ianathompson

After a little delay the latest photos of the session have been posted. There are around thirty of them. 6-76 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 78. The up local goods usually has an easy time of it at Glissent as a lot of the shunting is done by the railcar (photo 50) or by the down goods. The crew normally detach a cut of wagons, drop them into the siding, pick up a pre-sorted set of departing wagons and leave, but not today! The first two wagons in this shot were ready but the loco had to drop off the excavator and then work round to the glassworks to deliver a load of cullett (broken glass for re-melting) and pick up a van of bottles. This is the van at the left of the photo which is a CFS van. It has been deliberately loaded to go to Karamspur brewery as that is closer to the CFS than Glissent and part of its return journey can be charged to the consignee. In all probability it will pick up a load of beer going to the CFS or Fenditavalat over the next day or so and will thereby have paid for its journey home. 6-81 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 83. Control's complaints to Head Office about the mayhem caused by the new paper factory's requirements have resulted in an experimental timetable change. A new train is now scheduled to leave Fenditavalat at around 09.30 with the objective of collecting the increased timber and coal traffic associated with the mill. The hitherto rarely seen vertical greens over horizontal greens aspect on the departure signal (obscured by the electrification mast unfortunately) will probably become more common in the future. It is also likely that the troublesome mallet will be allocated to this turn as well as it appears that it might be less taxing than the long distance goods. The (still unfinished) 0-8-0 has got the job today. 6-86 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 88. The Jakarutu train leaves the rack beside the high tarn. The Tegmentadelamondo is an area of the Altingablecaŭtoj as its name would suggest. (Roof of the World and High Reaches respectively.) It is subjected to the same snowstorms as the mainline but I chose to model the area in high summer. In the winter these uplands would be in deep snow and the tarn would be as hard as rock. No shepherd with any brains would be anywhere near this remote spot. How does the railway remain open? The line is built on a slightly raised causeway so that the winds whipping across the plateau scour it of snow. Ian T

After a little delay the latest photos of the session have been posted. There are around thirty of them. 6-76 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 78. The up local goods usually has an easy time of it at Glissent as a lot of the shunting is done by the railcar (photo 50) or by the down goods. The crew normally detach a cut of wagons, drop them into the siding, pick up a pre-sorted set of departing wagons and leave, but not today! The first two wagons in this shot were ready but the loco had to drop off the excavator and then work round to the glassworks to deliver a load of cullett (broken glass for re-melting) and pick up a van of bottles. This is the van at the left of the photo which is a CFS van. It has been deliberately loaded to go to Karamspur brewery as that is closer to the CFS than Glissent and part of its return journey can be charged to the consignee. In all probability it will pick up a load of beer going to the CFS or Fenditavalat over the next day or so and will thereby have paid for its journey home. 6-81 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 83. Control's complaints to Head Office about the mayhem caused by the new paper factory's requirements have resulted in an experimental timetable change. A new train is now scheduled to leave Fenditavalat at around 09.30 with the objective of collecting the increased timber and coal traffic associated with the mill. The hitherto rarely seen vertical greens over horizontal greens aspect on the departure signal (obscured by the electrification mast unfortunately) will probably become more common in the future. It is also likely that the troublesome mallet will be allocated to this turn as well as it appears that it might be less taxing than the long distance goods. The (still unfinished) 0-8-0 has got the job today. 6-86 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 88. The Jakarutu train leaves the rack beside the high tarn. The Tegmentadelamondo is an area of the Altingablecaŭtoj as its name would suggest. (Roof of the World and High Reaches respectively.) It is subjected to the same snowstorms as the mainline but I chose to model the area in high summer. In the winter these uplands would be in deep snow and the tarn would be as hard as rock. No shepherd with any brains would be anywhere near this remote spot. How does the railway remain open? The line is built on a slightly raised causeway so that the winds whipping across the plateau scour it of snow. Ian T

Heckmondwile was a seminal layout but it caused controversy, which is what I assume you mean by marmite layout (i.e. you loved it or hated it). Having lived just over the hill in Batley during my formative years, and played cricket many times on Cemetery Road, I found it difficult to reconcile the scenery of the town with that presented on the model. The LNWR New Line only managed to penetrate the place at the cost of massive earthworks in an intensely urban setting. The proposed Midland line was supposed to be parallel with this line but the scenery on the model was, as I recall, almost bucolic. I have a similar problem with Mr Essery's rendition of Dewsbury. The modelling inside the railway fence is fantastic but the surrounds do not immediately shout "Heavy Woolen" area. Manchester MRC;s Dewsbury Midland however.... Light blue touch paper and retreat, with tin helmet on! Ian T

