NC&StL Pikeville Branch, TN track plan HO

NCSTL Pikeville Branch TN HO scale track plan
  • Size: 12′ x 12′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 24″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 30″ 
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

This track plan was a personal challenge to see whether a double-deck plan for a long branch line could be modeled in HO scale in a tight space of less than 12 x 12 feet. The subject is an area I hadn’t known much about before. I discovered it on an L&N coal mine map from 1966, and thanks to the great site historicaerials.com, I was able to explore topo maps and aerial photos from the late 1950s about a year after the branch transitioned from the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis (NC&StL) Railroad to the Louisville & Nashville. What I … Read more

LN Davidson Spur, KY track plan HO

L&N Davidson Spur HO scale track plan
  • Size: 12′ x 12′
  • Scale: HO
  • Minimum Radius: 28″ 
  • Minimum Aisle Width: 21″ (mostly >36″)
  • Designed by Dan Bourque

L&N Logo(Note: this track plan and description have been updated twice to include additional details provided since the first posting–thanks to coal-field guru Robby Vaughn for clearing things up!)

The Louisville & Nashville had more coal branches than you could shake a stick at, and they came in many sizes. One of the smaller branches was the Davidson Spur which left the Eastern Kentucky (EK) mainline at Lothair, KY. After crossing the North Fork of the Kentucky River, the branch … Read more