N&W's Pocahontas Division in N Scale – Pictures #1
View from the door
This is the view from the layout room door. Williamson Yard is on the right, Williamson downtown is on the far wall. The end of the first peninsula on the left will be boxed in to hide the sharp return curve.
Looking left as you walk in the door
Flat Top Yard is at the end of the top level, leading into the helix and staging. The large bridge at Cooper, which was shown in the MRP 2002 article, will be on the top level between the support post and the camera. From the top down, Cooper, Glen Alum, Lindsey.
Looking down the short aisle
Past the first peninsula is the first, short branch aisle. On the left side, from the top down, Maybeury, War Eagle, and Devon. At the end of the aisle, from the top down, Powhatan, Alnwick, and Cedar. On the right side, from the top down, North Fork, Alnwick Pass, and Vulcan.
Root of the short peninsula
At the end of the short aisle, at the root of the short peninsula on the left, the mainline turns around and heads back around the layout in the other direction. The lower track here is eastbound and upgrade to the left, and will tunnel under the loop. The loop is eastbound and upgrade in the clockwise direction, and will be hidden. The top track through War Eagle is eastbound and upgrade to the right, and will be visible throughout the curve.
Root of the long peninsula
At the end of the short aisle, at the root of the long peninsula on the right, branch lines come out onto the main from the staging yards. On the bottom level, the Cedar Creek Branch comes out into Vulcan. On the middle level, the Four Pole Branch comes out into Alnwick Pass. There is a center siding at Alnwick Pass to allow crews coming in from the Four Pole Branch to run around their trains for the trip to Williamson. The upper level seen in this photo is the Dry Fork Branch through Iaeger, which is on the other side of the peninsula on the middle deck and will not be visible from this side of the peninsula.
First bend of the long peninsula
The long peninsula forms a J in the middle of the room; this is the first bend. Note that while the upper deck and lower deck are built on 1 x 4 benchwork, the middle deck has no benchwork here. The lower 25% of the middle deck sits on the lower level benchwork, the upper 25% of the middle deck sits on the upper level benchwork, and the middle 50% of the middle deck has no benchwork at all. The subroadbed is glued and screwed to an oak 1 x 3 or 1 x 4 to form an L- or T-girder, which is then lag-screwed into the support posts. The lower deck and upper deck are the same depth, while the middle deck is set back. Lighting under the upper deck will light both the lower and middle decks here.
Lateral portion of the long peninsula
The long peninsula parallels Williamson Yard for a bit between the first and second bends. From the top down, Keystone, Mohawk, and Thacker. Mohawk and Thacker are narrow shelves of mainline running, but Keystone is a signature scene, with the largest coal facility on the layout. The scene is about three feet deep and seven feet wide. Note the way the support posts are mounted to bottom plates anchored into the floor. Note also the cantilever of this portion, keeping support posts out of the scene.
Looking down the long aisle
Past the long peninsula, the aisle continues left into a spiral into the center of the J shape. On the left, from the top down, Vivian, Panther, and White Pass. On the back wall, from the top down, Welch, Virginia Crews, and Sprigg. On the right, from the top down, Hemphill/Caples, Wilmore, and Williamson. Note the holes in the wall on the top level where the mainline heads under Welch and where the Tug Fork Branch comes out onto the layout from the fourth staging level, as well as the hole in the wall on the bottom level where the Scioto Division mainline comes into Williamson from Columbus, Ohio through the Goodman Tunnel.
Construction of the end of the J peninsula
The middle deck going around the J peninsula has a unique crosspost construction. The cross-beam is an oak 1 x 2, driven through the oak 1 x 4 vertical member. The vertical member sits on the lower deck benchwork and is attached to the lower and upper level benchwork with 1/2 inch plywood splice plates. The goal is to not have any supports directly under a very thin middle deck, as the lower deck scenery will extend under the middle deck and there is no room for an extra level of benchwork here. The end of this peninsula will also be boxed in to hide the sharp return curve.
Three different shelf hanging methods
This is along the side wall, diagonally opposite the door and at the first bend of the long spiral aisle. From the top down, Welch, Virginia Crews, and Sprigg. Sprigg is on open-grid benchwork, without any legs; it spans between the benchwork of Williamson and the benchwork of the long peninsula. Virginia Crews is 3/4 inch plywood on angle brackets. Welch is a 3” wide shelf with an oak 1 x 2 stiffener to form an L-girder that is lagged into the wall.
