ianathompson

I have vaguely toyed with the idea of a modern "electrified" AFK as an occasional alternative to the current system (no pun intended) but I can't see it coming to pass. I would just build 3 or 4 emus and declare all the intermediate sidings shut. There would obviously be no catenary. Freight traffic at the few remaining rail served industries would exclusively use SG vehicles hauled by a couple of the big diesels. There would be a lot of choice for the heritage stock! I have also occasionally contemplated a temporary regression to the nineteenth century but that is not likely to happen either! Ian T

To be honest I have never considered the maximum speed limits applicable upon the line. This might seem strange but the timetable was based upon average speeds, although some adjustments to timings were made for the steep uphill sections. These timings were based upon those published in continental NG timetables. Many line histories include these somewhere in their pages. One problem, however is that many of these lines were metre gauge railways that could run at higher speeds than 750mm, which is what 00 track most closely approximates to in 7mm scale. 35 kph, which is what the AFK railcars are timetabled to run at, equates to roughly 22mph. The suggested 70-75kph works out at around 46 mph which is a little faster than the speeds claimed for Donegal railcars. I would suggest that 50kph or 30mph would be the maximum AFK speed. There are 750mm railways in Europe that nowadays run at much faster speeds(as is noted in the timetables section of the website) but these are modern railways which use deep rock ballast and continuous welded rails. The AFK's roadbed cannot match these standards. The ballast is sand, gravel and ash mixed in roughly equal proportions. As I observed before it might not be capable of taking SG wagons on transporters in reality and I seriously doubt that it would stand up to being pounded at 50mph! Ian T

Gentlemen. Thank you for your interest and the points that you raised. To some extent I have manipulated the continental systems to suit my preferences but most of the French influence has been obtained by referring to Histoire de la Signalisation Ferroviare Français (A Gernigon, Vie du Rail, 1998). Extracting information from this is a little hit and miss because, like most French technical books, it doesn't include an index. I would not attempt to suggest that the AFK signalling system was an accurate portrayal of any real system but rather that it has been influenced by prototype practice. I suppose that I could cite Rule 1 (Its my railway etc, etc.) but that would be the easy way out! What I have attempted to show as the standard AFK installation at an intermediate station is derived from French voie unique (VU) or single line practices. There were many variations in provision, all of which are outlined in the book, along with representative diagrams. One problem is that in some circumstances stations were laid out on the Regie voie directe (VD) principle (i.e. taking the through (straight) route) and others were laid out on the Regie de la voie de gauche where the left hand route was always taken, as in British practice. VD translates into Thalnian as sola viva vojo so what we have is the SVV-AFK system. None of these French systems appear to have had an avertissement warning of the home signal. It must be said that even within the pre-nationalisation companies there was a wide range of provision. The PO sometimes provided a carré yet in other circumstances provided a disque rouge as the first signal encountered. In certain arrangements a carré and rappel de ralentissement were also provided by the points at the station entry whereas in others it was not. It was against these disparate methods that the SVV-AFK was devised. I decided to use the carré rather than the disque for a couple of reasons. The interpretation of the disque rouge at danger was "stop and proceed on sight prepared to stop short of any obstruction". In practical terms this meant 'watch out for any shunting moves that are standing on the main line between you and the station'. The distances between the various AFK signals and the entry points are much foreshortened as on most model railways. Shunt moves at Boursson often (illegally) proceed beyond the home but I accept this as a reasonable compromise. The electrical arrangements for a disque would also be complicated as I do not use DCC. In any case the avertissement would have to be sited beyond the halt at Lamassco on the model which is supposed to be 1·8 kilometres distant. This would stretch credulity. One last thought on this is that the Regie simplifé system did indicate the approach to stations with a "Gare" sign but this seems to have effectively functioned as a home signal. I suppose that a German "kreuztafel" could be supplied but again this becomes a problem of foreshortening. The northern approaches to Breĉo de Glissent and Cadsuine-Fanhuidol are two locations that might present more realistic options for one of these signals. The carré violet or its predecessor the disque jaune (which wasn't necessarily a disc, such as on the Etat or the Midi) were used for freight trains leaving lay-bys or sidings. In my earliest attempts to use French signalling I did not realise this and erroneously provided one for shunt moves on an older version of Fenditavalat. Signal bb at Lacono Vecchia is effectively a carré violet placed at ground level as it is used to authorise freight train departures from the yard. It is of course a colour light signal. It will eventually be supplemented by a full height counterpart at the northern end of the yard (designated signal T). I suppose that in my home brewed numbering system signal bb (I quoted the wrong number originally) should be redesignated as a mainline signal (H appears to be spare). As I noted, there were no purple LEDs available at the time of construction so I settled on blue as an acceptable substitute. There are no other locations on the system where these types of signals are needed as semaphores so the violet or blue slatted examples cannot be justified I am afraid. The closest that I have come to a carré jaune is the shunting aspect in the Fenditavalat home which displays red and yellow. It is intended that all the shunt aspects at Urteno will be shown by yellow lights but the embryonic signalling scheme which has been prepared probably diverges further away from prototype systems. With regard to the speed restriction signs there are not any at the moment. Again one of the problems is placing them at a sensible distance from whatever they apply to. The 'Instructions' book specifies that all train should slow to 15 kph when taking the diverging route on entering stations and I may eventually provide reminders. There are plenty of signs missing at the moment. A lot of level crossings need a whistle sign along the line and gradient posts are currently absent. I tend to do these things as batch jobs like I did with the kilometre posts which follow German practice in being provided at (allegedly) 100 metre intervals or the level crossing cross bucks. I have run out of both of these at the moment so I will need to make some more. The only signs provided so far for railway operations are those warning the driver to engage and disengage the rack drive, high on the moors in the Győrsmorabű. The disengage one is shown here as it seems to have escaped inclusion in the website. small layouts 011 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Its counterpart is visible in the background of the photo although nowadays it seems to spend more time lying on its back. Perhaps the local ganger should concentrate more on this rather than checking his traps! Hope that this is of interest and explains a few things. If any one has any other queries I will be glad to answer then as far as possible. Ian T

Continental signalling Ben, thanks for your comments. I have just posted a massive tome about the AFK's signalling onto the website. It is available at https://myafk.net/signalling-methods I suppose that continental signalling systems will only be of interest to a small minority but it is one of my particular interests within the hobby. I would be interested to know of any obvious errors in the info provided or malfunctions of the website. If there are any these will be my shortcomings rather than anyone else's. Ian T