Thanks very much for the comment. I try to balance stock building scenic work and operation, not always successfully! Ian T

Totally agree. My latest N gauge layout uses Pecos rather than handbuilt. Nice to see some-one modelling York as well. Been there twice this year, to watch both football codes. Ian T

A rainy Saturday afternoon sees all local football cancelled so unusually I will post this weeks photos at this point. They are available here with a small selection shown below. 6-58 - Copy by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 60. Back in the little world (rather than the real one) the diesel shunts two empties into the wood yard siding which puts time into the down goods. This siding (deliberately) dips away at an alarming angle from the mainline and the loco's rear pony truck is almost level with the top of the nearest end of the open. Given the limited sightlines from the loco's elevated cab and the steep precipice beyond the bufferstop I imagine that this will be an adrenaline fuelled moment for the driver. Not for nothing is there a substantial bufferstop here rather than the AFK's standard casual baulk across the tracks if you are lucky! 6-61 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 63. Its counterpart, working into the Orbon basin leaves a snowshed in the forests above Caladonno. I must get around to covering the cheapo trees with snow. One was done as an experiment and I liked the effect. Like everything it is making the time! The snow shed also needs some icicles adding as well as some snow on top. 6-75 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 77. Its up counterpart crossed it at Breĉo de Glissent. The train is loaded to the maximum 160 tons rating and plenty of loads had to be left behind. The loco struggled to pull the train up the hill from Relforka and was not helped by the heavy (Corgi) excavator on the front well wagon. In reality No 101 would most likely have been overwhelmed by such a load but, as it was the first AFK model ever built, it still holds down this duty out of sentiment. Ian T

A rainy Saturday afternoon sees all local football cancelled so unusually I will post this weeks photos at this point. They are available here with a small selection shown below. 6-58 - Copy by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 60. Back in the little world (rather than the real one) the diesel shunts two empties into the wood yard siding which puts time into the down goods. This siding (deliberately) dips away at an alarming angle from the mainline and the loco's rear pony truck is almost level with the top of the nearest end of the open. Given the limited sightlines from the loco's elevated cab and the steep precipice beyond the bufferstop I imagine that this will be an adrenaline fuelled moment for the driver. Not for nothing is there a substantial bufferstop here rather than the AFK's standard casual baulk across the tracks if you are lucky! 6-61 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 63. Its counterpart, working into the Orbon basin leaves a snowshed in the forests above Caladonno. I must get around to covering the cheapo trees with snow. One was done as an experiment and I liked the effect. Like everything it is making the time! The snow shed also needs some icicles adding as well as some snow on top. 6-75 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 77. Its up counterpart crossed it at Breĉo de Glissent. The train is loaded to the maximum 160 tons rating and plenty of loads had to be left behind. The loco struggled to pull the train up the hill from Relforka and was not helped by the heavy (Corgi) excavator on the front well wagon. In reality No 101 would most likely have been overwhelmed by such a load but, as it was the first AFK model ever built, it still holds down this duty out of sentiment. Ian T

The 4-4-0 was an unusual choice for a pre-Grouping railway's 'utility engine' but look on the bright side. Modelling the loco stud is relatively easy with no need for various wheel arrangements! I have already converted one Union Mills to a class O and have three or four others still to do for my own N gauge layout. They are by no means scale models, as I am well aware, but they do give a flavour of a remote and little known prototype. Ian T

You have made a good job with the diamond crossing. I am surprised, however, that you do not scratchbuild using copperclad sleepers. The skill sets are almost the same and you end up with what you want rather than what you are given by Peco. All the rails are then metal, you can have whatever angle you want and curve both roads through the crossing if you are so inclined. Ian T

I cannot see why. The North Eastern Railway used slotted signals well into the twentieth century. I am sure that some survived into BR days. It wasn't the construction of the signals that caused the problem. It was the practice of allowing them to stand at clear. Ian T

