😉

The Layout

This layout focuses on the C&O’s Cabin Creek Branch, a coal producing branch in the Kanawha Coal Field.  The branch exended from Cabin Creek Jct. on the C&O mainline just east of Charleston, WV.  There are several great pictures and a description of this branch in the December 2001 Trains Magazine.

Read more

L&N Martins Fork, KY track plan HO

Track plan L&N Martins Fork HO scale
  • Size: 9′ x 19′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

L&N Logo PlainThe 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 … Read more

L&N Lots Creek Branch, KY track plan HO

Track plan L&N Lots Creek Branch, KY HO scale
  • Size: 22′ x 22′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

L&N Logo PlainThe Lots Creek Branch was located on the L&N’s Eastern Kentucky (EK) Division (later the EK sub). It extended northeast from Hazard, KY, and served many loaders in a fairly short run.

The Layout

This layout starts at Hazard, KY and runs north to Hazard yard and the Lots Creek Branch. Hazard itself was a very busy yard on the L&N and was home to several mine runs. Local equipment included mostly 4-axle Alco power (notably RS-3s and C-420s), but a decent amount of 6-axle power ran through on … Read more

CRR N&W St Paul, VA track plan HO

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

INT Appalachia, VA track plan HO

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

INT N&W Norton, VA track plan HO

Track plan INT N&W Norton, VA HO scale
  • Size: 20′ x 22′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 30″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

N&W Logo blue PlainNorton, VA was an important interchange point between three railroads: the L&N, the N&W, and the Interstate (Southern). The large yard was maintained by the N&W, but operated by both the N&W and L&N. Between two and four merchandise trains were exchanged daily between the two, while the rest of the traffic was coal. Until 1973, the L&N interchanged its Clinchfield-bound coal to the Interstate RR at Dorchester Jct (just west of Norton), and the Interstate hauled it to the Clinchfield at Miller Yard. Between 1973 … Read more