The Danville County Railroad Train Layout

  Santa Fe SD9 2963 is an engine that will turn up a lot more soon on the DVCRR Layout. 2963 is a SD9 locomotive and in the photo above is is pulling train 177 by Grovemont. This engine is in the Blue Bonnet Paint Scheme which is yellow & blue. This is a well used engine and it shows in the photo pulling this train. This engine mainly pulls mainline freights like manifest, coal, oil and others, but it also can pull local freights as well, bu that isn't as common.

 Article #35 here is all about MOW/Work Trains on the Danville County Railroad Layout. The photo above shows 0-4-0 Steam Locomotive #50 pulling a Crane by the railroad crossing departing Grovemont on local freight C53. There are 2 cranes that re used on the DVCRR and this is one of them in tow on C53.

  This article os all about one of the trains on the DVCRR Layout and one of the yard workers. The photos shows a brakeman standing on Chessie System GP9 4301 coming out of the roundhouse, as well as on the rear of a Union Pacific Gondola. This is common site when trains are switching in the Grovemont Yard. 

Santa Fe F Unit #4015 is one of the more intriguing locomotives operating on the DVCRR Layout. The photo above shows 4015 going by the Grovemont passenger & Freight Depot with a work train in tow.  This locomotive is in the famous War Bonnet Paint Scheme.

  Article #33 is about local yard switching at the Grovemont Yard on the DVCRR Layout. The photo above shows Western Maryland GP7 #20 with local P05 and it is in Track 2 of the yard.  Locals switch in all 3 yard tracks handling all kinds of cars, like boxcars and coal cars, as well as tank cars. 

  This article is all about Carolina Clinchfield & Ohio (CC&O or Clinchfield) Caboose #1023 on the Danville County Railroad HO Scale Layout. The caboose is in a red paint scheme which most caboose's are in. This caboose is used primarily on local freight train C55 which runs up and down the line. The top photo is a front shot of the caboose, the 2nd photo is a side shot in Track 3 of the Grovemont Yard. And the 3rd photo shows a side/front angle. The Grovemont Yard holds 2 cabooses at a time and the 1023 is one of those cabooses.

  Here in Article 31 we take a look at a Seaboard Coast Line Shark Nose C-Liner on the DVCRR Layout. The photo above shows the locomotive sitting beside the roundhouse as well as a signal that is yellow with the search light which is red. This engine is very useful for the DVCRR running on any type of train, from coal to manifest freight this engine can do anything as far as trains go. It is in the classic black & yellow paint scheme. 

  This 30th article on the DVCRR Blog is all about this Baltimore & Ohio Steam Crane. The crane is in a yellow paint scheme with the B&O Logo at the edge of the crane. Also the flat car type pf part it is sitting on says Baltimore & Ohio as well. Also there is a small stack where the steam would come out.  This crane is very useful for MOW Operations. The photo above shows the crane in Track 2 of the Grovemont Yard.

  This article is all about Yard Switching that takes place on the DVCRR Layout. The photo above shows the brakeman riding the rear of a Seaboard Air Line Boxcar on a local freight heading into the Grovemont Yard. This type of sight is common place on the layout when trains are switching tracks sand heading into the yard like this.

  Article #28 right here is all about CSX BQ2307 5135 on the DVCRR Layout. The BQ23-7 was a locomotive type manufactured back between 1978 & 1979 and here on this HO Layout, it is one of the main engines that runs, especially on the coal trains.  The photo above shows 5135 on a coal train in the Grovemont Yard.

  This article is all about being in the cab of an HO Scale Steam Locomotive on the DVCRR Layout. The 1st photo shows the engineer at the controls of the engine looking down the tracks. The 2nd photo is the engineer standing in the cab looking towards our camera's. The inside of a HO Cab is very realistic and detailed as well. This type of view is one that maybe dose not appear very often on many layouts. There more windows than a diesel locomotive. Like here there are 5 windows.

  The article here is all about a cab ride inside a steam locomotive on the DVCRR Layout. The photo above shows a photo inside 0-4-0 #50 approaching the crossing on the layout at Grovemont. It is a little bit different than being inside a HO Scale Diesel, more windows and a pretty neat view.

  The Cabooses on the Danville County Railroad are really useful and are on a couple of the local freight trains that originate out of the Grovemont Yard. The photo above shows Norfolk Southern Railway Caboose 376 with it's brakeman standing on the rear of the caboose on local C53. The cabooses are used on local's C53 & C55 which both originate out of Grovemont. C53 mainly uses the 376 and C55 uses a Clinchfield Caboose 1023.

