SR Chris

With the empties removed from Cill's No. 1 siding 31086 now collects empties from No. 2. The wagons to be removed are the LOWFIT, ex-SE&CR van and wooden bodied coal wagon in the middle of the siding. Once these have been added to the outgoing train standing in the loop the incoming loaded wagons will be placed where they're required. This shot shows the full width of the layout. Platform, loop and two sidings being all I could fit on the window cill! This image was taken with the backscene removed to allow direct lighting from the window, it was a dull, overcast day. The backscene's main purpose is to protect the layout from direct sunlight as it's a South facing window, currently it's plain and unpainted hardboard.

Being Express (rather than Suburban) units the Class 411 4-Ceps were Blue and Grey from the late sixties, they would definitely be B&G by 1970. The 2EPB however, as a Suburban unit, would have been all blue until the mid/late 1980s.

The empties from No. 1 siding are propelled gently (!) onto the Brake Van. Note that the side lamps have been removed, they'll be being trimmed before being replaced at the other end of the van. Only the two wagons nearest the brake van will be leaving, the HIFIT attached to the loco will be returned to No. 1 siding before the crew start to shunt No. 2 siding. The three opens are Parkside Dundas kits, note that the two HIFITs have differing brakes, the furthest one having 8-shoe clasp brakes whilst that attached to the loco has 4-shoe Morton brakes.

There's now about twenty-five minutes available for shunting until the pull-push train leaves at 8.55pm. There's no headshunt at Cill so all shunting takes place using the main running line, hence shunting has to stop a few minutes before passenger departures and approximately ten minutes before arrivals. The pull-push train is at the platform on the right with the recently arrived goods in the loop. 31086 has run into No. 1 siding to extract two empties for the goods departure, a PIPEFIT and a HIFIT. To the left are several wagons on No. 2 siding, some of these will be leaving and they will all have to be moved to allow three of the new arrivals to be placed next to the goods platform at the end of No. 2 siding.

"How did you get the fireman to stand up?" Some of my figures are superglued to small oval pieces of plastic glazing material. The edges are sanded to be rounded so there are no 'prismatic' effects. For figures placed on the ground careful choice of camera location makes the bases less noticeable (as with the Guard in this image). For footplate crew the base is usually enough to keep them upright (as with the Fireman in this image) but if not a small dab of tacky wax does the trick. The driver is a whitemetal figure and his own weight keeps him on the seat but a blob of wax sometimes helps. Other figures have a small hole drilled into the sole of one of their feet and up their leg into which a length of staple is superglued. As Cill is topped with cork flooring tiles these can just be pushed through the ground covering and into the cork in many places. On the platform and hardstandings I've drilled several 0.5mm diameter holes into which the figures can be inserted. From normal viewing distances they are invisible. Chris

If I remember correctly this was my first experiment with Johnson wax Klear floor polish applied by brush. I didn't do the smokebox. The whole lot was next covered with black gouache which I then cleaned off (probably with a cotton bud) except for the smokebox and rear of the tender. This leaves a matt dirty finish on the uncleaned areas and in the corners. I was going for the workworn but cared for 'shed favourite' look. I've just finished my third C class for Cill which will feature in the next few weeks, by contrast this one looks distinctly uncared for! Chris

Now the goods is standing in the loop the crew of 31086 await the arrival of the 7.52pm from Epple which has just come to a stand at the platform behind the locomotive. Guard Tobin has been discussing the shunt with the yard shunter and is on his way to tell the driver what's required.

Thanks Black5. The layouts backscene is currently boringly plain unpainted hardboard and/or the window frame/reveal. I digitally replace this background with locally taken landscapes, a few of them taken through the window above the layout. Some consider this to be cheating, but as long as it aids the suspension of disbelief I can live with it. Chris

31086 buffers up to Guard Tobin's brake van after running round. It's 8.14pm and the signalman wants the platform cleared so that he can accept the 7.52pm from Epple due to arrive in ten minutes. 31086's goods will be shunted into the loop, the imminent arrival is a pull-push service and nothing will require use of the loop for a further hour yet. Also the first vehicle in the goods is van E181497 loaded with parcels/smalls which is required at the dock at the end of the loop siding.

