The Railroad

The Virginia Midland Railway is an Appalachian based railroad operating between Pittsburgh (PA) and Charlotte (NC) with secondary lines west to Hazard (KY) and east to Roanoke (VA). The VM serves the five great states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina. From 1892 to 1934 the lines north of Charleston (WV) were a part of the B&O. Financial conditions forced the B&O to divest itself of those lines in 1934 and they then became a part of an expanded Virginia Midland Railway. The VM still maintains a close operating relationship with the B&O however, but to address competition from nearby larger merged systems, the VM formally became a part of the Appalachian Lines in 1968 – a combination of the Virginian & Ohio (Allen McClelland), Allegheny Midland (Tony Koester), and Virginia Midland.

The operating era is 1969. Newly acquired second-generation diesels handle the principle trains while first generation units still serve as pushers, and handle mine-run and local services. The rich coalfields of eastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia generate substantial coal traffic for the VM. Metallurgical coal is carried north to steel operations in the Wheeling (WV) and Pittsburgh areas, while steam coal is transported north to Wheeling and a connection with the B&O to Lorain (OH) where it is loaded onto boats destined for Great Lakes ports. Steam coal, principally use for power generation, is transported south to Charlotte and connections throughout the southeast. Additional coal traffic for export is interchanged with the N&W at Roanoke for handling to the N&W’s dock at Lambert’s Point (VA).

The Virginia Midland’s Pittsburgh-Charlotte mainline also serves as a gateway for merchandise traffic moving between the Midwest and upper Northeast to destinations in the south. Principle interchanges on the north are the B&O, and Appalachian Lines partners Virginian & Ohio and Allegheny Midland. The Virginia Midland’s remaining passenger operation is a once-daily train between the end points of Pittsburgh and Charlotte.

The Layout

The free-lance Virginia Midland Railway occupies a 26x35 foot basement, with staging in a second room. This is the fifth version of the VM built in four locations since 1970. Construction of this layout began in 2018 after the finishing of the basement. The portion of the railroad being modeled is the 65 miles between Welch (WV) and Marion (VA). The mainline run is approximately 475 feet, or about 13 scale miles, in a configuration that takes the railroad around the basement room twice. The VM operates using a 2.5:1 fast clock, thus the time-adjusted distance between Welch and Marion is the equivalent of approximately a 35-mile trip. Trains will typically take from one to three hours (fast clock) to traverse the railroad.

The railroad normally operates in three 8-hour sessions – each session is approximately 3 ½ hours in length. Longer sessions can be accommodated as needed. During each session there are typically two freight trains, and three to four all-coal trains. Pushers are required on loaded coal trains between Cedar Springs (halfway point) to either Marion or Welch. The pusher normally returns deadhead in a returning coal train. The passenger train and a local operate each way during the day and afternoon sessions. Mine runs servicing the seven mines on the layout operate as required through out the session. There are also three mines serviced locally by the Vals Creek yard. Mine runs go out to service the mines, return with loaded coal, which is weighed and classified, and then forwarded on coal trains to the north and south.

There are approximately 50 operating locomotives, over 500 hopper cars, 250 freight cars, and 9 passenger cars in service on the railroad – accumulated over my 55 years as an N-scale modeler. The layout was built to support prototype operation and is operated regularly with a crew of 6-10 using TT&TO operating rules and a car card movement system. Operating positions include a dispatcher, a train order operator, a yard master/operator at Vals Creek, plus four 1-2 person train crews. The control system is CVP products EasyDCC using 8 wireless throttles.