First impressions on the road Citadel had its first run out away from home, not an ideal situation, but one created by my late decision to go ahead with the build. I had expected a few problems and I was not disappointed! The first problem arose from my carpentry skills, or lack thereof! When placed on the table at my sister's the layout overhung the edges by some margin and adopted a shape akin to a French circonflex accent (i.e. with the extremities sloping upwards towards the middle). This caused the trailing wheels of steam locos such as the 4MT tanks to derail, especially in reverse, as the fixed wheelbase lifted the bogie above rail height on the adjacent board. This will require some woodworking bodgery to correct. The diesels were a little happier and so work in the yard was handed over to them. The performance of the Peco pointwork was indifferent to say the least. There were a few problems with derailments but by far the more worrying aspect was the failure of all the rails to energise when they should. The three way point at the entrance was dead on one blade which gave poor running until rectified with the soldering iron and, in desperation, a paperclip soldered to an adjacent rail. One of the older points, with built in switching (?) failed completely, both at the crossing and the blade. Running was further compromised by a failure at the adjacent double slip, which was live at the guard rails but dead on the crossing. As I have previously noted I am quite happy to build my own track and it was only laziness that led to the use of Peco's products. The problems can easily be rectified with a soldering iron and some wire so I am not too worried but it does raise the question as to how other modellers cope with these shortcomings, especially those who are unable to solder. Four points exhibited these problems out of the dozen or so bought. A number of rail joints were slightly out of alignment and will require attention before the layout goes out again. I had quickly forgotten just how picky N gauge is. The transition to the sector plate also proved problematical and the nearest road could not be accessed at all, although it was checked before it went out, honestly! Never mind, there is a slight difference in levels which will need addressing before it is used again. 1 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr On the operational side the layout had not even been test run until it was set up. The long siding leading to the quayside (red arrow) quickly proved to be a white elephant and the latest thoughts are to access the quays (off shot at the bottom right) by a crossover from the headshunt and use the space for a coal yard. This will free up the siding in the yard (top right, occupied by 16T mineral wagons) for general goods. It will also make the quays available without having to reverse too many times. The blue arrow indicates another operational problem area. The point in front of the dmu (in a temporally challenged livery!) will be removed and placed closer to the buffers. This will then be worked by a groundframe. It should then be possible to shunt wagons with the loco locked into platform 1 rather than pulling out onto the approach road (on the sector plate) for every movement. This will please the signalman even if it doesn't the shunter and loco crews. A fair length of the goods siding as laid is redundant anyway. No timetable as such was in use and it is intended in any case that the goods trains will be trips, as required, from Seafield Yard. The complexities of the layout, forced by the space restraints, resulting in short headshunts and a number of kick backs, call for some care in shunting if the yard is not to become tangled up. Passenger services were operated by the dmu(s) covering the Nairn suburban service and the steam locos the Elgin services. 2 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr A passenger arrives from Elgin behind a standard 5MT whilst the 2MT waits with a short fish train. 3 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The coal siding in the foreground will in all probability become a general siding and a bridge will eventually hide the exit, crossing over the position where the vans are standing. Whilst I would not want to think that this was my main layout there is plenty of scope for development. The problems will gradually be addressed so that work progresses towards a more complete rendition. The main layout, the multi stationed AFK, has been standing idle for far too long and this is where effort will be expended in the immediate future. Ian T

Inverness Citadel: Practicalities After all the blather of the previous post the idea here is to take a look at the actual model. I have, over the years gained experience in designing and constructing models that were supposed to be compact; easily portable and quick to set up or dismantle. They were not! This is my latest attempt based on these failures. I am not holding my breath that I will be any more successful! Inv Cit 001 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The shenanigans in all its glory! The idea is that the whole thing is self contained and that I can walk in, put the layout down and be up and running in five minutes. To this end the baseboards are much deeper and more complex than usual (and heavier as well) because they are meant in the finished version to include stock trays, integral control panels and controllers and a cubby hole for tools, quick release clamps and a quayside extension. It has just been found that this latter is too big to fit into its designed recess (as shown)! More work with the hacksaw and chisel is in prospect. Inv Cit 008 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The intention is that everything is integral and slides out to allow the layout to operate. The controller will live in a drawer and the switch panels will also slide out. Note the quick release clamp which allows the quay extension to fit onto the layout end. Two other clamps will make sure that the joint across the hinges is secure. Inv Cit 004 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The sector plate also hides within the framework of the layout. Inv Cit 006 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Simply remove a bolt and unfold the layout and you are ready to go. The layout is crammed with track with the two island platforms at the left. The goods arrival line runs through the double slip in the bottom centre and trains have to be reversed into the yard to release the loco. Designing this layout was a bit hit and miss as despite three goes on a full sized sheet of paper using Peco templates there were still problems once the pointwork had arrived which necessitated a re-arrangement to get it all to fit. It looks to flow about as well as can be expected using fixed formations, although there are a few unnatural jogs here and there. This is my first use of proprietary pointwork since Noah left the Ark and I am used to just 'going where I want'. On the other side of the coin the trackwork was put down in one go rather than taking weeks to assemble. Even then the use of a slitting disc and a few tweaks with a soldering iron and some copperclad sleepers were called for. I suppose that the cramped nature of the layout, seriously over crammed with track made this inevitable. 005 - Copy by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The main layout, continental 7mm narrow gauge, has track that just goes where it wants, including through the middle of a point on the quayside at Eromarbordo. There are plenty of other weird and wonderful formations elsewhere on the layout.... 005 (2) by Ian Thompson, on Flickr ... but on the other side of the coin you cannot just slap it down at one go! Wonder what chance there is of Peco replicating this! Inv Cit 012 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Back to the job in hand. The sector plate is pivoted outwith the layout itself, as seen at the right. The drawer is pulled out and locked into position with the bolt at the left. The previous intention of using a hinge, hence the recess in the baseboard, did not work. Inv Cit 015 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The sector plate has been bolted on and all is ready to go. It will receive sides and an end stop in due course. Inv Cit 016 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Within five or ten minutes, maybe longer depending upon how long it takes to position stock, the first train pulls in from Elgin/Aberdeen. The camera battery was running down at this point which I hope explains the fuzziness of the photos. Inv Cit 018 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The points are operated from the front of the layout and I have used my preferred techniques as far as possible. The rods are surplus rail and operate the microswitches which will change the point's crossing polarity, although some of these proprietary points don't seem to have the wiring connections that I think they should! I will wait and see what happens when I try to wire them up! The black styrene stops the loops round the tie bars from overriding them. These connections are so much easier to arrange with a copper clad sleeper! It was originally intended to put the microswitches at the back until I realised that being unable to solder activators to the far side of plastic tie bar massively complicated the issue. Eventually the styrene will be covered by landscaping materials as will the switches. The 'knobs' are chocolate block connectors. I don't usually bother to cut the plastic housings off when I use them on the main layout but the small nature of N gauge and the close proximity to some of the sidings suggested (after the inevitable false start) that it would be a good idea. A couple of (ungapped) copperclads have been inserted to keep the alignments and also slightly tighten the curve of the 'curved' point. Inv Cit 020 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The flour mill (left) and the meat packing plant (right) will be flats hiding the sector plate and will travel in one of the drawers. They come from a Walthers kit and will be adjusted as needed. That reminds me that somewhere or other a grain elevator kit lurks in a drawer. The coal merchants' siding is in the foreground. Inv Cit 022 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Unfortunately out of focus but the battery was flashing red by now! The top end of platform 1, the old departure platform, may be better used for parcels and Post Office traffic hence the full brakes parked here. This would then free up the goods shed road, behind, for other traffic. There is easily room for a dmu to come into the platform. Inv Cit 024 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The use of the semi redundant platform and the more varied role of the goods shed raises questions as to what this siding ought to be used for. The obvious choice of a whisky distillery does not appeal as the one at Auchintoul has more space than this one and even that is undersized.. Maybe a tannery could go in here. It would seem to be a prototypically noxious industry for a port area. Inv Cit 027 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr I have managed to cut off the front of the loco but this shot does show the short nature of freight trains that can be accommodated. The line in the foreground leads to the quayside. The next job is to complete the wiring and then run the layout intensively, away from home, to discern any areas that need attention. I suppose that, if it proves viable, it could be exhibited but that would seem unlikely given that most Saturdays are taken up watching or being involved with sport and that church music takes out most Sundays. Ian T

