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This might be my favorite track plan I’ve ever designed! Not because it’s huge (it is), and not because it’s the most accurate (it’s not). It’s because I think it really captures the feeling of Appalachian coal hauling railroads in southwestern Virginia in the late steam era, and I think this design (one of my first “mushroom” designs) with lots of narrow scenes near eye level would really transport viewers and operators to another place … Read more →
One of the Clinchfield’s signature locations was its descent of the Blue Ridge between Altapass and Sevier, North Carolina, a section of the railroad known as “the loops.” Where neighbors took a more aggressive approach that led to operational headaches like the Southern’s 4+ percent grade at Saluda, the Clinchfield managed to wrap itself around the hills in a series of loops that kept the descent/climb at a very manageable 1.2 percent (compensated for curvature). This easy profile … Read more →
The 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 →
St 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 →
Elkhorn 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 →
The north end of the Clinchfield Railroad is an amazing piece of railroad, full of tunnels and spectacular bridges. Besides the scenery, the Clinchfield’s mainline and branches were loaded with coal tipples, and the connection with the C&O at Elkhorn City, KY meant a lot of overhead non-coal traffic. When the CSX was formed in 1986, trains roamed freely past Elkhorn City, and the former C&O yard at Shelby, KY became the new stopping point, but other than … Read more →
Few branches in the Appalachians saw more coal than the Clinchfield’s Fremont Branch. Like every other coal branch, it was lined with loaders of various sizes, but at the end of the branch lay the massive Moss No. 1 prep plant. There are many characteristics that made the Fremont Branch interesting. First, the profile of the branch climbed a ridgeline from the CRR main, punched through Bear Penn Gap Tunnel, and then descended most of the way to the end of the line at Moss. Second, Moss was … Read more →
Clinchcross, near Marion, NC, was a major interchange point between the Southern and Clinchfield. Besides playing host to several coal trains per day (particularly on the Clinchfield), Marion was a busy switching area for both roads. The Clinchfield stationed a switcher at Marion for years (don’t know about the Southern) to work the four-track interchange yard and industries which included a concrete block plant, a scrap dealer and a piggyback track among others. On the Southern side, the main industries were furniture plants which would see … Read more →
This 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 … Read more →
The Clinchfield’s coal loaders were mostly located north of Dante, VA, and that’s the focus here. Three primary branches, the Freemont Branch, the Nora Spur and the Haysi, were all served by mine shifters (mine runs) and dumped hundreds of coal loads onto the mainline every day. The Haysi Railroad, operated as a Clinchfield branch line, is renowned among coal field fans for the radio controlled B-unit that worked its tracks. Dozens of loaders on the mainline and … Read more →
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This might be my favorite track plan I’ve ever designed! Not because it’s huge (it is), and not because it’s the most accurate (it’s not). It’s because I think it really captures the feeling of Appalachian coal hauling railroads in southwestern Virginia in the late steam era, and I think this design (one of my first “mushroom” designs) with lots of narrow scenes near eye level would really transport viewers and operators to another place … Read more 
Clinchcross, near Marion, NC, was a major interchange point between the Southern and Clinchfield. Besides playing host to several coal trains per day (particularly on the Clinchfield), Marion was a busy switching area for both roads. The Clinchfield stationed a switcher at Marion for years (don’t know about the Southern) to work the four-track interchange yard and industries which included a concrete block plant, a scrap dealer and a piggyback track among others. On the Southern side, the main industries were furniture plants which would see … 
