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The Cumberland & Ohio Valley Railroad
Layout at a Glance
Name: Cumberland and Ohio Valley
Scale: HO
Size: 24 X 32
Locale: Eastern Kentucky
Railroads: C&OV (freelance) and C&O (prototype)
Op Session Periods: Rotates between late 1940's and late 1960's
Layout Height: 48 inches
Benchwork: L-Girder
Subroadbed: ½ inch plywood
Roadbed: Cork
Track: Atlas Code 83
Minimum Turnout: #6
Minimum Radius: 36 inches on Mainline
Landforms: Plaster cloth over cardboard webbing and Sculptamold
Scenery: Real dirt, ground foam, static grass, rubber rock faces
Backdrop: 1/4" Birch covered with foam core-backed commercial backdrops
Control: Digitrax Radio Super Chief
Name: Cumberland and Ohio Valley
Scale: HO
Size: 24 X 32
Locale: Eastern Kentucky
Railroads: C&OV (freelance) and C&O (prototype)
Op Session Periods: Rotates between late 1940's and late 1960's
Layout Height: 48 inches
Benchwork: L-Girder
Subroadbed: ½ inch plywood
Roadbed: Cork
Track: Atlas Code 83
Minimum Turnout: #6
Minimum Radius: 36 inches on Mainline
Landforms: Plaster cloth over cardboard webbing and Sculptamold
Scenery: Real dirt, ground foam, static grass, rubber rock faces
Backdrop: 1/4" Birch covered with foam core-backed commercial backdrops
Control: Digitrax Radio Super Chief
A Brief History of the C&OV Railroad
The Cumberland & Ohio Valley Railroad was a Class 2 shortline which served as a bridge route between Middlesboro, KY and Portsmouth, OH. It was incorporated on October 31, 1901, in anticipation of a merger of three Kentucky-based railroad companies; the Cumberland & Winchester (C&W), the Middlesboro & Olive Hill (M&OH), and the Kentucky & Ohio Valley (K&OV). The railroad began formal operations on January 1, 1902 and continued to service numerous mines and towns in eastern Kentucky. The railroad crossed through Colton, KY where the Chesapeake & Ohio had a small yard, turntable and servicing facilities. As the town grew, a Union Station was built to service both railroads. Besides having interchange with the C&O in Colton, the C&OV transferred cars with the L&N and Southern Railway in Middlesboro, KY, and with the Norfolk & Western in Portsmouth, OH.
In 1956, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad expressed interest in acquiring the C&OV trackage, but the ICC did not approve the merger. The C&OV continued to operate profitably until 1973 when it was absorbed by the Chessie System holding company, along with the Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Western Maryland Railway, and the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad. Forty years later, what remained of the original C&OV trackage was absorbed into CSX Transportation.
Design and Construction
The layout was initially designed for continuous running of four trains on two double-track mainlines at different heights. During the process of dismantling the old MA&G layout, I met several local guys who were very interested in operating the new layout once it was built. This ignited a renewed interest in operations, so I re-imagined the layout to represent two separate mainlines owned by two individual railroads. The lower, or water level, route is a fictional section of the C&O mainline between Frankfort, KY and Ashland, KY. The upper tracks represent the C&OV short line between Columbus, OH and Middlesboro, KY. Both railroads intersect at Colton. In theory, the C&OV has an unmodeled yard in Colton that is represented by one of the Ashland, KY staging yard tracks. This allows a C&OV switcher to transfer a cut of cars to and from Colton Yard during op sessions. My only design compromise was having to locate the town of Ruth directly above the town of Graves. While not my preference, it was necessary to facilitate the route of the railroads geographically. Once the layout backstory was established, I designed space for six hidden staging yards (23 tracks total) to be added and chose a minimum aisle width of four feet, with most being five or six feet wide.
In 1956, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad expressed interest in acquiring the C&OV trackage, but the ICC did not approve the merger. The C&OV continued to operate profitably until 1973 when it was absorbed by the Chessie System holding company, along with the Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Western Maryland Railway, and the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad. Forty years later, what remained of the original C&OV trackage was absorbed into CSX Transportation.
Design and Construction
The layout was initially designed for continuous running of four trains on two double-track mainlines at different heights. During the process of dismantling the old MA&G layout, I met several local guys who were very interested in operating the new layout once it was built. This ignited a renewed interest in operations, so I re-imagined the layout to represent two separate mainlines owned by two individual railroads. The lower, or water level, route is a fictional section of the C&O mainline between Frankfort, KY and Ashland, KY. The upper tracks represent the C&OV short line between Columbus, OH and Middlesboro, KY. Both railroads intersect at Colton. In theory, the C&OV has an unmodeled yard in Colton that is represented by one of the Ashland, KY staging yard tracks. This allows a C&OV switcher to transfer a cut of cars to and from Colton Yard during op sessions. My only design compromise was having to locate the town of Ruth directly above the town of Graves. While not my preference, it was necessary to facilitate the route of the railroads geographically. Once the layout backstory was established, I designed space for six hidden staging yards (23 tracks total) to be added and chose a minimum aisle width of four feet, with most being five or six feet wide.
In the track plan above, the C&OV line is shown in blue and the C&O trackage appears in red. For clarity, we will tour the layout one railroad at a time. Choose below where you would like to begin your tour!