Inverness Citadel: The theory A somewhat sketchy background was given to the Inverness "might have been" in the last posting. Hopefully this posting will fill in the details for those few interested, although given its length I am sure that most of you will have lost the will to live before reaching the end! Without delving too deeply into the minutiae of mid Victorian Railway politics the Great North of Scotland Railway was the in simple terms the first railway in the area that it was named for. That this eventually proved to be a grandiloquent name for a relatively minor railway was more down to the antics and attitudes of its early directors than anything else. The initial intention of the railway was to link Aberdeen and Inverness but, as has been well documented, the good people of Inverness grew impatient with the Aberdeen based company, formed their own company and built directly southwards to Perth thereby side stepping their rivals. As the initial route of the Highland Railway took it through Forres it was a simple matter to throw off a branch to Keith which was as far as the GNSR had reached by this stage. Having been thwarted in their initial ambitions the GNSR continually attempted to extend their system towards Inverness but, with the exception of the circuitous route between Keith and Elgin, and the resulting acrimony regarding the exchange point, they were rebuffed by the Highland. Many of the expansion attempts were based upon supporting proposed branch lines north of Inverness as an excuse to secure running powers over the Highland's route. In my alternative universe I have assumed that the (imaginarily extended) 1891 proposal for an Garve and Ullapool branch became reality. The Highland built these branches but the GNSR was left with the orphaned remnant of a line into Inverness. This was completed in 1895. Five minutes drawing lines onto Google Earth produced a line paralleling the Highland's route. A recent trip to watch Cove Rangers (to complete the full set of Highland League grounds) and a trip into Inverness on the train proved that this was reasonably viable in physical terms, although the Auchintoul route was interesting to view on the ground! Inv Cit 031 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The detailed proposal is shown on the adjacent map. The new line branches off the old mainline to the south of Elgin and runs into Elgin Boroughbrae (so recently renamed that the Tippex wasn't dry!) sited to the south of the Highland station. As the second railway in the town the GNSR was "expected" to add a suffix to the station names to avoid confusion, (although it appears not to actually have done this at Elgin). As the football ground rejoices in the name of Borough Briggs the morphologically challenged engineers decided that the slight slope downwards from the Borough centre gave them the excuse of using "Brae". At least Quiniesbrae at Auchintoul actually is a slope (and not half!) The provision of a chord from the Coast line and the Lossiemouth branch rendered the old station redundant although it still serves as a much reduced transfer point for goods traffic. There is, of course, no need to any longer walk along the exchange platform to catch a Highland connection to Inverness. The new line ran roughly a mile or two south of the Highland's route pausing at Forres Picthill and Nairn West End. The suffixes were devised with the help of Wikipedia, although its reliability is often open to debate! There is apparently a large stone covered in Pictish runes at Forres and the West End of Nairn was a noted area of Victorian villa development. Inverness remained a small compact town before WWI with a population of about 20,000 (presumably, extrapolating from Wikipedia) with plenty of open space to the east of the town. The bucolic backdrops are clearly apparent in photographs of the Highland facilities looking eastwards towards the Moray Firth. The lack of population in this area was also cited as one reason for Citadel FC's demise in 1935. The GNSR crossed the Highland's mainline at Culloden and built a yard at Seafield which served as the loco depot and exchange point for traffic with the Highland. It then re-crossed the older company's line near Raigmore to run into its terminus at Inverness Citadel. The station was named for the short lived citadel established by Cromwell's troops in the 1650s following the Civil War as a base to dominate the Highland clans. Citadel football team had been playing at Shore Street since the 1880s and so the GNSR built their station alongside the ground, a short walk from the town centre, roughly where the oil terminal stands today. Harbour Road was built after WWII but I have assumed that the railway's arrival meant that it was built much earlier and slightly to the north of its present route, with station fronting on to it. The working arrangements for the line are subject to some speculation. As presented the route diagram indicates eleven stations between Inverness and Nairn. Any-one familiar with the area will appreciate that this is mostly open agricultural land almost devoid of settlement. Culloden, Croy and Cawdor are actual villages which would merit a station (and Culloden had one on the later direct Highland mainline) but I have assumed that the GNSR instituted a suburban service similar to that operated at Aberdeen in the early years of the twentieth century. Although Aberdeen was a much larger city the GNSR had become an innovative forward looking company by 1900 so it seems reasonable to suggest that they might have attempted to drum up some traffic with a more intensive service out to Nairn. I envisage the settlements (some of which don't actually exist) to have grown moderately rather than massively, allowing the service to be maintained by one or two locos and sets of carriages. This is my cover story for the Dapol M7 that I intend to convert to a GNSR class R. I have already had one unsuccessful bite at this cherry but have determined on another attempt. In any case it might also provide an incentive to attempt to create a Cravens class 105 dmu as well. Inv Cit 030 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The station layout, as shown by the sketched box diagram, is laid out with an arrival and a departure platform, although by BR days this distinction was no longer quite so applicable. A siding parallel to the platforms serves the goods shed. This is based on the physical layout at Elgin, although the signal box diagram for Elgin East shows that it was accessed from the yard by hand points. I had originally intended that this road would be provided with a platform face and used by parcels traffic which would make sense given the close proximity of the backscene/football ground perimeter. The semi redundant nature of the departure platform suggests that the vans dealing with parcels and Post Office traffic could easily stand at the bufferstop end of the platform. The goods shed could then be supplemented by a loading bank. The signalled part of the layout is relatively small as it is assumed that a six lever groundframe controls the inner part of the arrival platform and that most of the points in the yard are hand worked. Freight traffic is limited by the length of the loop road to about ten wagons but this disadvantage provides an excuse for a frequent service. It is assumed that all freights are trip workings from Seafield Yard with shunting being done by the loco. The cramped nature of the model layout, somewhat at odds with the expansive layout that could have been provided in reality requires these trains to partially reverse into the yard to run round, accounting for the unconventional layout and working methods. The real life football ground was noted for its malodorous nature due to the neighbouring slaughter house and tannery as well as the raw winds nipping in from the Firth. These have translated into a meat packing warehouse and a flour mill on the layout. The as yet undesignated kick back siding could serve a tannery as well. Other traffics include coal and a shunting stick extension into the port that would provide an excuse for fish traffic, timber and petroleum. One area of conjecture is the nature of the station buildings that would have been provided. My first inclination was to provide a quite substantial building based upon stone ones at Elgin (GNS), as a sort of 'Elgin-lite'. Recent reflection suggests that the railway's very late arrival would have been marked by a much more modest establishment. The Highland was the main player in town and the GNS was the usurper with little real prospect of making inroads into their hegemony. My latest inclination is to provide a small wooden structure which could have been cheaply provided with the possibility of a more substantial rebuild if traffic exceeded expectations. The terminus at Balmoral, the starting point for the royal trains, was similarly constructed of wood (and has just been rebuilt following a disastrous fire) so what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. The Balmoral example was parallel with the platform however and the layout demands one perpendicular to the platforms. Cannon Street on the Hull & Barnsley provides an example of my intentions as it was another was another minor terminus similarly built of wood in a backstreets location. (I understand that the Hull & Barnsley had originally intended to extend the line to a much grander terminus near the city centre). I am sure that there were many other similar secondary termini throughout the country. That might seem to be a lot of flummery for a small shunting plank but if you are going to model 'might have beens' it is best to have at least a flimsy take on an alternative reality, if only to salve your conscience. Ian T

