The Buchanan and Clifton Forge Railroad
Member: John Johnston
Roadname: Buchanan and Clifton Forge Railroad
Prototype: Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western – Late steam (1950-53)
Location: Upper James River Valley, Va. (Botetourt, Rockbridge, Augusta and Amherst counties)
Construction: L-girder framework, plywood with foam overlay, some hard-shell (future).
Scale and Controls: N (1:160), Digitrax/Raspberry Pi
Roadname: Buchanan and Clifton Forge Railroad
Prototype: Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western – Late steam (1950-53)
Location: Upper James River Valley, Va. (Botetourt, Rockbridge, Augusta and Amherst counties)
Construction: L-girder framework, plywood with foam overlay, some hard-shell (future).
Scale and Controls: N (1:160), Digitrax/Raspberry Pi
At the end of the Civil War, my great-great grandfather (also named John William Johnston) came back to his home in Buchanan, VA, and became the last president of the James River and Kanawha Canal Company. The canal had been severely damaged by the war and a subsequent flood, and was rapidly going bankrupt in competition with the expanding railroads. Recognizing that his most valuable asset was a water-level route to the Alleghany summit, he obtained a charter from the Commonwealth of Virginia to build the Buchanan and Clifton Forge Railway along the towpath to Clifton Forge.
He had the route and the charter, but not enough capital to build a railroad. So he sold the BCF to the newly formed Richmond and Alleghany Railroad Company, and became their General Manager in charge of building the road. After it was completed, he left the Richmond and Alleghany, and spent the rest of his career with the Richmond and Danville Extension Company, building railroads from Atlanta to Greenville Mississippi. The R&A entered receivership in 1888, and was absorbed into the C&O.
My pike started out as a freelance effort to fit two yards and some mountain terrain into an odd shaped space in my basement. As my plans evolved, my ancestor’s railroad provided more and more of the topographical and operating logic. Eventually I decided to adopt the name, and to follow the prototype more closely. That also gave me an excuse to incorporate the N&W line where it crosses the C&O at Natural Bridge, VA, and progresses on up the Shenandoah valley. The period, however, is much later. I like big steam locomotives, and long coal drags winding through the mountains. Most of the main lines and yards are in operation. I plan to build another branch line and make revisions to staging before I start on scenery.
He had the route and the charter, but not enough capital to build a railroad. So he sold the BCF to the newly formed Richmond and Alleghany Railroad Company, and became their General Manager in charge of building the road. After it was completed, he left the Richmond and Alleghany, and spent the rest of his career with the Richmond and Danville Extension Company, building railroads from Atlanta to Greenville Mississippi. The R&A entered receivership in 1888, and was absorbed into the C&O.
My pike started out as a freelance effort to fit two yards and some mountain terrain into an odd shaped space in my basement. As my plans evolved, my ancestor’s railroad provided more and more of the topographical and operating logic. Eventually I decided to adopt the name, and to follow the prototype more closely. That also gave me an excuse to incorporate the N&W line where it crosses the C&O at Natural Bridge, VA, and progresses on up the Shenandoah valley. The period, however, is much later. I like big steam locomotives, and long coal drags winding through the mountains. Most of the main lines and yards are in operation. I plan to build another branch line and make revisions to staging before I start on scenery.