The latest batch of photos can be found here. The session is proving to be contrast to previous sessions in that everything is running smoothly "today". How long that will last is open to debate! 6-19 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 19. The Fenditavalat goods usually passes straight through Boursson without stopping, thereby gaining 25 minutes on its booked time. Today it stops to transfer Sojonno bound traffic onto the down KTT goods. Sojonno's siding faces up trains and cannot be shunted by them. Wagons for Sojonno have to be marshalled at the front of the down train because of the steep gradient which means that they need to be on the rear of the up train. Here "the creature", complete with its own brake and that of the up train, is in the process of making the transfer. This procedure ensures that the load (sugar in this instance) reaches Sojonno in the morning rather than the late afternoon as would otherwise be the case. 6-30 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 31. Now that the wagons have gone we can get a clearer view of the quayside, to which the road vehicles have returned. The fish boxes and trays, and the lobster pots, were bought in industrial quantities, so much so, that one surprised trader at York exhibition years ago gave me a couple of free bike kits as well. That's where the one on top of the Lacono pilot came from! The boats are resin kits from a supplier reviewed in Railway Modeller during the nineties. I have no idea, at this remove, who it was but I bought a good number at the time in anticipation of needing them for a scene like this. The Vespa tricycle screams continental in contrast to the Land Rover and Ford parked on the quayside. The Russian bus model, redecorated to AFK colours, although currently displaying a Cyrillic destination, balances things. There is also, bought a great expense, an ice cream cart for the summer months. This came from a French supplier and is correctly configured for a left hand drive. The smoking kiln, in the background, indicates that fish are being kippered. The space behind the bus will be occupied by the Steam Boat, named for the Lossiemouth establishment where, I am assured by the cognoscenti, that you get thrown out for not fighting. There were on or two like that in Batley! 6-47 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 49. The down goods is on the move having crossed the schools' railcar. Here it is passing the fixed distant for Cadsuiane-Fanhuidol around the curve in the background. The control for the point giving access to the station siding sticks through the fascia. Ian T

The latest batch of photos can be found here. The session is proving to be contrast to previous sessions in that everything is running smoothly "today". How long that will last is open to debate! 6-19 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 19. The Fenditavalat goods usually passes straight through Boursson without stopping, thereby gaining 25 minutes on its booked time. Today it stops to transfer Sojonno bound traffic onto the down KTT goods. Sojonno's siding faces up trains and cannot be shunted by them. Wagons for Sojonno have to be marshalled at the front of the down train because of the steep gradient which means that they need to be on the rear of the up train. Here "the creature", complete with its own brake and that of the up train, is in the process of making the transfer. This procedure ensures that the load (sugar in this instance) reaches Sojonno in the morning rather than the late afternoon as would otherwise be the case. 6-30 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 31. Now that the wagons have gone we can get a clearer view of the quayside, to which the road vehicles have returned. The fish boxes and trays, and the lobster pots, were bought in industrial quantities, so much so, that one surprised trader at York exhibition years ago gave me a couple of free bike kits as well. That's where the one on top of the Lacono pilot came from! The boats are resin kits from a supplier reviewed in Railway Modeller during the nineties. I have no idea, at this remove, who it was but I bought a good number at the time in anticipation of needing them for a scene like this. The Vespa tricycle screams continental in contrast to the Land Rover and Ford parked on the quayside. The Russian bus model, redecorated to AFK colours, although currently displaying a Cyrillic destination, balances things. There is also, bought a great expense, an ice cream cart for the summer months. This came from a French supplier and is correctly configured for a left hand drive. The smoking kiln, in the background, indicates that fish are being kippered. The space behind the bus will be occupied by the Steam Boat, named for the Lossiemouth establishment where, I am assured by the cognoscenti, that you get thrown out for not fighting. There were on or two like that in Batley! 6-47 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 49. The down goods is on the move having crossed the schools' railcar. Here it is passing the fixed distant for Cadsuiane-Fanhuidol around the curve in the background. The control for the point giving access to the station siding sticks through the fascia. Ian T

The main problem with your diagram, and some of the others, is that you have a large number of "worked" points. Worked points are those that are controlled from the lever frame in the signalbox and therefore appear on a box diagram. In reality most of the yard points would be thrown by hand from a lever alongside them and would not be numbered on the box diagram. In fact it is unlikely that they would even appear on it, as the signalman was only interested in equipment over which he had direct control. Obviously these controls need to appear somewhere on a model railway control panel diagram if they are to be remotely operated by motors. It might be better to have a smaller separate panel for hand thrown points and to place the "worked" points together to form a frame. Your box diagram shows 14 levers and no spares. Points 7,8,10,12,13 would be hand thrown and lever 11 would only work one half of the crossover. The other half, by the tinplate works would be a hand point. This would give you a ten lever frame and need a smaller panel for the six hand operated points. I assume that your layout was influenced by Midland practice as it is using economic point locks, although these were used on minor railways as well. Most railways used a separate lever to work the facing point lock and this was numbered into the sequence. Ian T