The root of the long peninsula from inside the J
Five of the branch lines come into the layout from the staging yards at the root of the J peninsula: Cedar Creek Branch on the lower level outside of the J; Four Pole Branch on the middle level on the outside of the J; Dry Fork Branch on the middle level on the inside of the J; Kings Branch on the upper level on the inside of the J; and the North Fork Branch on the upper level on the outside of the J. On the left side, from the top down, Superior, Polon, and Alma Branch. On the right side, from the top down, Welch, Virginia Crews, and Sprigg. The shallow shelf at Welch is for the passenger line through the downtown. The mainline at Sprigg goes over bridges (the foam subroadbed is to allow easy cutout of the creek here) and into the Hatfield Twin Tunnels; this gets the mainline out of the way for the Alma Branch, which would otherwise stick out at a right angle. Note the hole in the wall on the top level where the mainline comes out from the tunnel under Welch, as well as the Dry Fork Branch coming into the middle level through Iaeger.
Long side of the J peninsula from the inside
From the top down, in both views, Superior, Polon, and Alma Branch. The coal tipple on the Alma Branch will be fed via conveyor belt from buildings in the corner in the left of these views.
End of the long spiral aisle inside the J
From the top down, on the right, Superior, Polon, and Alma Branch. From the top down, in the center, Big Four Tunnels #1 and #2, Litwar Red Ash, and the Hatfield Twin Tunnels east portals. From the top down, on the left, Big Four, Krollitz, and Matewan. Litwar Red Ash is another signature scene. This is a reverse-view scene, looking down the hill into the scene, with the coal buildings in the foreground and the tracks behind. The support post will be disguised as one of two identical concrete coal bunkers. Note how the upper deck mainline has been shoved well underneath Keystone, to gain running length and altitude while opening up the view into Litwar Red Ash.
Kings Branch construction detail
The Kings Branch posed a problem, because it should come onto the layout between Superior and the Big Four Tunnels, not between Superior and Welch. Hiding it behind the scenery on this side of the peninsula would take a lot away from the shelf depth. Pushing it to the other side of the peninsula, under North Fork, meant tunneling through the benchwork, and would require a very narrow shelf because of the lighting tucked into the benchwork. The branchline was driven through the benchwork, and runs on a 1” cove molding glued directly to the benchwork.
Maintaining access to hidden track
All of the hidden track on the layout is accessible from under the layout or shelf, except for the very thin middle deck between Virginia Crews and Wilmore. To solve this problem, the 3/4 inch plywood at this point was removed from every other gap between shelf brackets. That’s me demonstrating how equipment can be rescued or track cleaned through this portion even once the fascia and upper level scenery is in place.
Williamson downtown
These views show Williamson downtown, as well as the construction methods for the upper two decks here. Note the angle brackets used to hang the thin middle deck off the front of the thicker upper deck benchwork. Also note the pockets in the upper deck benchwork for fluorescent lighting of Williamson. Finally, note the cutouts in Williamson for the three cross streets that will go under the mainline. The mainline is right at the layout edge, so the viaducts cut into the benchwork and fascia here.
Williamson Yard
That’s an 80-car train of empties in the arrival and departure tracks of Williamson Yard, which a modified Y6b will have no trouble with at all. The engine shown here has the short tenders, and so has not been modified. Also, the canteen will have matching lettering and no maroon stripe in service. Note the lubritorium and coal dock. The chairs are at the two seated yardmaster positions, while the control panel for the yard will be mounted in the upper level benchwork.
Heading backstage from Williamson
Leaving Williamson toward Columbus on the Scioto Division, the other side of Goodman Tunnel has the first staging feature, a balloon track that allows turning of long locomotive lashups and storage of westbound passenger trains until they are called as their eastbound equivalents. The mainline continues past the balloon into the helix on the right. The upper deck mainline under Welch and the Tug Fork Branch are above.
Branch line connections into staging
The first shot here is taken from the location of the balloon, looking right. From left to right: the mainline under Welch; the Tug Fork Branch; the six branch lines coming in from the layout; the helix. Note the shelf for the stub-end tracks of Flat Top Yard along the top, with the triangular corner blocks to prevent sagging. The second shot is from the other side, shot between two staging yards. The shelf for the stub end body tracks of Flat Top yard is also visible here. The mainline into Flat Top Yard is out of the shot above. Note the shelf brackets holding the Tug Fork Branch, and how the Tug Fork Branch ducks under the mainline under Welch where it jogs around the support post.
Detail of the helix, showing the upper reverse loop
Detail of the upper level of the helix. The double track main separates to go around the reverse loop balloon at the top of the helix and connect to the mainline at Flat Top Yard.
The helix in place, with the staging yard ladders connected
The helix was built freestanding and then moved under the spine HVAC ducts of the house. The 6 six-track staging yards extend 14' down the wall to the right of this photo. The branch line connections into the layout are behind the helix.
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Last updated: November 13, 2003
These pages maintained by: Richard F. Weyand
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