Thanks for the editing advice. Hope to visit the area of the model in the near future. Ian T

Inverness Citadel I have given up trying to change the topic's title. Perhaps some-one could enlighten me as to how you do this? Anyway as a serial builder of unfinished layouts an idea occurred for another GNSR layout. Although work continues with Auchuintoul and the AFK I am likely to be spending more time with my elderly mother at my sister's home in the Cotswolds. All well and good but obviously there is no model railway there. Enter Inverness Citadel: a small fold up layout designed (?) to be a self contained easily portable layout (well that's the plan). 16 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 017 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The two photos give a general idea of what is planned, although it bears little resemblance to any prototypical design and basically amounts to cram as much track in as you can to sustain interest. Hopefully this idea will make some progress eventually. The rationale is that the GNSR finally beat the Highland Railway's blocking tactics and reached Inverness via Forres Picthill and Nairn West End. In the early twentieth century there was plenty of space for expansion to the east of the city although today this area (out towards ICT's ground) is a badlands of industrial units, fast food joints, by passes and all the ugly paraphanalia of modern settlements. For any residents of Inverness the layout is located just off Shore Street where the Cromwell's citadel was located. It can be pinpointed by the fact that Citadel FC's stand will stand roughly where the red pen is. Citadel did not of course go bust in 1935 but still play on in the Highland League in my alternative reality. Regards Ian T

Not having made notes, but having used the service from Ely to Birmingham in the eighties, I remember them as Mk Is. There were usually five or six of them hauled by a class 31 or a class 25 as I remember. Ian T

The operating language is English so that I and any-one else who works the AFK can understand it! A few technical terms have been left in the Thalnian (Esperanto) as it does not seem right to change them. The loop is always referred to as the PFT and the home signal as the ES for instance. They translate as pasaflankatrako and enirasignalo respectively. Ian T

I have spent quite a bit of time "paper modelling" recently, i.e. putting off unpalatable things such as digging holes in baseboards! One result has been the appearance of a definitive "AFK Instructions for Working" running to forty odd pages. 48 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr This hefty book contains the working procedures for operating sessions. Not many modellers go to such lengths but the AFK is rather large and I felt that it was time to formalise common practices. It has also allowed me to rationalise a few nebulous areas as well. There are now four pages of instructions for working the (non existent) German style block instruments. 49 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr There have been one or two practical implications as well. The smaller engines often work snow plough trains but Instruction TW 11 states: "All locomotives working north of Ithilarak must be fitted with snow ploughs during the winter months." A couple of the shunters often called for these duties have been retro fitted. Ian T

