The Clinchfield

Bill Roff's "The Clinchfield", cover story for the November 1976 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. Agfachrome by William T. Roff, Jr.

Railroad Model Craftsman, November 1976:

The term "model railroading" and "indoors" are often assumed to be inseparable. In addition to a handful of modelers who have extended their layouts beyond the confines of their homes into the backyard, there are a growing number of enthusiasts who are utilizing components chiefly intended for the live-steam fraternity -- a group generally more interested in locomotives, per se, than railroading -- to do some railroading outdoors. One such modeler is Bill Roff of Tryon, N.C., who has an HO pike in the house and a 1-1/2 inch scale railroad in the backyard. Since his Koster battery-powered diesels and lettered for the Clinchfield. It was only a natural to feature his efforts on this month's cover.

Modeling The Clinchfield indoors and out

Bill Roff of Tryon, N.C., has an outdoor 7-1/2 inch gauge, 1-1/2 inch scale railroad in operation which features Kosters Miniature Railrod Supplies EMD F7 and GP7 diesels painted in the "old" Clinchfield gray-and-yellow paint scheme. Bill's interests in the Clinchfield are also reflected on his HO layout, which includes CRR passenger train behind 4-6-0 No. 1. A full-size wood Clinchfield caboose with the former CC&O (Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio) reporting marks resides in Bill's backyard and is used as a guest house. Battery or gasoline powered "diesel" models built to operate on "live steam" systems (many of them by the Koster firm in Homestead, Florida) are finding increasing acceptance by those who enjoy outdoor large-scale model railroading.

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  FP7 No 910 lettered for The Clinchfield by Koster's Miniature Railroad Supplies. From advertisement in Live Steam Magazine, February 1976.

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  William Theodore Roff, Jr

Where Are They Now?

Bill's oldest daughter posted on Chaski.org:

My father, Bill Roff of Tryon, NC, passed away suddenly in 1982. A close friend in Tennessee helped my mother find new homes for Daddy's extensive train collection, including the Clinchfield-motif items mentioned in the first post of this chain. I do not know where those items are now, given that >30 years have passed since they were ours. However, given how much care and attention Daddy put into building his collection, I am sure they found a home with an appreciative collector, and I hope that someone is still enjoying them.

Pontiacguy1 wrote:

Scott Baxter no longer owns the Clinchfield equipment. He had sold the F unit off a few years ago, although when and to whom I am not sure. He recently sold the remaining cars and the GP7 to a fellow MSLS Member. The electrical systems in the GP were in really bad shape, having been attacked by mice and also being 40+ years old now. All of the electrical has been stripped out of the unit and it is currently undergoing a complete re-powering. From what I understand, the unit will not be repainted, only preserved in its as-is glory. I love that the locomotive actually looks like an aging locomotive that you would have seen out working some branch line or in a power lash-up sometime in the 1980's. I like new, well painted and shiny locomotives too, but that's not what they looked like most of their working lives.