Ohio River & Western

The Ohio River and Western narrow gauge railroad originated in Bellaire Ohio as the Bellaire and Western about 1880. It was reorganized as the Bellaire, Zanesville and Columbus (BZ&C, known locally as the Bent, Zigzagged and Crooked ? due to the small amount of tangent track in its 112 mile length). Later it was reorganized again as the Ohio River and Western; the name it carried through Pennsylvania RR ownership until the end in 1933.
Throughout its 50 year existence the OR&W provided much needed transportation and communication to many small communities between Bellaire and Zanesville. Along its route there were several coal mines, oil wells, agricultural products and a small amount of timber. My rendition of the 3 foot OR&W is done in 30 inch gauge and models a very short section of the prototype connecting the little towns of Alledonia and Armstrongs Mills and includes the mine at Captina.
Begun late in 2003, the layout is in early construction with an operational main line and some roughed in scenery. Much of the layout incorporates extruded polystyrene foam board construction over a light weight wood support frame. Most track is Peco with the exception of Atlas code 100 in a staging area. The staging is a through type servicing both ends of the modeled RR. My choice of 30 inch gauge was dictated largely by the availability of Spectrum On30 equipment ? some of which was developed from OR&W equipment drawings. The OR&W primarily used 4-4-0 and 2-6-0 locos with one C-19 2-8-0 from the EBT. The layout is in the shape of the letter ?J? measuring 16 x 12 x 9 feet. The wiring will support DCC in the future.