Just a few notes to show that the AFK is not moribund. The N gauge GNSR layout has taken a lot more work to get it to a reasonable operable state than was initially anticipated. Hopefully the current heavy labour on this layout has been finished for the time being, but I do not hold my breath. Work on the snow scene is currently stalled but should begin again shortly. The locos have received some attention but are far from complete. They are shown here with a few comments. 43 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The Kitson Meyer stands over the loco old pit at Fenditavalat. (This is on the list of things to do as it now needs removing.) The chimney seems to have taken a bash so that will have to be looked at. 42 (2) by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The 0-8-0 in its basic form, although the valve gear needs dirtying. I worry about how much lead has had to be inserted into the tender to enable it to pull reasonable loads. A road test will be carried out before the next session to check the performance. 44 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The 0-8-8-0T skulks ( or should it be sulks) in front of the old shed. It looks impressive but, even after remotoring and much tinkering its performances still leave something to be desired. 45 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The basics of the 2-10-2T are finished and the German style chimney extension shows up well. 46 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The upper part of the line is signalled with an extremely unlikely combination of pre-WWI examples. The original intention was that these would be French but German influence has crept in at Ithilarak. The up distant is based on a Bavarian Railways prototype. These fold back at 45 degrees, presenting an intriguing challenge to model. This is the "langsam fahrt" position of caution. 47 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The "fahrt frei" or clear position gave a positive indication unlike the standard German distant and French signals which turned end on to the driver. The operating wires could probably stand a little tidying! Work on this and other signals is held up awaiting the arrival of nuts and bolts in the same BA configurations! The Caladonno forirasignalo can then be built and the trackside snow completed. Ian T

Re post 6 Do you have this book? Could you send me the pictures?!? I have these books but I would have thought that posting the diagrams would probably breach copyright. The books are quite easy to get hold of and three are currently listed on e-Bay; two at sensible prices and one at a stupid asking price. The track plans in the book are fairly crude undimensioned sketches and do not really show any more (if as much) information as the maps. If you let me have an e-mail address I can forward them if you want them. Ian T

The Lough Swilly railway, E.M.Patterson, David & Charles 1964 and subsequent editions shows sketches of Fahan Pier on p112 and Carndonagh on p114. I would emphasise that these are sketches rather than scale diagrams but they show the track layouts and buildings. Published photos of both stations are rare, given the early closure of the branch beyond Buncrana but the L&LSR by J.I.C.Boyd, Bradford Barton shows Fahan on p73. From memory, having traced the branch on Google Earth some years ago, the station buildings at Carndonagh survive fairly much as built. Ian T

I have wondered about whether to 'provide' a bike or not! From what I can recollect of Nairn's arrangements, having crossed the bridge on the way to watching County play, they were about 200 yards apart. I certainly saw a bike in use at Brora back in the day when I went to watch Rangers play but the boxes appeared to be further apart there. Some GNSR boxes seem to have been quite close together, such as at Spey Bay, which Google Earth suggests were about 180 yards apart. The signaller had a third port of call on the Highland however as the block instruments were in the station building with both boxes effectively being glorified ground frames. In typical GNSR pattern the Auchintoul West box contains the instruments whereas Auchuintoul East is effectively a groundframe. Incidentally I understand that the GNSR frequently did not provide name boards at it's boxes.Is this correct? Ian T

