Don Bell's Interstate RR

[Bfagan]

Don’s  HO Scale layout is based on the coal hauling Interstate Railroad
located in the southwestern tip of Virginia. It is centered around the
large yard in Norton, VA. Several other railroads connect here including
the L+N and N&W. Staging tracks provide a space for trains to run west
to Corbin, KY (L+N) and east to Roanoke, VA (N&W). Another destination
out of Norton is the Clinchfield Railroad’s Miller Yard, modeled as a
medium sized yard with engine service facilities. Clinchfield trains run
from here to staging representing Spartanburg, SC and Elkhorn City, KY.
Control is provided by Digitrax Simplex and Duplex throttles as well as
smart phones or TCS UWT-100 throttles through Wi-Fi/JMRI communication.
The single decked layout, started in 2014, is about 90% complete and
uses car cards and waybills for car movements. About 14 trains run in a
typical OPs session including Way Freights, Turns and Unit Coal.

Eastbound:   

Westbound: 

Flyover: 

Slideshow:   

[packers#1]

I’ll have to check the videos out for sure, but that’s an interesting bit of the Interstate to model. There wasn’t much coal there, although there were plenty of mine runs coming and going up the branches. You basically had coal to and from the N&W and L&N and bridge traffic between the Clinchfield and L&N and…not much else really.