The third most numerous structures on the layout will be
company stores. While there were stores constructed of brick,
for the most part they were of wooden construction and all of
them had a family look to them. For this layout, there will be
four company stores. Three will be based on the buildings on
the Buffalo Creek and Gauley and will be at Dundon, Swandale,
and Widen. These were large, multiple-story buildings with
feed buildings as annexes. The only exception to this will be the
store located near the Joller tipple (Pearson Coal Company).
This will be an expanded Sodaville country store from Sidetrack
Laser. I took a background kit and added a rear annex to the
building to enlarge it.
13
The Lite and Narrow Column - 8
Other structures will include a company-owned dairy, located
in Coal Valley. This will be based on the prototype at
Cressmont, WV on the Buffalo Creek and Gauley. At Adams, on
the Turtle Creek extension, will be a bank, café, and post office,
as well as additional structures in support of the coal tipple. At
Oak Crest, will be an open-air engine shed plus other
structures that are still to be determined.
The motive power for the layout is three rod locomotives, East
Broad Top numbers 11, a 2-6-2, and 12, a 2-8-2, and Nevada
County Narrow gauge 9, also a 2-8-0, that has been changed
to a coal-burner. East Broad Top M-1 gas-electric with a trailer
will provide the passenger service, and two Mann’s Creek
32-ton Shays, 5 and 8, will work the mines because there
aren’t turning facilities at the end of the line. Of course the rod
engines could operate like the C&O did on their coal branches
and back down the branches. They also operated with two
cabooses as well, front and rear. All of the locomotives and the
gas electric are being changed to DCC.
Over the last several years, I have been accumulating rolling
stock for the layout. Most of my hopper fleet is C&BT Car Shops
EBT 35-ton cars. Eventually, there will be 10 of the 30-ton
hoppers in the fleet, consisting of Funaro and Camerlengo kits
and cars cast from masters I made. At least two of the wooden
hoppers that the EBT had from the Hancock and Calumet will
be in the fleet as well. A representation of ET hoppers will be
on the layout as well, for variety.
“Although the primary reason for the rail-
road's existence is coal, there still is the need
for other types of cars.”
13: Close up of the rear of the Company houses at
Adams. These structures were scratchbuilt using board
by board construction. More detail will be added in the
future when these are installed on the layout.
MRH-Nov 2013
