N&W's Pocahontas Division in N Scale – Pictures #2
Williamson depot track
The depot track in Williamson. Note the depot on the aisle side of the mainline, opposite downtown, as the prototype. The length of the depot track is necessary to clear the main with the long passenger trains run on the Pokey.
Williamson depot track crossover
The crossover on the depot track is to allow the switching operations required by the passenger schedule. The westbound Pocahontas drops the diner and tavern lounge cars here, with the eastbound section picking them up an hour later. The Cavalier terminates here, and must be turned. The switching operations were carefully planned in advance to locate the crossover.
East Williamson, with the beginning of center siding
The east end of the depot track and its necessary crossover butt right up against the beginning of the center siding required to support coal operations on the Alma Branch.
The interlocking at Sprigg
At Sprigg, the center siding ends and the Alma Branch exits the main. In addition, there is a crossover to route trains around the switching chores in the center siding and main track 1, on the left. The mains continue straight from the triple track, leaving a gap between them as they head for the Tug River bridges (at the pink foam) and the Hatfield Twin Tunnels beyond.
The yard ladder on the Alma Branch
The large coal facility on the Alma Branch has four tracks under the tipple. These four tracks come off the branch at an angle, completing the turn of the branch to follow the aisle. The Peco medium switches were too long to allow this ladder to be built with the narrow track spacing required, so the switches were shortened by 1/2” each. Note the kickout of the last track before it curves back to its proper spacing.
The interlocking at Matewan
At Matewan, the mains exit the Hatfield Twin Tunnels at the top of the picture, and the McCarr branch exits to the coal loadout at Nampa. Note that the branch line switch and one of the switches of the crossover lie on curves. Peco long switches were embedded in the mainline curves here, with the straight leg of the switch being the diverging route. The passenger depot at Matewan will be on the left of the mainline in the picture foreground.
The interlocking at Cedar Creek
The interlocking at Cedar Creek has both right and left crossovers, as well as the Cedar Creek branch, which runs through the wall into the first level staging yard. Note the spacing between the crossovers and the branch, making the crossovers look even longer than the Peco long switches make it. This interlocking is 500 feet long.
The interlocking at Lindsey
Locating the interlockings to give roughly equal length signal blocks made the interlocking at Lindsey lie on a curve. The right hand crossover is built with one right-hand and one left-hand switch. Note that no route has an S curve, not even the crossover from one main to the other. The Peco long switches have a large enough replacement radius to embed them in mainline curves.
The interlocking at War Eagle
The interlocking at War Eagle lies in the middle of a long straight, and is a simple left-hand crossover. Note that the insulating joiners for the OS section are plainly visible in the left-hand rails of both tracks before and after the crossover. If you look for the, you can see them in most of the pictures on this page. The insulated joints are in the prototype locations with reference to points and track clearances.
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Last updated: November 13, 2003
These pages maintained by: Richard F. Weyand
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