Bedroom-sized – Appalachian Railroad Modeling (2024)

• 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 →

• Size: 12′ x 12′
• Scale: HO
• Minimum Radius: 28″
• Minimum Aisle Width: 21″ (mostly >36″)
• Designed by Dan Bourque

(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 →

• Size: 14′ x 17′
• Scale: N
• Minimum Radius: 15″ (18″ on mainline)
• Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
• Designed by Dan Bourque

This is the first significant “Tennessee Central” content of any kind on Appalachian Railroad Modeling, but I doubt it will be the last. The aptly named Tennessee Central (TC for short) reached from southwestern Kentucky through Nashville to east Tennessee, and coal was one of the major commodities generated on the line. In the diesel era, the TC hauled short trains including lots of coal over lots of wooden trestles with a range of Alco locomotives in an attractive maroon and cream (later black and white) paint scheme–what’s not to love? This layout captures the heart of the … Read more →

• Size: 12′ x 16′
• Scale: HO
• Minimum Radius: 27″
• Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
• Designed by Dan Bourque

The Western Maryland’s Chaffee Branch was an insane piece of railroad with grades so steep it took the second largest shay locomotive ever built to operate the branch. The WM’s shay No 6 is both the biggest on the WM and the last built by Lima in 1945. Operationally it only lasted for 5 years as the steepest parts of the Chaffee Branch for which it was built ceased operation in 1950 when the mine at Vindex, MD closed. Thankfully, this … Read more →

• Size: 14′ x 17′
• Scale: HO
• Minimum Radius: 24″
• Minimum Aisle Width: 30″
• Designed by Dan Bourque

Few 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 … Read more →

• Size: 12′ x 12′
• Scale: N
• Minimum Radius: 15″
• Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
• Designed by Dan Bourque

The Cumberland Mine Railroad, built by U.S. Steel, is a coal hauler unlike any other. Built in 1975 to Class 1 standards, the 17-mile railroad is a hallmark of late 20th century engineering from start to finish, complete with a large, modern flood loader at one end and a similarly modern rapid-discharge dumper at the other. What makes the Cumberland Mine Railroad unique is that despite being surrounded on all four sides by lines of the former Monongahela Railway, The Cumberland Mine Railroad was completely isolated, miles from touching any other railroad. This makes it a great subject for those who … Read more →

• Size: 13′ x 16′
• Scale: HO
• Minimum Radius: 24″
• Minimum Aisle Width: 27″
• Designed by Dan Bourque

Despite the long name, the Chesapeake & Ohio’s Piney River and Paint Creek Sub was a very short affair, less than 7 miles in length. Unlike most coal branches, this line also served a small city (Beckley, WV) and several industries on its way to the coal loaders at the far end of the line. The short running distance, ample side tracks and mix of industries makes it a perfect prototype for a large bedroom-sized layout.

The Layout

This plan is designed … Read more →

• Size: 14′ x 14′
• Scale:O
• Minimum Radius: 48″
• Minimum Aisle Width: N/A
• Designed by Dan Bourque

Layland, West Virginia lay at the end of the Chesapeake & Ohio’s 6-mile long Laurel Creek Sub that originated at the small yard at Quinnimont, WV on the New River. Like most of the early lines built from the New River, grades were steep (up to 4%), and switchbacks were used to access some of the tipples crammed into the tight hollows.

The Layout

This track plan represents the very end of the Laurel Creek Sub and the medium-sized tipple at Layland, and the track arrangements would work from … Read more →

• Size: 11′ x 14′
• Scale:HO
• Minimum Radius: 24″
• Minimum Aisle Width: 24″
• Designed by Dan Bourque

The challenge: design a prototype-based HO scale layout with mainline operations, branch line operations, helper operations, a yard, an engine facility, four loaders and a power plant. . . and fit it into an 11′ x 12′ bedroom with a closet. Sound impossible? Not if you want to model the Western Maryland’s Stony Fork Branch! The Stony Fork Branch was a twisting, 17-mile branch that connected the Mount Storm Power Plant with the WM mainline at Bayard, West Virginia in 1963. In … Read more →

• 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 Railroadon 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 →