Greetings.

Well, I've done it.

I've removed all the point motors from the board-which-was-Barnwell and consigned it to the garage for the time being!

During the past week I have managed to construct 5 working turnouts, all of which are stronger and more reliable then my previous attempts with glue.

These have all been prepared for us on a new Little Midland ( this really will be little too - the prototype was a small country single track station - a rare thing on the Midland where I grew up!

Few locos were small enough to pass through the tunnel and those used were the Johnson 1F tank, and 2F tender engines. Special 6-wheel passenger stock was converted to clear the narrow portals. All of which I have, or am in the process of making!

The through station features a loop, which doubled as a goods yard, and two sidings - one of which I believe was private owned[ I am still researching some unknown aspects via the HMRS and MRS].

The line originally carried coal and some stone from the nearby quarries, but the MR eventually bypassed this stretch with a new line to avoid the restrictions of the mile long tunnel.

I have visited the site and enclose a couple of photos of the tunnel portal as it is now. The station closed to passenger traffic in 1928

And no, I haven't mentioned its name, but have given more than enough easy clues for you to work out where it is!

More on the location and plans for it later.I'm quite excited by this, as now i know exactly what I have to make.

In the meantime, I have had my 1F apart to convert it to DCC.

Finding space for a chip wasn't easy - and the wires even harder to hide away. Mark - you are right to plan where the chip goes at the beginning - mind you, I never dreamt that I would be using this as my DCC guinea pig

Anyway, I had the chip in during the week and it ran, but not well enough. On the assumption that some of this was mechanical I have made some mods to the chassis to try and get everything working better..

Regards

Chris

View down the cutting to the tunnel...

View back towards the station - now a modern housing estate...

Finally, A narrow bridge which carried the line westwards out of the ataion...