L&N Eastern Kentucky Division

The L&N Eastern Kentucky Division is a well-known, operations-oriented railroad in the Los Angeles region. The railroad was on the NMRA tour for the Long Beach national convention in 1996 and the Anaheim convention in 2008. It was featured in Model Railroader in April 1996.
At the time of the article, the layout modeled the fictitious Ashlan subdivision of the L&N extending from Dent, KY, to Ashlan, VA interchanging with the Clinchfield. The layout has since expanded considerably and the area now models from Hazard, to Ashlan with interchanges with the Norfolk & Western through Norton, VA, the Kentucky Northern at Harlan Junction, KY and the Chesapeake and Ohio, at Deane, KY and Corbin, KY. More recently, the railroad was featured in Rail Model Journal in January and February 2008 and Model Railroad Craftsman in May 2008. The Eastern Kentucky Division models an area of coal mines in the Appalachians in eastern Kentucky and western Virginia. The year is 1971 so both 1st and 2nd generation diesels are the rule. Operations focus on coal traffic both on and off the line with mines and coal processing industries distributed in the mountainous Appalachian scenery. The EK is still running its own passenger trains. Crews staff yards at Ashlan, Fowler, Dent, and Hazard. Road crews are responsible for mine runs, empty and full coal trains, hot freights, forwarders, local freights and an occasional passenger train.
While the layout was designed for CTC and we have an operable CTC machine which you can see at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrvDbTjRVMM
we also run TT&TO sessions.
A video tour of the railroad is available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hhMXnX75pM

   www.pbase.com/rbarnes11/lnekdiv

   www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hhMXnX75pM

Layout Owner

Gary Siegel

Location

Santa Barbara, CA

Scale

HO

Layout Size

1500 square feet

Era

1971

Completion

Track: 100%
Scenery: 100%
Electrical: 100%

Control System

CVP Easy DCC

Wi-Fi Throttles

Yes

Communications System

Family radio system

Dispatching Method

Timetable and Train Order

Car Forwarding

Car Cards/Waybills

Fast Clock

3:1

Pets

Yes - two dogs and two cats

Mask Policy

Masks (any type) recommended

COVID-19 Vaccine Policy

Vaccine recommended