INT Roaring Fork Branch, VA track plan HO
- Size: 11′ x 12′
- Scale: HO
- Minimum Mainline Radius: 24″
- Minimum Aisle Width: 32″
- Designed by Dan Bourque
The Roaring Fork Branch was one of the primary coal branches on the Interstate Railroad. The Roaring Fork Branch left the Interstate’s mainline at Kent Jct, between the towns on Appalachia and Norton, VA. The Branch split at Dunbar, VA, and the ends of both branches hosted a slew of mining operations. During the Interstate era, this area was served by the Interstate’s Roaring Fork Mine Run; during the Southern era, these branches were … Read more
The Kentucky & Tennessee in the diesel era was a simple operation. A handful of used Alco S2 switchers moved coal hoppers between the connection with the Southern at Stearns, KY to the lone tipple at Justus, about 3 miles from Stearns. Justus loaded about 30 Southern 100T hoppers per day via a small flood loader directly over the main. The hoppers were picked up and dropped off in the ample interchange yard in Stearns where the K&T interchanged with the Southern’s busy CNO&TP mainline. Despite … 
Loyall, Kentucky was the heart of the L&N’s Cumberland Valley (CV) Division. The CV was a spider of coal branches, many of which were worked by mine runs out of Loyall. The vast majority of these mine runs went South and East (also railroad South) from Loyall, but one, the Loyall-Varilla Mine Run, served a handful of loaders and short branches west (railroad North) of Loyall along the mainline between Loyall and the large yard and division terminus at Corbin, KY.
The C&O’s New River District ran along its namesake river through many small hamlets with coal branches twisting off it in all directions from small coal marshalling yards along the double-track mainline. The small towns of Prince and Quinnimont are representive of this district. Prince was home to a passenger station and the junction with the Piney Creek Sub with tangled with the Virginian Railway to the west. Quinnimont was home to a small coal yard, engine terminal and wye which led to the short Laurel Creek Sub … 
Deepwater, 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 … 
The C&I’s Nanty Glo Branch (later renamed the Cambria Branch) extended from Regan Jct. near Colver, PA to Revloc, PA (later Beth, PA after an extension in 1963). In addition to serving a handful of coal tipples, the line also offered a second connection with the Pennsy at Nanty Glo, PA in addition to the original connection a few miles west at Rexis, PA. The most interesting feature of the branch was the track arrangement to serve the tipple at Nanty Glo. A spur from the C&I branch to Revloc … 