Guard Tobin takes in his surroundings at Cill while he waits for the crew to uncouple 31086 from his train and run round.

9K43 07.52 SX Healey Mills - Dewsbury 9K43 09.47 SX Dewsbury - Healey Mills Would these have been part of the flow of cement between Hope and the Blue Circle cement terminal in Dewsbury?

Just click on the star relating to the rating you want to give. I didn't know either, but I've just voted this topic 'one star' by clicking on the leftmost star.

"• Cerestar traffic (cereals?) moved from Manchester Trafford Park to Aberdeen Waterloo, but what other traffic was shipped from Trafford Park?" There was a flow of starch for use in paper making using Cerestar liveried tankers between Trafford Park and Bowaters in Sittingbourne. I often saw the tankers being unloaded in a small shed just North of Sittingbourne station at the boundary of Bowaters site, or sitting in the yard awaiting the return working.

Wainwright C class number 31086 rolls to a halt at Cill with the evening goods arrival. Leaving Epple at 6.22pm this train shunts the yard at Beresford and drops off wagons at Grenham where it waits until the 7.41pm Cill to Epple passenger train clears the section. At 7.52pm it sets off for Cill arriving at 8.10pm, where the crews first priority is to run round and clear the platform in time for the arrival of the 7.52pm pull-push train from Epple at 8.24pm. They then have just under an hour to shunt the yard and make up the return train which will leave after the arrival of the 8.47pm passenger from Epple at 9.17pm.

Having run round its train, 41309 buffers up before propelling set 43 back into the platform at Cill to form the 7.41pm all stations departure to Epple (arriving 8.10pm) sometime in 1958. The loco and stock arrived at 7.30pm (as the 7.00pm from Epple) so smart work is required to achieve the booked 11 minute turn around. Chris

And they'll have proper lamp irons that I can hang my tail lamps on. I'm currently working my way through my Hornby ex-LSWR coaches carving off the solid moulded ones from the underframe and fitting 'proper' ones fashioned from staples.

The 4mm tail and side lamps are superb, I'm well pleased with them. I de-greased them with meths first, then a coat of Humbrol No.1 primer followed by a coat of Humbrol No. 130 satin white enamel and then super glued in the lenses. A big plus is that they are much lighter than white metal lamps and will stay stuck in place with tacky wax where the lamp irons are moulded, the white metal lamps tended to droop and fall off under their own weight. Thanks for these Alan. I'll definitely be getting some 7mm ones when they're available. Chris

Well, one very happy 4mm scale modeller here. Now I'll have to finish that 7mm scale 20T brake van I started seven years ago! Chris.

The list was unchanged in the Winter 1955 and Summer 1956 Southern and Western Districts ACWN. The Summer 1958 S&WD ACWN had 169/187 219/225/253/267/284 304/313/320/326/353/360/364/373/382/387 403/476 513 and the Summer 1959 SR ACWN lists 169/187/194 225/253/267/284 313/320/329/360 with 373 in P&P set 2 Chris Marsh

He's a Modelu driver (www.modelu3d.co.uk), highly recommended. (No connection, just a very satisfied customer!) Chris

And here's 30583 backing onto the other vehicle of set 43 ... Chris

O2 30182 backing onto set 43 after running round at Cill. Chris

Additional coaches would be coupled to either end of the sets, in normal service coaches in sets would not be divided. Chris

Hmmm... Reading Hornby's latest Engine Shed post and looking the the photo's there and on their website, which are of the actual models as opposed to the artwork still shown on the various retailers sites I postulate that the BR Crimson versions will be: R4746 S 2637 S D99 Eight Compartment Brake Third R4747 S 2629 S D98 Six Compartment Lavatory Brake Third R4748 S 6402 S D418 Six Compartment Lavatory Brake Composite R4749 S 267 S D31 Nine Compartment Lavatory Third I may be wrong but based on that I've ordered R4746 and R4748 (S2637S and S6402S) which formed Set 43. Sticking my neck out still further R3398 looks to have S2636S and S6401S in it which formed Set 42. Chris