Operating Conundrums Auchintoul has reverted to "semi moribund" status since the last post but a recent visit by Andy Greening saw it briefly spring to life, in BR fifties/sixties mode. You will have to forgive the preponderance of R-T-R items taken straight from the box. This resulted in an interesting session that threw up some operational wrinkles and questions which might be of interest to readers interested in prototypical operation. To recap, Andy is a current NetworkRail signalman and I spent the last 16 years of my working career as a relief signaller. It might be an N gauge railway but it has to operate like the real railway;~ within the Regulations! We were attempting to run part of a provisional timetable, albeit that I was aware that there were some problems with this before we started. I suspected that the proposed timetable would need a major redrafting and it will certainly be adjusted in the light of experience, but the session gave an enlightening insight into the problems faced every day on the steam worked railway reliant simply upon the omnibus telephone, line of sight handsignals and the Tyers No 6 token instrument. The basic timings used in the scenario were Up goods arr 07.29 Keith-Maud Jct to shunt distillery only Down passenger arr 07.49 Maud Jct-Cairnie Jct dep 07.51 Up passenger 08.17 Keith-Maud Jct dep 08.19 Down fish (express) pass 08.42 Fraserburgh-Glasgow Up goods dep 08.55 The moves were carried out under the Regulations for Train Signalling and Signalmen's General Instructions 1960 edition (no gender equality back then!) This played out as follows. 1 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 1. At 07.45 the up goods stands in the up platform as the first down passenger of the day heads towards Cairnie Junction and Keith (with an unrepainted LNER coach on the rear).. Although 15 minutes have elapsed between the goods train's arrival and the passenger no work could be done during the interval because this train works the distillery (*) which is trailing to the goods train. The traffic for this is marshalled at the front of the train and comprises the six vehicles in front of the brown hopper. Unless the signalman runs down the platform to take the Netherdale-Auchintoul tablet from the passenger train driver, an unlikely event, whilst giving him the one for the Auchintoul-Dens Park section, there will be a further slight delay. * various names are contemplated for the distillery such as Foggieloan, Strathdeveron or simply Auchintoul. Any preferences anyone? Have a sip of a nice single whilst you ruminate. 2 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 2. The down passenger has departed and the Netherdale-Auchintoul token is back in the machine. The up goods needs to pull forward to "cross the road". The signalman is in Auchintoul's major box so he gives Netherdale the 5-2 "release token" bell code under Regulation 7(d) and takes a token out of the machine. He will have to walk along the platform to the minor box at the Netherdale end of the platform to reverse the points whilst giving the token to the driver as he passes. Would he pull the slot on the starter given that this was a shunting move (always assuming that he had released the slot in the major box)? Would the shunt move clear the home or would it stop, as here, just clear of the detection bar? Having reached a clear understanding with the driver that he is about to make a shunt move the signalman authorises it onto the single line, (preferably by a yellow flag if I was doing it, given the recalcitrance of some drivers). In this case the train has pulled forward and cleared the locking bar, as shown, although it is still missing here. In all probability the home would be beyond the bridge on the prototype, but it will not be on the model. If it did not clear the home would the guard give the driver a hand signal having seen a flag from the signalman authorising it to set back? 3 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 3. The back half of the train has been left in the down platform and the loco and distillery wagons have run onto the main line again before setting back into the up road. The signalman leaves the points reversed in the minor box, pulls the slot on the up starter (for the soon to arrive up passenger) and walks back along the platform to the major box. Here he reverses the points into the distillery siding and pulls the Stevens drop flap "dodd" before replacing the token into the Netherdale-Auchintoul machine and sending 2-5 "token replaced" to Netherdale. In all probability a "knock and drop" 1 beat would replace the prescribed sixrteen beats, unless a Signalling Inspector was present! As this is a regular occurrence I originally assumed that he gave 1-1 "answer the phone" to Dens Park to inform him that he could take the up passenger. This version of the Regs does not authorise this bell code, however, so I presume that he calls Dens Park on the omnibus using the special ring code. I also assume that he replies to the subsequent 3-1 request with 3-5-5 to indicate that he is taking the train under the warning arrangement. This would have to be authorised under the Box Instructions. In these circumstances the train would the approach Auchintoul at extreme caution expecting to find the home signal at danger. The observant will note that a big click-clock has beamed down from the AFK (upstairs) which shows that each move takes three minutes, a fairly leisurely interval, but this is a bucolic backwater. 4 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 4. The up passenger eventually arrives to find that the shunting is blocking the mainline. You will notice that the clock, that tyrant ever watching over the shoulder of our signalman, shows that the train is now late. At least in this era he will not have TDA on the phone squawking about a one minute delay! The passenger is held until this is in the clear and the home signal can be cleared. The 4MT tank is now locked into the sidings as any movement beyond the sidings' gate would be derailed by the single blade trap point. 5 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 5. With the up local passenger standing in the platform, well clear of the distillery siding points, does the 4MT resume shunting? This would be a well rehearsed move performed on a daily basis and the driver would presumably be aware that the passenger train was standing in the platform, despite his intellectually challenged status as a driver (all bets are off!). Our consensus of opinion is that, dodgy as it may seem, if this is a regular occurrence the move might well take place on a hand signal from the box, without the siding signal being cleared. Once again a clear understanding would have to be reached with the driver. I worked with a laid back boss like this. "It's OK so long as nothing goes wrong, in which case I don't want to know!" 6 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 6. The passenger train has gone and the section signal has been put back to normal by the lever operating the slot in the main box. The distillery shunting has been completed, with the picked up wagons now attached to the loco. These leave the siding and proceed towards the up section signal. Regulation 7 (a) allows the signalman to put a shunt into a section behind a train going away from the station. This is one of the few occasions when the driver can legally enter a section without the tablet. The section signal is locked with the block instruments and cannot be cleared again, necessitating the move to be authorised by a handsignal. As the points into the distillery need to be put normal behind the move this handsignal would presumably be given from the major box as the signalman begins another trek to the minor box. Auchintoul can expect to be asked to take a down through fish express from Netherdale as soon as the passenger train clears the section. Assuming that he has authorised the shunt move past the up section signal, as described above, Reg 7 (a) stipulates the he must give the 3-3 "blocking back" bell code when he receives the 2-1 "train out of section". This Regulation is written on the assumption that the signalman is always present when on duty but of course he has to walk between two boxes at Auchintoul, with the instruments being placed in the major box. We come to a grey area here. I suspect that many signalmen would develop 'temporary deafness' and would not answer the 1 beat "call attention" pleading that they were out of the box when it was received. It is important to remember here that part of the up goods is currently standing in the down platform (photo 3) and that a shunt cannot enter the Netherdale-Auchintoul section when a train is coming towards Auchintoul. I presume that this 'deafness' was even more acute if there was a delay in the shunting and the move had not even left the distillery when the 1 bell was received. I suppose that in extreme circumstances the express could be taken. It would then be stopped at the home signal and handsignalled through the station on the down line if necessary, but this really would be a last resort. Today all is running smoothly and the signalman walks to the minor box, replaces the levers operating the signal slots and puts the points normal before handsignalling the shunt back onto its train. Whilst doing this he also operates the slot on the home signal before once more walking back to the major box. At his point he 'hears' the block bell, or more probably rings Netherdale on the omnibus phone. 7b by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 7.By courtesy of a low flying drone (I'm sure that these were around at the time, what with flying saucers etc) we can observe that the up goods is now reformed but that it is standing in the down platform. The signalman takes the fish train from Netherdale but we now come to another grey area. Would he send 5-2 to Dens Park to get a release for a token covering the shunt move to put the up goods onto the up road? The Regulations state that he should. This would then require sending 2-5 when the move was in the clear and replacing the token into the machine before sending 1-3-1 to release a token for the fish train. This would be "a right palaver". I suspect that he would more likely give Dens Park 1-3-1, place a reminder appliance over the home signal slot and the section signal levers, check and recheck that the points were across, and then authorise the shunt move to go into the Auchintoul-Dens Park section with a handsignal. This also raises a question about how assiduously shunt moves were recorded in the TRB and how closely the timings were audited! Any ideas anyone? 8 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 8. As this is a propelling move we can surmise that the driver will hopefully appreciate that he is not going too far away rather than accelerating the train, particularly as there is a steep falling gradient beyond the bridge! If the driver is not careful he could have a runaway or snatch a coupling out. All rather nerve racking as it is an unauthorised move and could result in a Form 1 (Please explain.......) The section signal, just behind the loco (or it will be eventually) cannot be cleared for this move because it will lock the points. Once the move is clear of the detection bar it would have to be replaced to release them but if it had been cleared it would need releasing from Dens Park block instrument again before it could be cleared once more. This could be achieved by sending 3-5 "cancelling" and replacing the token before sending 1-3-1 again but would be self defeating as an exercise in avoiding work. Having made sure that the reminder appliances are on the relevant levers our corner-cutting signalman gives the driver a yellow flag to proceed. 9 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 9. The loco propels the train beyond the home signal, (which will be placed near where the loco stands), in preparation for running into the up platform. The main point of this photo is to show that the locking bar and FPLs have been vestigially modelled at this, the south end of the layout The distillery sidings are to the right.. The co-acting home signal would be cleared to authorise the move. The adjacent 'dodd' will indicate that the road is set into the goods yard. 10 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr 10. With the shunt move now in the up platform the points are reversed once again, the reminder appliances are removed and the signals are cleared. Finally the fish train passes. I would almost say "barrels through" but there is no Manson tablet catcher which necessitates a reduction in speed from the through train to carry out the token exchange. In any case BR timings in the sixties were not too different from those on the pre WWI GNSR as they were restricted by the infrastructure provided in the first instance. In retrospect I suspect that I misread the timetable but I might go so far as to incorporate the need to 'cross the road' in the finished article. A recent article in Model Railroader made the point that the professionals faced these difficult and demanding situations every day and developed tried and trusted routines to deal with them. It is more difficult for modellers, who only run their layouts occasionally, to develop the same routines. I have never carried out shunting with loose coupled trains, neither have I operated a Tyers No 6 instrument. With this in mind it would be interesting to receive the insights of any forum members who did perform these activities regularly (or still do on preserved railways). If nothing else it shows how much fun can be had with a simple layout in the right conditions. Ian T

