The Background
Its 0445 on 12 August 1991. The place is around the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia.
The myriad of regional railroad operators have been amalgamated into the giant new companies, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Conrail, but fallen flag schemes still ply the tracks as the new companies assert their authority and paint over the old schemes.
The Chesapeake Bay & Western (CB&W), a one time important small coal hauling railroad servicing the mines of West Virginia and the export ports around the Tidewater has fallen into the giant CSX corporation through its family, the Chessie System and now CSX.
The Shenandoah Sub runs from Roanoke Va in the south through the Shenandoah Valley to Hagerstown, Md for distribution north. This important corridor sees large mixed freights, Coal drags, unit trains and locals plying the rails in revenue service.
The Layout
The layout is built in N Scale, Dispatching is controlled through Railroad&Co Traincontroller, Operators use mobile (cell) phones as throttles, using the Z21 App. The Command station is a Digikeijs dr5000 configured to the Roco Z21 protocols.
Power Districts are monitored by DCC Specialties PSX Circuit Breakers, Mainline Switches are controlled by Tortise switch machines operated by DCC Specialties Wabbit/Hare boards. Servos run off Arduino Uno are being installed in yards.
The Run
Roanoke Va, 7 track Staging Yard. Tracks 1-3 originate heavy freights and through Passenger trains to Hagerstown. Track 7 originates local freight (The General Lee) servicing all stations along the Shenandoah Valley to Mount Grove with freight coming to and from the south and mid-west. Track 4, 5 & 6 are unallocated and are used for ‘Specials’.
Mountain Falls, Va. Small town with a Team Track for LCL traffic, Orr Lumber and a coal tipple serviced from Mt Grove.
Mount Olive, Va. Small town with a Team Track for LCL traffic and the Harp Cannery shipping Canned Fruit and receiving raw materials and machinery. The town has a coal tipple on the outskirts serviced from Mt Grove.
Keezletown WVa. Keezletown Mine No1 is the key industry in this coal town in the West Virginia mountains. Unit coal trains are serviced from Mt Grove. Raw coal is brought in and clean coal is dispatched.
Trammel, Va A small Coal tipple township. The town consists of a Coal Tipple siding, a small depot track to service the tipple and small station for crew to travel to work.
Reliance, Va. Medium sized valley town with a number of industries serviced by the railroad including a Team Track for LCL traffic, York Recycling, Tees Building supplies, and Brownbill Machinery. Just to the towns south is a coal tipple serviced from Mt Grove.
Mount Grove Va, A Coal staging area with unit coal trains being assembled and sent east and west to customers and empty coal trains sent to mines throughout the mountains beyond the Valley. The town also has Interchange Tracks, a Team Track and Geoff’s Building Supplies being serviced by the railroad. The General Lee, a local switch job, starts here and terminates in Roanoke.
Columbia Furnace, Va. Interchange tracks with the Norfolk Southern lies 5 miles north of the town. The town is also serviced by a Team Track. Harvey Brewing, Burrows Foods and Grahams Grain an Fodder provide customers to the railroad. Additionally a large intermodal terminal is being built on the edge of town.
Portsmouth,Va. A single hidden Staging track services the NS interchange track between the NS and the CB&W.
French Creek, Va. A larger town with numerous industries serviced by the railroad including Valley Gas Supply, Valley Kaolin, Tichelaar Cement, Saxton Sand and Metal, Weedon Fuel and a Team Track. The French Creek Turn operates a daily local to and from Mt Grove.
Hagerstown, Md. A 6 track Staging Yard. Tracks 1-3 originate through freights and passenger trains west to Roanoke, track 5 originates local freights and passenger trains. Track 4 &6 are unallocated and are used for ‘Specials’
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