Flying Pig

A 7F with a properly sorted chassis would probably have been perfectly adequate: towing 18th Century-style coal tubs at 25mph is hardly cutting edge stuff. Give it a decent cab, a big enough tender and a cylindrical smokebox and it could have chugged on in this undemanding role until the type 4s came along. As it was, in later years the traffic was worked by 8Fs and then 9Fs, perhaps more sophisticated machines than were really needed, though the outside valve gear was no doubt appreciated by those who had to prep them. What was really required of course was higher capacity wagons with power brakes.

I know it's fashionable to assume that the LMS was run by donkeys, but I find this hard to swallow: the LMS was after all in charge of S&DJR locomotive matters for several years before the 8F even existed. Perhaps the cost of additional 8Fs with non-standard brakes for the S&DJR offset the maintenance savings sufficiently to make the project unviable.

It was, as Ramesh Majhu would say, the humour. In real life as everyone has said, the slip coach would come to a stand in the station. If you want to model it, a powered coach is probably going to be much easier.

Jubilee-as-Pacific has popped up more than once in this thread: it was a rebuild imagined by Powell using the Britannia boiler. Here's one actually being built in N scale.

Off topic: My absolute favourite is the now sadly vanished Zontar's New Car, where the eventual starting up of said Deltic-engined vehicle precipitates an unmatched torrent of expletives; when Zontar's stock of profanities is exhausted, he concludes with a single astonished Eyy up! Peak Zontar.

There were rumours earlier in the thread that he'd returned, but I think he's downsized to N scale. I assume he will be included on the sound chips though (sing my beauties).

I'm pretty sure the OP meant triangular junctions and it's a pity they haven't returned to confirm that.

Sadly, in traction applications the Deltic engines were downrated to a maximum total power of only one point twenty jiggawatts. A missed opportunity if you ask me as they could still have ^been popping up everywhere at 88mph.

I felt that way about the loco livery when it first came out.

Well it's there but a long way from production.

In connection with which see the photo of Broome Junction on this page where the single line points on the left hand branch are about as close as it's possible to get to the junction (closer than could be achieved with Peco pointwork). This is actually a junction between two single lines: the continuation of the right hand track beyond the crossover is a siding.

I think A would be ok if you used trailing single slips to form the crossover, but double slips on anything but low speed lines were very unusual. Otherwise, plain diamonds and a separate trailing crossover would be fine. You also need to connect the dangling end of the bottom slow line to the main with a plain point to the right of the junction.

This is unfortunately not ideal as the siding is the opposite way round to the ones at the station, so can't be worked by the same train. I would have used a standard LH point to take the new siding into the middle of the loop, but I wasn't aware of the river!

This works better as it gives direct access to the sidings for shunting. The loco shed is fine as a kickback. Perhaps have only a single siding top left and use the point to add a private siding near the halt? I think this might have more play value.

Princes Risborough diagram on the Traksy site: https://traksy.uk/live/M+31+PRINRIS

That's a steam era layout. It would have been heavily rationalised by the time HSTs came along - probably not a slip in sight, just ladders of points. If there was any connection to the heritage line, it would IMO be a single crossover - perhaps a facing crossover from the up platform loop in your plan. A facing crossover between the main lines, to the right of the loops would allow down trains to run into the up loop and reverse onto the heritage line. Alternatively, a trailing crossover offscene to the left would allow access from the heritage line to the main - no problem with reversible running through the up platform in this period.

A CCT is a Covered Carriage Truck: a van built with end doors to allow loading of road vehicles, usually on a long wheelbase and rated to run in passenger trains.

I've had a fiddle with this and by leaving out the bay platform I think you can probably get a third siding in for a bit more shunting fun. The front siding is brought near to the edge of the board as a mileage road, with vehicular access imagined to be offscene in front of it. Coal would be handled on this road in the absence of a dedicated facility. The rear siding runs alongside a loading bank to a goods shed that is modelled in part relief. The additional siding also runs next to the loading bank, up to an end dock - somewhere to put CCT tail loads. The point between the two is supposed to be a medium Y, by the way. It's arguable that the trap should be extended to form a headshunt. However, shunting from the up main may be simpler and gives you the option of using the departure side platform as a spare road if things get tight. Apologies for the small sketch.

But surely the best way to do that is the Sheffield Exchange throat with 2 points and a single slip? Not only does that avoid reverse curves completely and include both crossovers on scene, but it's at least one point shorter than any equivalent arrangement short of a handbuilt scissors.

This is fine, though you would gain a longer runround by using a 'normal' release crossover: it's a wee bit short with the crossover reversed as drawn. I do think the goods yard is a bit anaemic for the size of station.

Ringlets very numerous in Wiltshire at the moment and a good crop of marbled whites as well.

I imagined there being goods sidings alongside the reception line as at New Brighton - I just didn't include them in the sketch. I think they might fit better with the goods road in front of the platforms, however.

So did they

Rebuilt Scots were 6P at nationalisation, later raised to 7P.

Your runround is short, but it's in proportion with your fiddle yard. I reckon you have about 36", which is ample for 3 LMS carriages (say 2x57' and a 60' compo); you might squeeze in a short van as tail load, provided the loco is no bigger than, say, a 2P. As regards track layout, I'd ditch the 3-way and put a point opposite the slip, with a bay on the departure side. This will save a couple of inches and cost you nothing in platform length. Then I'd delete the bay on the arrival side and extend the main platform. That leaves goods. I think I'd imagine something similar to New Brighton as shown on the signal plans in flyingsignalman's post here, with a third line entering the layout and running behind the platforms as goods reception/headshunt. You could connect it with a facing crossover to the left of the slip (you still need to imagine the crossover offscene that allows goods trains to depart), or leave it entirely separate. Additional sidings behind as space allows - I think you will have to resign yourself to representing only part of the good facilities at a station this size.