Nice layout that captures the atmosphere of the area but don't get too much into having everything square and vertical. They are not around here! Telegraph poles lean in all directions and even the railway's equipment, such as the catenary masts of the Ely-King's Lynn line follow suit. When I worked down the line I was told that they had moved so far that the contact wire had shifted so that it was on the curved edge of the pan in places! Cracked and subsiding buildings are quite common as well. I always thought it would be good fun to model one or two of the structures in Nordelph, just down the road from Outwell. Ian T

It has been a little while since I last posted about Auchintoul. On the physical side of things the landscape and backscenes have been roughed in to provide a foundation for the more detailed work which will follow. Some troubleshooting was needed with the fiddle yard pointwork, as expected, but this now seems to function properly. A basic timetable has been prepared and initially tested, although more work is needed before it can be considered complete Here is a selection of views illustrating the latest progress. a15 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The Maud Junction to Cairnie Junction passenger runs into Auchintoul over the Chirder Water viaduct as it approaches Auchintoul. a13 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr A mid sixties view of the train standing in the station with BR maroon stock. The footbridge must be the last GNSR survivor as most succumbed to rot during the LNER period. a14 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The 'traditional' helicopter shot shows the general arrangement of the station with the town on the hillside above it to the left. The paper markers indicate the possible positions of a cattle mart and various warehouses against the backscene. a17 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr In a pre WWI shot a class O pulls the local goods past the crossing keepers house on the back side of the layout. a16 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr This is a wider view of the train with the distinctive GNSR brake in the foreground. The 6 wheeled van is a NBR vehicle. The train is mostly composed of opens as was the usual practice in this era. The backscene is supposed to present the more threatening skies of Autumn. The layout will probably be left in this state for some time to come as work must progress on the main (room sized) 7mm NG layout. Hopefully the slightly more complete state of this layout should encourage rather more usage than was the case during the last interregnum. Ian T

Neil Nice to hear that you are recovering. I did email you in hospital but was not sure that you received it. Best wishes, Tommo

The Banffshire & Buchan. Preamble It has been well over a year since Auchintoul first appeared on this particular website and so far the thread has followed a well trodden path, so why vary from this?! The first couple of posts were along the lines of, "Hello, here I am, this is my layout." We have probably moved on to the, "Here is the rationale" part. I must admit that I have aired some mildly critical views about the lazier desultory histories and geographies presented to justify model railways. ("Must try harder boy/girl" I used to write in my long gone teaching days!) Some of those views made it into print in Narrow Lines, the journal of the 7mm NGA, and one even made the hallowed letters page of the Model Railway Journal, gently rebuffing, or so I thought (!) one of the great and good of the hobby. The opprobrium received on this website made me review that latter perception. Perhaps I ought to post as "Pompous Ass" in future! Anyhow here we go! The location Whenever I taught geography (as opposed to the preferred options of soccer/rugby/cricket) I used to select the 'Transport' option on the GCSE courses as far as practicable. This involved some minor legerdemain with statistics, mathematically analysing transport networks. (Nothing too demanding as compared to attempting to teach Stats to undergraduates when I was a PG.) The GNSR was a classic example of a 'tree' with minimal interconnectivity. My model, I therefore decided, would 'infill' part of this network and provide an alternative east-west route which would statistically massively improve the GNSR. The first choice was to base a layout between Banff and Fraserburgh, a line which was partially applied for by the GNSR as a branch to Rosehearty. Even allowing for the physical problems of discerning a route beyond the latter village into the Gardenstown area I quickly realised that the traffic prospects would be extremely limited. Option two, therefore, was to select a site with more prospective through traffic to augment the basic diet. A quick cast around suggested that a line between Cairnie Junction, Turriff and Maud Junction would kill many birds with one stone. It would directly connect the Buchan ports of Fraserburgh and Peterhead with the west and open up the intervening countryside, which was good agricultural land. In the process Aberchirder would receive a railway rather than relying upon buses from Huntly and agricultural output would be stimulated. Vallance (The Great North of Scotland Railway, David & Charles 1965, p120) records that the Maud-Turriff section was actually proposed as the West Buchan Railway but that WWI intervened. In my alternative universe the line was built and extended beyond Turriff to become a secondary through route. With the site thus selected and the town renamed after the local 'Big House', to allow for pragmatic deviations from reality, I surveyed the proposed route. Banff & Buchan by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The line has been plotted on Google Earth as shown. I will spare you the machinations but the gradients for the Banffshire & Buchan were calculated (using pencil and paper, no electronic calculators here) to eventually give a feasible route which is shown on the map. The line leaves the GNSR mainline between Huntly and Cairnie Junction near Rothiemay station, which has been renamed Ruthven, and takes a circuitous route to Turriff. The orange markers indicate passing stations. The only one at a significant settlement west of Turriff is at Auchintoul. The adjacent loops are provided to split the adjoining sections which would otherwise be too long for sensible operation. That at Netherdale is necessary because it lies at the foot of a long stretch of a 1 in 70 whilst Denspark is almost literally in the middle of nowhere. King Edward, on the Macduff branch, was similarly sited to split the section, although the LNER quickly dispensed with it. The yellow markers indicate stations without a loop. The GNSR seemed to be quite lavish in the provision of such establishments in places where traffic prospects would, on the face of it, appear to have been slim. The layout includes Mains of Kirton, the building of which will be based upon that at King Edward. auchin 3 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The railway's location in relation to Aberchirder is shown on the Google Earth photo. The town was laid out on a grid plan during the eighteenth century so it was a simple matter to extend the grid "when the railway arrived". The station is shown by the yellow marker and Station Street, at its junction with a continuation of School Street is shown in blue. A footpath connects the road with the station, passing alongside the Rest & Be Thankful which is a cryptic comment upon the early services provided by the GNSR. The train service. The typical British branch line saw only three or four passenger trains each way per day, contrary to what could be believed from a casual glance at many models, supplemented by the local goods. This of course is not an enticing prospect for a modeller keen on operation but the layout is supposed to provide a bucolic counterpoint to running a quasi mainline NG system. (The AFK, about which I occasionally post in the Overseas Modelling section of the forum.) On a through line such as the Banff & Buchan a couple of additional goods might or might not run and that would be it for the day. Passenger trains were split and joined at Maud Junction to provide services to Peterhead and Fraserburgh. The B&B combines an additional portion from these trains to provide a direct service to Keith via Turriff and Cairnie Junction. The model One thing that irks me about model railway design is the almost unthinking subservience to the cult of the fiddle yard. Obviously one would have to be an idiot not to appreciate the opportunities afforded by such devices but I do question whether they should be allowed to dominate model designs to the extent that they seem to. In many instances a small station is fed by a monstrous fiddle yard three or four times as big as the scenicked area. Having reduced their significance on my main layout (and written at length about it on my website) I decided to similarly downplay the N gauge layout's fiddle yard. Having paid good money for the baseboards and the room in which they sit I did not want to see trains hiding in a limboland of bare plywood. One cost of fiddleyards is that modellers unthinkingly concentrate upon stations rather than the railway in the countryside therefore the back side of the layout has been developed as a line through a rural scene, which will hopefully materialise as Banffshire in Autumn. The fiddleyard has been squeezed into an emaciated footprint between the two scenes. Trains reverse in or out as required, and if they cannot do this successfully, over sharply curved points, they have no place on the finished layout. I append some pictures of the layout under test, now that the trackwork, if not the wiring, is complete, along with a few observations. For the time being these are sixties BR trains as there is insufficient stock from other periods to run a timetable as yet. A1 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr A couple of trains lined up in the central fiddleyard which fits behind the backscenes. A2 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Another view of the GA showing Auchintoul on the left the fiddleyard in the middle and the run through the countryside at the right with Mains of Kirton at the bottom right. A3 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr Some provision has been made for getting all the wheels of the N gauge locos onto the track in the narrow space! A straight piece is available beside the wheel cleaner where the backscenes curve apart. The untidy wiring in the yard is obvious. It is out of sight and easily accessible. A4 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The train reverses out onto the sharp curve before entering the scenic section. If it enters the main station this is not important as I am on the other side of the layout and cannot see it. The trace of the old set track curve is apparent. This had to be removed because the modern N gauge locos demand an 11 inch minimum radius. A5 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The down Fraserburgh-Keith train eases into Mains of Kirton. A6 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr A Morris Minor waits at a wayside crossing for the train to go by. The crossing keeper's house is in the background. A7 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The train is held at the down home which is the clearing point for its Keith-Fraserburgh counterpart. The parsimonious GNSR rarely used outer homes. The home is slotted and the lever is reversed in the minor box. The signal is yet to be built and in reality it would most likely be on the other side of the bridge, yet another model railwayism! The quite distinctive bridge design is based on photos that I have taken of GNSR prototypes. A8 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr With the down train held at the clearing point the 2MT runs into Auchintoul under a typical GNSR girder bridge beside the distillery. The locking mechanism and the detection bar are already in place at the business end of the point, which is interlaced, as were many which survived until closure. A9 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The up train pulls to a halt opposite the station buildings, having handed the token over to the signalman. The platform is very low, in contrast to many models (another pet hate!) and portable steps will be required for any passengers wishing to board A10 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The track has deliberately been placed at a scale six foot between the platforms. One by product is that it increases the apparent length of the platforms when compared to the usual spacing used on models. This is often too wide due to the geometry of a well known track brand but there is still space for the (working) shunt signal in the foreground. The signalman pulls the lever on the down home which releases the slot and clears it before the Keith-Fraserburgh train runs into the platform. It has already been taken by Denspark so the section signal is off. It will be quite a trek to get the token before replacing it in the machine and getting a release from Netherdale for the up train and he must not forget to replace the home's lever, which puts the home back, and pull the slot for the section signal. A11 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr First in, last out. Having got the token from Denspark the signaller walks the length of the up platform and gives it to the engine crew before crossing to the minor box (behind the loco). He replaces the home lever into the frame, normalises the FPL, reverses the points, reverses the FPL again (not necessarily essential (depending upon the locking) but good practice anyway) and clears the section signal. Hopefully he has released the slot from the major box otherwise it will obstinately remain "on" necessitating a walk back to the main box and another trip to the minor box to normalise the levers after the train has left! Here, the "wee trainnie" is on its way. A12 by Ian Thompson, on Flickr The sixties were more lenient times than the current railway's working environment so after all that palaver he might wander up to the Rest & Be Thankful in Station Street for a quick half. Good job that there are so few trains! This is an area of Auchintoul still known as 'The Quiniesbrae' after the fishwives who sold the products of the two ports from their creels to the town's inhabitants. They gathered here to catch the return trains at the end of the day. From the modelling point of view I suppose that it is still "Could do better!" Ian T

