Introduction to the Virginian & Ohio

This video introduces Allen McClelland’s famous HO scale Virginian and Ohio model railroad. The Virginian and Ohio, or V & O for short, has taken on a lore of a prototype among modelers and is often referred to as the complete model railroad. Every part of the railroad contributes to the whole and stands out without outshining the others. The Virginian and Ohio fills a 32 by 32 foot space of open grid benchwork, a 30 inch minimum radius, and a hand laid track. It is a Virginia coal haul and bridge route that interchanges with other model railroads.

McClelland is known for pushing the boundaries of modeling and responsible for many of the modeling approaches used today. He believes that prototypes can provide a solution to all modeling problems. The inspiration for the railroad’s name – as told to Allen Keller – comes from combining McClelland’s home state of Ohio and his railfanning in West Virginia and Virginia. Keller begins the tour of the impressive Virginian and Ohio model railroad in Blackstone, Virginia where a Smith subdivision enters the model portion of the railroad.