In part 1 I looked at the mainline services which cross at the main station. So this time it's time to look at how the branch can be fitted in...

Services on the branch should meet the mainline service in the reverse direction at the junction, so it needs to leave the main station in time to meet it!

At this stage we are not too concerned about steam trains on the branch, as I'll explain later...

So the branch train departs halfway between mainline trains from the main station and makes its way up to the junction, there it waits for the mainline train to arrive, a minute or so after that arrives, it sets off on the branch.

In reverse the same happens, the down branchline arrives first and then the up mainline, once the up mainline has arrived the down branch can leave (surely no passengers would want to go back to whence they came?)

To explain branch steam services I need to explain some other bits....

Steam special on the line must run forwards at all times, so when they arrive back at "base" the loco needs to be turned, as the loco's are small, they will also need to be watered and fed (coal). So the steam loco unhooks and moves off to the turntable, instead another small loco takes over for the next run. The reverse loop at the far end gets rid of the need to do that at the top....

[Note to self: Must have a turntable at the border station...]

So how does it all work? Well a steam special on the mainline departs after the the service train, so it will leave the border station just behind the normal train. At the junction it will pause and cross the steam special going the other way.

The branchline steam trains run after the down steam special has left, effectively in the dead space between the sudden hive of activity!

This whole timetable dictate a track layout at the junction requires that a train on either loop should able to take either line...The mainline or the branch. I would include a picture but the software I'm using for track planning is new and I haven't quite worked it out completely!