Just managed to catch it after bingeing on continental Renaissance church music at Eucharist. Although the stuff is well known to the choir and in our repertoire it is still a thief of time as is, come to that, watching Conference North football. It is a wonder that anything gets done! Ian T

The Wissington Light Railway was purely an industrial system and therefore a little different from the Wisbech & Upwell which I assume that Upbech is based upon. The Wisbech & Upwell was worked by railwaymen and, originally, carried a passenger service. Whilst I would not claim to be an expert on the Wissey, despite having worked at the factory for a year or two after leaving teaching, I would suspect that it was worked by factory employees. This was the norm on the French beet factory systems where the locos were crewed by factory engineers. They spent the off season repairing locos and stock, just as all the factory equipment is pulled to pieces once the campaign has ended. It takes a fair battering working 24/7 without stopping for roughly six months and things often became a little hairy by February. I doubt that the "engineers" were any different from some of the cowboys that I worked with, as a fitter's mate. In fact leaving a note on a post would have been a waste of time for some of them as I doubt whether they could even read! As an aside, it is not generally realised, now, that beet factories such as Ely, and perhaps the Wissey and Lynn, also operated their own "navy". Lighters were loaded with beet out on the remote drains and towed to the factories by small tugs for processing. On a slightly more serious note, the Sand Hutton Light, which was similar to the Wissey in that it was operated by employees of the estate, used a dubious and highly illegal method of train control. According to Household they simply placed a red disc on a nail on a white board to show that a section was occupied by a train. When another train turned up it waited until the first one came back! This system was used when the passenger train operated. Household's attempts to describe this system in the railway press at the time were apparently suppressed on the orders of Sir Robert Walker, the owner, in case the BoT found out. That might be a step too far for Upbech. IanT

As with anything in signalling this is a complex situation in that exceptions to the norm can always be found to contradict standard practice! I recently wrote a short signalling series looking at narrow gauge installations for the 7mm NGA so I have some knowledge of simple installations. I also worked for the real thing as a signalman in later life although I do not suppose that that will inure me from the wrath of those more knowledgeable than myself. I would suggest that the following procedures and equipment were standard practice. The use of a token, or more likely a train staff with an Annet's key, to release the frame would suggest that this is an intermediate location, i.e. not a block post. In this case there would be no signals. The train would arrive, the crew would insert the staff and unlock the frame, carry out whatever shunting was required and then replace the levers to normal. This would allow the train staff to be removed and they would go on their way. As the train was in possession of the token or staff it could not meet a conflicting train hence the absence of signals. There were wayside stations with loops (for shunting purposes) that worked on this principle. The use of signals would imply that the station was a block post and that it was therefore equipped with block instruments operated by a signalman. This would imply that there was a crossing loop on a single line and, whilst this was the usually case, exceptions could be found. Lossie Junction on the Great North of Scotland Railway had no loop and I believe that one of the stations on the Midland & Great Northern between Sutton Bridge and Wisbech was also a block post on a single line without a loop. There are many other examples. If you wish to cross passenger trains in the loop of Upbech then you will have to assume that it has passed a BoT inspection which would mandate the provision of safety equipment, including signals and token releasing block instruments such as the Tyers No6 instrument. The waters might be a little muddier if only goods trains were involved. On a light railway economy would have been the paramount consideration and no extra buildings, such as a signalbox, would have been provided. The instruments could be kept in an office in the station buildings that was not accessible to the public and the equipment could be operated from an open frame on or near the platform, The County Donegal took this to extremes and the frame at Lough Eske would appear, to all intents and purposes, to have been in a hedgerow! Hope that these views are of some interest, Ian T

