Two examples are: a track scale on the mainline without an
engine bypass on the main layout, and company houses right
up against the tipple on both the main layout and the Turtle
Creek extension.
Also in the preliminary planning stages are the three
extensions that
Model Railroader
did for this railroad, the
Turtle Creek, Thin Branch, and the staging yard. The Turtle
Creek will have the most drastic changes, as I am using a
condensed track plan from the Buffalo Creek and Gauley at
Widen, WV as the prototype. Widen is an ideal prototype for a
peninsular layout, since it is located in a narrow valley and was
a company town serving a coal tipple. As plans develop for this
extension, I will share them with you. Presently there are two
dioramas under construction for this extension.
The Thin Branch, another
Model Railroader
project, which I
now refer to as Coal Valley, will be backdated with my version
of the Sam Swanson’s Hall Hollow diorama. For those who are
3
3: Four of the Adams Company houses with the doc-
tor’s office taken from creek side. Notice the location
of the outhouses and where the runoff goes. More
details will be added later to the rear of the houses.
The Lite and Narrow Column - 3
unfamiliar with Sam’s work, this diorama consists of several
small buildings which include a dog mine and a gravel crusher.
A dog mine is a small coal tipple, if you can really call it that,
where large dogs are used to bring the mine cars out of the
mine. Most of these mines were low-output and for local
consumption, but there is a track at the mine for shipments by
gondolas to the outside world. Other structures are still to be
determined for this section.
In keeping with the theme of a backwoods narrow gauge
railroad, the track for the layout will be laid using Code 55
rail, either flex track or hand-laid, and the turnouts will be
assembled using the Fast Tracks jigs for numbers 4, 5, and 6, as
required. The use of lighter rail will greatly enhance the look
and feel of the railroad, making it more appropriate for the
mountain areas that it is supposed to represent. Because of the
4: Street side showing the doctor’s office and two of the
company houses. The street is impregnated with coal
dust dropped from the many trucks running from the tip-
ple with loads for local use. The tracks will be at a slightly
higher level with a retaining wall and a steam pipe run-
ning along the top of it.
4
MRH-Nov 2013