As the Mexican railways often bought equipment from US manufacturers the short answer would be yes. Whether the US model manufacturers actually produce any R-T-R models in Mexican liveries might be a different issue but I am sure that it would be a simple case of repainting and using appropriate 'decals'. Any-one interested in modelling South American or Central American railways (as opposed to Mexican railways which are in North America) could do worse than look at the products of Frateschi, the Brazilian model manufacturer. Ian T

Loose shunting - the loco propels the wagon(s) and one or a raft is uncoupled on the move to run on their own into a particular siding. Double shunting - similar to loose shunting but more than one wagon/raft of wagons is uncoupled while on the move to go to more than one siding with points being changed between each raft. Fly shunting - the loco hauls the wagons and is uncoupled on the move going in one direction at the points while the now uncoupled wagon(s) go in a different direction at those points. A rather dangerous practice which needed considerable skill both in uncoupling the wagon(s) at just the right speed and moment in order to give them sufficient impetus once the loco had been uncoupled, and in changing the points at just the right time. Ideally best done with the initial snatch of couplings as the loco starts but that won't usually give the wagons sufficient impetus to get rolling very far. Thanks for that. Loose shunting was what I meant! Ian t

Best of luck with the exhibition on Saturday Neil. I'm afraid I cannot get unless it really persists down because cricket starts at 12.00. Ian T

I would not disagree that some layouts do shunt too slowly but there were safety aspects to the activity. Having handed up and taken the train staff from class 66s with a loaded train behind them I was well aware of the bulk of the real thing at close quarters. I can assure you that self preservation was a thought uppermost in my mind as a signalman. You did not want to be anywhere nearby if anything went wrong! As I have just observed on my website, in an article that covers shunting, amongst other things, it was the cause of many deaths and crippling injuries to railwaymen. With regard to getting on with it and bashing things around I suspect that you are referring to fly shunting. Whilst the bulk of the prototype vehicles allowed this technique most models are too small to allow it. I suspect also that it was also mainly carried out where specialist brakemen were employed rather than in local goods yards. Ian T