The new operating session is now up and running. Here are just a few of the photos that can be seen on the AFK website. 6-06 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 6, The re-crewed cement train is now on the go and crosses Akvalando viaduct which spans the Carramasco Gorge. This train runs every other day on this path in the early morning. The backscene is one of the few improvements from the last time out. Ghealdaban village is prominent perched upon its rock outcrop, The hardboard at the right will eventually become a rock face, although I am quite keen to avoid a similar treatment at the other side of the gorge. Whether this it will be possible to achieve this whilst retaining scenic credibility is open to review at the moment. 6-13 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 13. At just after 04.45 Fenditavalat receives its wake up call from the asthmatic diesel shunter which will frequent its streets for the remainder of the day. A van of cheese is being pulled from the dairy, which has roughly been sketched in using plastic sheet. The scene is a little more complete but it had been intended to pave the square between sessions. Some of the preliminary work to protect the point rods can be seen. Hopefully the session will develop quite quickly, although it is possible that some construction work may be done in session. The Rugby World Cup is also slowing progress. Ian T

The new operating session is now up and running. Here are just a few of the photos that can be seen on the AFK website. 6-06 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 6, The re-crewed cement train is now on the go and crosses Akvalando viaduct which spans the Carramasco Gorge. This train runs every other day on this path in the early morning. The backscene is one of the few improvements from the last time out. Ghealdaban village is prominent perched upon its rock outcrop, The hardboard at the right will eventually become a rock face, although I am quite keen to avoid a similar treatment at the other side of the gorge. Whether this it will be possible to achieve this whilst retaining scenic credibility is open to review at the moment. 6-13 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 13. At just after 04.45 Fenditavalat receives its wake up call from the asthmatic diesel shunter which will frequent its streets for the remainder of the day. A van of cheese is being pulled from the dairy, which has roughly been sketched in using plastic sheet. The scene is a little more complete but it had been intended to pave the square between sessions. Some of the preliminary work to protect the point rods can be seen. Hopefully the session will develop quite quickly, although it is possible that some construction work may be done in session. The Rugby World Cup is also slowing progress. Ian T

Hope you have better luck with the Rivarossi monstrosity as a runner than I have had, should you remove it from the flat wagon! Ian T

Just a couple of photos, hopefully at the normal size, to show a little progress. The backscene was daubed onto the artist's board using acrylics. The whole process took about an hour. It certainly won't win any awards from the Royal Academy but it gives the context. 6 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The Aberdeen service pulls into Citadel having run via the coast line. The Moray Firth is in the background. 5 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Another view of the same train looking towards the town which has been deliberately omitted from the scene. The Black Isle is visible across the Firth. 4 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The Stanier tank shunts the harbour. Given that this piece of the layout is about two inches wide it is useful to draw the eye in. I have deliberately gone for an overcast dull day in an effort to relegate the backscene to its supporting role rather than have it call attention to itself by being too bright or too detailed. The landscape is a series of muted colours in vague shapes. Ian T

Re Norfolk coastal resorts. Hunstanton was effectively created by the Le Strange family from nothing. The fishing village of Old Hunstanton still remains to the north of New Hunstanton (as it was called) but is separate from the Victorian town. The town's growth was based upon attracting holiday makers from the East Midlands, who, of course, arrived by train. In many respects Blakeney was lucky that the railway did not arrive otherwise it would be a clone of Hunstanton. Incidentally, despite visiting the town numerous times across the years for sporting activities I have never understood the attractions of Great Yarmouth as a holiday resort! Best of luck to any-one arriving there for a week. Ian T

Just like selection for the cricket team used to be (in the good old days) you cannot have one unless you were born there! I even know of people who went "home" to make sure that there son/daughter qualified! Ian T

Q Thanks for your enlightenment. Having recently read The Highland Railway by David Ross I had tentatively drawn that conclusion. It seems a shame that such an attitude could prevail, although I accept that times were different then. It is nice to see that the modern railway uses Gaelic, at least on the station nameboards, although I understand that this has raised controversy in the Doric speaking areas. Not everyone, apparently, likes to find that they have arrived at Inbhir Uige. Most prefer Wick, which I presume derives from the Viking name. The Press & journal, if I remember correctly, reported that some locals were taking pot shots at Gaelic signs in protest. As Google translate does not run to Gaelic it might be some time before trains arrive at An Caisteal Inbhir Nis. My first thought Broch Inbhir Nis presumably heretically combines both tongues?! Regarding the last posting. I was in a hurry to get to a football match so you will have to excuse the typos. I also notice that I missed out one photo which I had captioned. The photos came out much too large thereby unwittingly revealing just how much of a bodger I actually am. Never mind. At least I will have something other than cats, cathedral evensongs and football to occupy my time in the Cotswolds. Ian T