  This article is about Locomotive Inspecting in the roundhouse of the DVCRR Layout. The photo above shows Western Maryland GP7 #20 inside the roundhouse on Track 3 and the conductor is looking out the cab window towards the back of the locomotive to see if everything is checking out good. Out of the 3 tracks of the roundhouse, it is Track 3 where the inspecting takes place.

  In this article about Inspecting Boxcars we get a good look at it and understanding of how it works. The photo above shows a DVCRR Flagman inside Southern Railway Boxcar 26012 at Grovemont on the Layout. The Flagman would get inside the boxcar and look at what is being shipped or dropped off to the yard or out of the yard. Also to see it everything checks out as well.

  Article 23 here is about the yellow DVCRR Truck. This truck is really unique because it has 2 sets of air horns on the top of the truck, as well as the DVCRR lettering on the front sides on the truck. Plus the back dump compartment in the photo above has a set of cross ties and a sign. This truck is a very useful truck and 1 that comes up a lot on the layout.

  In this part 1 of our Buildings Series on the DVCRR Layout, we will go over the Clipper Mill Plumbing Supply Building, this small houses 2 sides, one side is for the Clipper Mill Plumbing, and the other side is for storage parts/materials to sit until they need to be used. The photo above shows the sign for the mill on the side.

  This article is about the crews that run the local trains on the Danville County Railroad Layout. The photo above shows the 2 man crew of local freight C53 at Grovemont, the engineer waving out the window and the conductor in the cab as well. Most train crews on the DVCRR are 2 man crews, nut rarely you will see 3 man crews. 2 man crews can get the job done easy, with 1 of them doing more than 1 task.

  This article is all about being inside the cab of an HO Scale Locomotive on the Danville County Railroad Layout. The photo above shows our camera inside a HO Scale GP7 Locomotive towards the crossings at Grovemont. This type of operation is very realistic and comes up a lot on this DVCRR Layout.

  This is Part 2 of Roundhouse Locomotives and in this Part 2 we take a look at more than 1 locomotive in the roundhouse at 1 time, and in the photo above we see Western Maryland GP7 #20 in Track 2 and Chessie System GP9 4301 in Track 3. The Brakeman is standing on #20 to make sure everything is ready to go for the day's work.

  This article is all about locomotives inside the roundhouse on the Danville County Railroad Layout. The 1st photo shows Burlington Northern E Unit #9804 ready to come out of the roundhouse, and the 2nd photo is of Chessie System GP9 4301 inside the roundhouse on Track 2. Usually engines in this roundhouse stay in any of the 3 tracks for at least 1 whole day or more than that if there aren't as many trains on a certain day, but most of the time there are trains for these engines to run on.

  This article is about Yard Switching on the Danville County Railroad Layout. And here the 2 photos are of a train ready to switch with Chessie System GP9 4301 leading the way while backing up a cut of cars. The 2nd photo shows the brakeman standing on the rear car of the line of cars watching for the train to stop safely. 

  Western Maryland #20 is a GP7 and is probably the most popular locomotive on the whole Danville County Railroad. This is a standard cab GP7 which is interesting to see on a model train layout because most are high hood, bu this one is in the Red & White Paint Scheme. The photo above shows #20 ready to run a freight with its engineer inside the engine ready to work.

 Penn Central F Unit #4715 is another F Unit that is very common on the Danville County Railroad Layout. This F Unit does a lot of helper service on many kinds of trains. In the photo above it is leading a light power move back to the Grovemont Yard and trailing is 0-6-0 Steam Locomotive 06237. This is Penn Central paint scheme that catches your eye right away, with it's aqua paint and Orange & White PC Emblem.

  This Amtrak E Unit is a unique unit of the Danville County Railroad and is one that will show up more and more coming up. This unit was custom painted which is something very common when it comes to model railroad locomotives and locomotive shells. The photo above shows the E Unit in the roundhouse ready for the days operations with its engineer ready to work.

This article on the Danville County Railroad is all about the signals on the layout. The photo above shows one of the signals at the 339.8 Milepost right near the roundhouse and crossing. The signal here is showing all 3 colors, Green Yellow & Red. These type of signals are really popular on many HO Scale Layouts. Many trains pass this signal and signals like this all across the layout.  

  Coal is the 1 thing that keeps the DVCRR going the most. Loaded Coal's consist of 742 and 744, empty's are 743 ad 745. The Loaded Trains begin at the Grovemont Yard and the empty's begin at a Steam Station near by on the Layout and terminate at Grovemont Yard. The photo above shows a Loaded Coal Train with Santa Fe C-Liner #5028 ready to leave Grovemont Yard. This is one of the engines that you will see mainly on the coal's.

