Category Archives: Track Plans

Listing of ALL track plans on Appalachian Railroad Modeling. For more tailored results, select a category from the sub-menu of the Track Plans tab above.

Unity Railways, PA track plan HO

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Track Plan Unity Railways HO scale
  • Size: 12′ x 14′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 36″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

B&LE LogoThis plan is perfect for those who want a simple layout and like the railroads around Pittsburgh, PA.  Despite its modest size, there are four railroads represented on this layout along with a yard, an interchange and a large coal loader.  This layout represents a compressed version of the four-mile long Unity Railways Company in its entirety. Dating back to 1915, Unity Railways was constructed to haul coal from the operation at Renton, PA to a connection with the Bessemer & Lake Erie at Unity Jct., PA. Along this short route was a connection … Read more →

SOU St Charles Branch, VA bedroom track plan HO

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Southern St Charles Branch track plan HO scale by Dan Bourque
  • Size: 13′ x 14′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 24″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 33″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Southern LogoThe St Charles branch can be found in extreme southwestern Virginia. A neighbor of the Interstate Railroad, the lines of this branch extended from the Southern’s yard at Appalachia, Virginia, down the Powell River, and then fingered out along several creeks up toward the Kentucky border. Like many other Southern Railway coal lines, it was jointly operated with the L&N who had trackage rights on the St Charles branch from its connection at Pocket, VA. Traffic and tipples ebbed and flowed over the years, but CSX and NS unit trains continue … Read more →

N&W Dumps Creek Branch, VA track plan N

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N&W Dumps Creek Branch track plan in HO lower deck
  • Size: 23′ x 24′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 18″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

N&W Logo blue PlainThe N&W’s Dumps Creek Branch operated more like a self contained short line than a branch. In it’s 16 miles, the signaled branch served several large loaders of the Clinchfield Coal Company, a pair of the company’s large preparation plants and a power plant. It had its own yard at Carbo, VA with a small shop, and it operated big power on several trains daily hauling coal up and over the Sandy Ridge through a tunnel more than a mile long.

The Layout

This layout represents the Dumps Creek Branch in … Read more →

SOU Oneida, Tennessee and Brimstone, TN track plan HO

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Oneida, Tennessee and Brimstone HO scale track plan - lower level
  • Size: 27′ x 30′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 30″ (27″ Brimstone)
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 32″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Southern LogoOne of the Southern Railway’s most famous lines is its Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific (CNO&TP) main through Tennessee and Kentucky where it was known as “the Rathole” for all its tunnels and bridges. Though this busy line ran through the heart of Tennessee coal country, it didn’t serve the coal operators directly. Instead, the CNO&TP interchanged with several short lines that ventured down into the valleys full of tipples to bring the coal up the slopes of the Cumberland Plateau to its mainline. These short lines included … Read more →

CRR Nora Spur, VA track plan HO

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Track plan CRR Nora Spur HO scale
  • Size: 12′ x 18′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Mainline Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 28″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR LogoThe Nora Spur was one of the Clinchfield’s coal-loading branches in Virginia which left the mainline between Dante, VA and Elkhorn City, KY. The six-mile long branch hosted no fewer than six loaders between the mainline and the Blue Diamond tipple at the end of the line and featured grades in excess of 3%.

The Layout

This layout is designed to capture the feel of the branch and its operations in the early ’80s after the addition of the loader … Read more →

MTR Westland Branch, PA track plan N

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Montour Westland Branch N scale track plan by Dan Bourque
  • Size: 10’x12′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 15″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 32″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Montour RR LogoThe Montour’s 4-mile long Westland Branch extended south from the Montour mainline to serve two coal tipples. It was constructed as the “Midland Spur” in 1922, and for most of its 60-year existence, it served the Westland Tipple at the end of the branch and the Morris Tipple near the junction with the mainline. This bedroom-sized N-scale layout represents the branch during the diesel era when it was served by the Montour’s fleet of SW9 switchers.

The Layout

This layout is … Read more →

MTR Library Branch, PA track plan HO

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Track plan Montour Library Branch - HO scale
  • Size: 12′ x 16′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 24″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 24″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

Montour RR LogoThe Montour Railroad’s Library Branch ran between Library Jct. and Snowden, PA. The nearly 6-mile branch connected the Montour with the B&O and a PRR branch and served the large Montour #10 tipple at Library, PA.

The Layout

This track plan represents the Library Branch and a portion of the Montour’s mainline during the ’60s and ’70s. In addition to the Montour #10 tipple, the Montour #4 tipple on the mainline at Hills is represented along … Read more →

L&N KD Sub track plan HO

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Track plan L&N KD Sub HO scale - Lower
  • Size: 32′ x 32′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 27″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

L&N LogoThe L&N’s KD sub connected the coalfields of Kentucky to its connections and power plants in the south. Originally the Knoxville & Atlanta or K&A, the line ran south from Corbin, KY to Knoxville and on to Nashville, TN. In addition to the flow of coal from the L&N’s Eastern Kentucky (EK) and Cumberland Valley (CV) Divisions/Subs, the KD Sub had a modest number of loaders along its main along with several small branches including the Clear Fork Branch (Clairfield … Read more →

CRR N&W St Paul, VA track plan N

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Track plan CRR N&W St Paul, VA N scale
  • Size: 10′ x 12′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 18″
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 22″
  • 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 →

CRR Elkhorn City, KY track plan N

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Track plan CRR C&O Elkhorn City, KY N scale
  • Size: 11′ x 12′
  • Scale: N
  • Minimum Radius: 18″
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

CRR Logo PlainElkhorn City was the Northernmost point on the Clinchfield RR and was an important interchange point between the CRR and C&O. Both merchandise and coal trains were exchanged daily with the majority of the coal moving south from the C&O to the CRR. In addition to a modest engine servicing facility, Elkhorn City was home to several truck-dump coal loaders located alongside the yard tracks.

The Layout

This track plan includes all of the major tracks in the yard and most of the loaders … Read more →