Inverness Citadel has seen a faie amount of activity recently whilst Auchintoul languishes. I am due for another visit to the Cotswolds shortly so an effort has been made to fill in all the blank spaces on the layout. ops decant 038 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr We begin by arriving behind a 4MT tank in platform 2. Immediately we notice that the station has acquired a canopy, as promised, although it appears to be rather generic, if not downright GWR swearword! As a concession to its supposedly GNSR origins it will eventually be painted in brown and cream, probably emphasising its origins. ops decant 026 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The GNSR platform buildings are all built of wood, as befits an interloper into a Highland stronghold. The Great North used wood extensively but not, to the best of my knowledge at its terminals. Alright having written that Old Meldrum springs straight to mind! Okay, here goes. The Great North did not usually use wood at its terminals and had no wooden terminus buildings at right angles to the track (to the best of my knowledge). The Ratio canopies have taken a bashing. Hopefully this can be disguised with filler and paint! Given the foregoing observations the buildings are freelanced but hopefully credible. ops decant 015 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Beside the station buildings, alongside the right angle bend in the sky, lies the harbour. The weird track layout allows this to be shunted from the goods arrival loop. It looks like Seafield, the GNSR marshalling yard and loco depot, has purloined an LMS tank to shunt the fish sheds. ops decant 014 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The "fish shed" also masquerades as the oil terminal, wood yard and cement terminal, depending upon the wagons to hand. It is a simple fiddle stick and, obviously, an afterthought. A harbour scene, including an indeterminate ship, will be painted onto the background and the German lorries will be Anglicised. The microswitches in front of the platform have now been hidden. This will become a coalyard in BR days but most coal arrived by sea in the earlier parts of the twentieth century so it will be an ambiguous waste ground in other periods. The point operating switches have been painted black in an effort to disguise them. I will reserve judgement as to how long they will last so before a repaint is needed. ops decant 030 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr One of the hinges is hidden beneath the grandstand of Citadel FC. This has been designed to be credible throughout the entire operating range of the layout. It is a typical old fashioned Highland League design in that the home and away teams run out from opposite sides of the stand as they did at Caledonian and Inverness Thistle in days gone by. A series of signs, indicating the next opponent will eventually be produced. That for the pre-WWI period will feature the 93rd Highlanders, better known as "The Thin Red Line". Forces teams often entered sides into the league until the fifties. ops decant 023 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The other hinge is hidden by the tanning factory. The clearances are tighter than is normal on a model but they were fairly common in reality. The BR sign, in alleged Scottish Region light blue, is also removable so that it can be replaced by one appropriate for the era. ops decant 032 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Just along from the tannery we find the bridge for Harbour Road which crosses the sidings in the goods yard. This has been based on GNSR prototypes and I have used paving stones in an effort to replicate the large granite blocks used in the area. They also form the base of the grandstand. Once again clearances are much tighter than normal on many models bu they seem to reflect prototype practices. ops decant 034 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The trains enter in front of the box and behind the two huts. The two huts are removable to give access to the bolts aligning the sector plate. It would be better if they were not there but they are hiding microswitches. A new isignalbox is still needed, although point rodding and boxed in cranks have been included. That ends this brief update. Hopefully the layout will survive a week or two away without any major problems. The basic foundations are now there to allow development to continue. The next job here will be the signals but that will be left for some time in the future. Auchintoul is earmarked for some remedial attention and there is the gardem railway to extend. The AFK also needs some high capacity coal wagons. Ian T

I cannot see any problems with the basic concept of establishing the town along the Wootton Creek. If I am not mistaken this was a more important site than Lynn before the Norman Conquest which was one reason why the local castle (Castle Rising) was built alongside it. At the time of the Conquest the site of what was to become Lynn was simply a marsh so establishing the town further north might have made more sense than what actually happened! The town's name (the King's part is never used locally) is supposedly derived from the Celtic for a lake or pool (llyn). I notice that you have a channel for the Ouse flowing almost due north. You may or may not be aware that the Ouse flowed in a huge loop out towards the village of Clenchwarton at the start of the nineteenth century (as I recall from my teaching days). A new channel was cut to increase the scour at Lynn as the port was silting up. This gives you scope to tinker with the local drainage and generally alter the topography. There was, of course, a Victorian proposal to dam The Wash and reclaim the land to create Victoria County, thereby doing this in reality. The history of the area in real life is about as close to ideal for any modellers' "Just Supposing" scheme. Ian T