The concept of the CR&E is that of a coal hauling bridge route connecting the midwest and the southeast. Design and operation of the railroad has drawn influences from actual railroads such as the Clinchfield, the Southern Railway, and the Norfolk & Western. Model railroad influences include W. Allen McClelland’s Virginian & Ohio, Tony Koester’s Allegheny Midland, and Eric Brooman’s Utah Belt, among others.

The modeled portion on Version One of the CR&E represented the railroad between Lewisburg, WV, and Roanoke, VA. This is the west end of the railroad’s former Ridge Division, now a portion of NS’s Lewisburg-Dundee District of the CR&E Division.  Version One's construction began in March 1996 and the layout operated from 1998 until 2008, when the layout was dismantled in preparation for a move to a new home.

Operations included and will again include Norfolk Southern coal, merchandise, and some intermodal traffic, as well as run-through CSX coal trains that use the CR&E as a shortcut between West Virginia coalfields and the southeast.  A pair of Amtrak trains also travel on CR&E rails.

The railroad is set in the late 1980's to early 1990's (roughly 1989-1994), which allows the operation of a few locomotives from Norfolk Southern's predecessors Norfolk & Western and Southern Railway, as well as a large variety of CSX Transportation predecessor paint schemes.


In one of my favorite photos from CR&E Version One, an eastbound NS coal train waits in the siding at Glace, WV, for a meet with a westbound CSX empty hopper train. This was the image I wanted for the CR&E, with coal trains of competing railroads sharing track through the Appalachians.  A real life example of this can be found on NS and CSX routes near Frisco, TN, where trains from both railroads operate over both routes.

Farewell to Version One

Operations on Version One of the Norfolk Southern CR&E Division came to a close on Saturday, June 21, 2008.  That evening, after the operating crew departed, I began the painful process of dismantling the railroad. 

The layout that I built and operated with the help of many friends lasted for 12 years, operated for 10 years, and allowed me to realize my dream of having a fully operating model railroad after years of absorbing information about others who had done the same.  Tearing it down was definitely not easy.

The good news is that the beginning of Version Two is not that far down the line.  I have just moved into a new home with layout space that will allow me much more room to build a new version of the CR&E.  I'll be able to lengthen the distance between towns and I'll also be able to move northwest into a coal-rich region to enjoy more complete mine run operations.  I'm very excited about the years ahead.

CR&E 4-8-2 #622 leads an employee pride excursion across the Cove Creek Viaduct in celebration of 10 years of operations on the Norfolk Southern CR&E Division. 


In a photo by operator Rich Main, CR&E 622 passes the tower at Shenandoah Jct., VA, where the NS CR&E Division and CSXT Shenandoah Division meet.  A sign on the tower celebrates "A Decade of Progress" in the joint operations of trains on the CR&E and Shenandoah Division.