Category Archives: NYC Track Plans

Track plans for the New York Central

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 coal … Read more →

KCNW Kelly’s Creek & Northwestern, WV track plan N

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Kelley's Creek and Northwestern, WV N scale track plan
  • Size: 11′ x 12′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 15″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

The Kelly’s Creek & Northwestern was a coal-hauling short line that ran several miles into the mountains from the Kanawha River and a connection with the New York Central at Cedar Grove, West Virginia. Like the nearby Winifrede Railroad on the C&O side of the river, the KC&NW served primarily to shuttle cars from the coal tipples to a barge loader on the Kanawha River.

The Layout

This track plan represents the KC&NW circa 1970 when a trio of small but more modern loaders was supplying the coal. The single-deck layout is compressed but still features the key scenes of the railroad … Read more →

NYC Boardman Creek Branch, PA track plan HO

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NYC Boardman Creek Branch, PA track plan HO
  • Size: 11′ x 15′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 24″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

NYC LogoIts line into West Virginia notwithstanding, the heart of coal country for the New York Central was Clearfield, PA. From Clearfield, lines radiated in several directions, including a winding route south along Clearfield Creek. A handful of branches left Clearfield Creek for the hollers, including the Boardman Creek Branch which followed Potts Run serving a handful of loaders. In its heyday in the 1940s, the line stretched five miles from Potts Run Jct to Carnwath, PA. The line was abandoned by the NYC … Read more →

C&O NYC Leivasy, WV track plan HO

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C&O NYC Leivasy, WV track plan HO
  • Size: 11′ x 12′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 24″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

C&O LogoLeivasy, West Virginia lay at the end of the Kanawha & Eastern Sub, part of the paper railroad Nicholas, Fayette & Greenbriar, a cooperative effort between the Chesapeake & Ohio and New York Central (see NF&G track plan for more details). The extension to Leivasy was a latecomer to the railroad, only completed in the late 1960s. In a small space, the railroad branched from a wye to serve three good sized tipples and a small lumber mill.

The Layout

This track … Read more →

C&O NYC Nicholas Fayette & Greenbriar Railroad, WV track plan N

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C&O NYC NF&G N scale track plan
  • Size: 22′ x 30′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 20″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

NF&G Map Rainelle, WVNYC LogoThe Nicholas, Fayette & Greenbriar railroad, more commonly known as the NF&G, was a paper railroad set up by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1929 to resolve the battle between the C&O and NYC on which road would serve the rich coal deposits being developed along the Gauley and Meadow Rivers. The heart of the NF&G … Read more →

NYC Kanawha & West Virginia, WV track plan HO

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NYC K&WV HO scale track plan
  • Size: 12′ x 18′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

NYC LogoThe Kanawha & West Virginia was built beginning in 1903 to connect Charleston, WV with the rich timber and coal resources of the Blue Creek Valley. The K&WV was 34 miles long, and after a brief spell hauling oil after a boom in the early 1900s, the K&WV settled down to hauling coal for its parent, the New York Central. Though the mainline from West Charleston to Blue Creek was cut in 1967, the Penn Central and Conrail still operated this branch until … Read more →

NYC VGN Deepwater, WV track plan N

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Track plan NYC VGN Deepwater, WV N scale
  • Size: 12.5′ x 18′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 16″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

NYC Logo PlainDeepwater, WV is a tiny town in the middle of West Virginia, but it was home to three major railroads: the C&O, NYC and Virginian. The C&O’s mainline through the coal fields between Charleston, WV and Hinton ran along the south bank of the Kanawha River through Deepwater, and the New York Central hugged the north bank of the Kanawha on its way from Charleston to Gauley Bridge, WV and the Nicholas, Fayette & Greenbrier (NF&G) coal field … Read more →

PRR NYC Cherry Tree & Dixonville, PA track plan N

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Track plan PRR NYC Cherry Tree & Dixonville, PA N scale - Upper
  • Size: 14′ x 16′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 15″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque thanks to help from Henry Statkowski

PRR Logo (plain)Sometimes in the coalfields, even the fiercest of competitors join forces for a common benefit. The Cherry Tree & Dixonville was formed in 1903 as a paper company owned jointly by the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad. The CT&D was essentially 34 miles of coal branches which extended from the PRR’s Susquehanna Extension Branch and the NYCs Pittsburg & Eastern line from Clearfield, PA, the heart of NYC coal operations in Pennsylvania. The NYC operated mine runs on the CT&D out of … Read more →