  The Tower shown here is the Grovemont Tower in the DVCRR Layout, now a lot of things take place inside this tower, like the dispatching for the Grovemont District, tower operating and control of the Grovemont Yard. When trains approach this tower they need permission past the tower when coming out of the yard. The first photo is a good side view of the tower. This 2nd photo here shows the front of the tower with the DVCRR Lettering on it as well as the small windows.

The main attraction to look at within the Danville County Railroad Layout is this Great Northern F Unit #370A. This model was made by Avon and is a really interesting make for sure. It is sitting on display right in front of the passenger station so anyone can see it. This great to see when a train on the layout is passing it. The photo above shows the 370A's side profile. It fits very well with the passenger station. This 2nd photo is a really good up close photo of the 370 on display. Adding something like this to a layout or even this exact make will be a great addition for any layout. And it is also in the classic great Northern Freight Scheme which was on all of the diesels back in the day.  

 In this article, we go over a very realistic operating to happen on a model railroad and thats being on the inside of a locomotive cab. The photo above says it all, the conductor of a coal train is inside the cab of Santa Fe C-Liner #5028. He is ready for the days operations and you can clearly see the windows of the locomotive behind him. To get this type of photo, you have to have a flashlight mode and take the picture with that, and make sure the photo comes out clear. Now this photo you can see the engineer and conductor together in the cab and it is the same Santa Fe Locomotive.  This is for sure something fun to do on a layout if you can.

 This model railroad article is all about an Atlantic Coast Line F Unit on the Danville County Railroad Layout. In the photo above you see the engineer and conductor inside the locomotive ready for the days operations, it is sitting in the Grovemont Yard beside the roundhouse. This is one of the more seen engines on the layout because of the type of engine and the purple & silver paint scheme. This engine can run on any trains and in that way can be very versatile.

  This article is all about the railroad crossings of the Danville County Railroad Layout, let's go over 3 crossings along the mainline.  This first crossing is right at the roundhouse where you have the railroad crossing x, and the crossing lights.  This crossing does not have the crossing arms but is an effective crossing. The 2nd crossing is close to the passenger station. This crossing has more to it than the first one, the flashing lights and the crossing x, plus smaller flashing lights on the top. These crossings are high quality with the lights they have and the sound in them as well. These crossings are very important to the Danville County Railroad.

  This article is all about locomotive cab tours on a model railroad layout, this is something that is very common the Danville County Railroad Layout, now the first photo is inside a EMD GP7 shunting a gondola & a caboose on the main track, the 2nd photo you see the engineer standing in the cab of CSX BQ23-7 5135 with some sunlight coming in. This is a very realistic thing to do on a layout. This can be a fun thing to do on any layout if it is possible, and there are multiple locomotives on this layout where that can happen.

  The Work Trucks of the Danville County Railroad Layout really make things go. The VAC1200 Fuel Truck seen in the photo above can fuel any locomotive, and the Road King Dump Truck can dump and haul all kinds of materials. These are 2 of the trucks you will mainly see on the Layout. Adding Trucks like this can add good variety to a layout. 

  In Part 1 of The Steam Locomotives, we are reviewing 0-4-0 #50 of the Danville County Railroad Layout. This 0-4-0 has a headlight, as well as number plates on both sides of the headlight, and is in pretty good condition. This with that said is a veteran locomotive and has had a lot of use. In the photo above, #50 is sitting on the Grovemont Yard. This is the only 0-4-0 on the layout but it is a good one.

  In Part 3 of the E Units, we are looking at a Louisville & Nashville E Unit. We got this unit back a couple of months ago and it has been a really good unit for the DVCRR. In the photo above the unit is on one of the lead tracks with a 2 man crew. This certain paint scheme is one of the more remembered L&N Paint Schemes.

  In Part 2 of the E Units, we are looking at Norfolk Southern E Unit #3601. This unit used to be a City of San Francisco Yellow Painted Unit being Union Pacific, and we got this unit back in 2016 and it is a unique unit because of the paint scheme and the number of the unit. The photo above shows 3601 sitting in the Grovemont Yard on the Danville County Railroad Layout. This is another E Unit that will show up a lot.                                              

There are a lot of E Unit Locomotives on the DVCRR Layout, and one of the most seen E Units on the Layout is this Green & Yellow Painted Unit #6. This unit was custom painted and is seen in the photo above on the main track at the railroad crossings. It's V shaped emblem and its green paint makes it very exciting to look at as far as E Units on this Layout. Now this unit was primer paint when we got it, so you can take a primer painted shell and paint into really any paint scheme. This is just one of a few E Units on the Layout.  

  Passenger Trains on the DVCRR are common place, The Danville Flyer is operated by a New Haven Rail Diesel Car (RDC-1) in both West & East Directions. The Gopher is operated by a variety of locomotives with a Blue Goose Passenger Car. All Trains stop and start at the Grovemont Passenger Depot.