What I am doing it for

[tedp]

Today's instalment continues at Dunalistair after the branch passenger has come in. Since the headshunt is blocked by the bogie wagon, the station pilot has to haul the train out of the platform to release the loco.



After the train engine has been serviced, the return train has to lose a few carriages. The bogie wagon will be attached, so the weight would be too much for the little 0-4-0 engine.







After a number of evolutions, finally the branch passenger goes on its way, climbing Kinlochalastair bank and carrying on to Rae Bridge, where it stops on the branch behind the station, to wait for the down main line goods.







After its departure, the Dunalistair pilot removes the carriages to the siding next to the station. Meanwhile an unscheduled loaded coal train departs from Inverlochan. This has to clear the line before the down goods arrives.





The coal train crosses Glenclachan viaduct - an unusual view enabled by the small size of the camera. After descending the curves down the valley and crossing the lower gorge bridge, the train slowly runs through Rae Bridge before continuing to Dunalistair.





The down goods from Craigcorrie, hauled by the T&D Hunslet, comes into Inverlochan, bringing a few loaded wagons that have to be exchanged with the stock in the siding. The brake and a peat wagon are left on the main line. Often the length of the train exceeds the space to the starting signal. The line can be cleared since the coal train has left on a ticket issued by the signalman. Note the fluff on the signal in the unkind close-up!







Then the goods can depart down the line, traversing the route just cleared by the coal train.





Finally the train arrives at Rae Bridge. On the C&DR, passengers are allowed to travel on the brake van of goods trains - there is talk of more brake third carriages to put an end to this practice, but these haven't yet arrived. One or two passengers hurry to the branch train waiting behind the station...





After a few moments the branch train will leave and operations may become a little less involved!

[Hugh Norwood]

Many thanks, Ted - you're giving me and, I'm sure, a lot of others a lot of pleasure looking at the photos of your layout in action.

[tedp]

Thanks Hugh - I probably have as much fun myself doing this as you have reading it.

I may add one more instalment before Christmas is upon us and we'll al be busy celebrating!

[gtmspyder]

Hello Ted, your story reminds me of past reads in the Railway modeller of the "Craig and Mertonford", and the good book itself by PDH.

 Your story is very evocative, a joy to read, and truly inspirational to us aspiring modellers.

Please give us further episodes of this Fairy tale layout.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

With the kindest regards,

BrianT

[Krizzy]

This thread by Ted is titled 'What I am doing it for'........ Or rather what am I doing it for. The answer is for pleasure and a big thank you must go to Ted for sharing that pleasure with us on the forum. The C&D is a wonderful creation and as mentioned previously must be envied by some. Very few of us have the space for such a large layout hence the proliferation of small 009 layouts. Ted must be thanked for bringing to us the photos of his layout so we can share his enthusiasm and enjoyment. But then I am one of the lucky few from this side of the North Sea to have had the privilege of seeing the C&D in the flesh. It is as good as the photos portray the layout and it's operation.

Many thanks Ted for sharing and have a good Christmas and New Year and to everyone else here on the Forum.

Roger

[MickT]

I echo word for word what Roger (Krizzy) said!

I think I was the second visitor from UK to climb the famous vertical spiral staircase in Merelstraat to see the wonderland of the Craig & Mertonford "in the flesh" - all of 12 years or so ago now and I have made several repeat visits since (another one is overdue!). This series of instalments of the railway in operation is wonderful and as others have commented - I hope it continues, there are still a lot of different trains waiting to be seen!

A very happy and peaceful Christmas Ted and to all other fellow NG Modelling Enthusiasts on the forum.

Mick

[tedp]

Thanks, mates. I am glad you like this series, and with this bumper issue I intend to end it as well, because I'm burning the midnight oil as it is, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve, with lots of other things to do!

Yesterday the main line goods had come down the line to Rae Bridge, to connect with the branch passenger. Meanwhile, at Dunalistair the coal train is being put away for discharging on the coal jetty. This is still incomplete after 30 years, as there should be a traverser or a sector plate at the end, so the discharged wagons can be manhandled to the rear track. The procedure up to now has been to run half the train to the chutes, then park the other half on the rear track and exchange them when appropriate.

Here is Brutus handling six loaded wagons up the 1 in 15 to the pier.







Note you're seeing the layout 'warts and all' - the indifferent lighting of the backscene is painfully visible in the second photo. Handling a load of wagons up a steep incline is nothing unusual - I have seen it done in South Africa to feed a gravity coaling tower at East London sheds. It makes for pretty fireworks, I can tell you.

The goods train at Rae Bridge is being taken apart by the Hunslet. Here a wagon or two is left in the works siding. Some involved shunting proved to be necessary, with the brake left in the distance. The peat wagon is bound for the distillery, and taken away by the battery loco. After about half an hour's shunting, the train is ready to continue to Dunalistair.







Here the goods is seen arriving at Dunalistair. The loco is taken off, turned and serviced, and as the return service is a mixed train up to Rae Bridge, the carriages that were left by the branch train are picked up from the siding. Meanwhile 'Brutus' busies himself (he is a person to me!) in the dockyard, taking the train to pieces and picking up the return loads.







Normally I would do the job in two steps to reduce the length of the shunting cut, but the N gauge couplings are dependable enough to do this and push the entire string through the curves if necessary:



In the meantime, the Hunslet has run round the pair of carriages and waits for the goods stock to be put into the platform road. This offers a nice view of the slipway at MacQuarie's. The tank wagon and the flat are bound for the foundry - they will be exchanged by the foundry shunter the same way I showed last time.





At last the goods stock has been worked into the platform and the Hunslet can couple up and start back up the line.



At the other end of the line, the 'Dunalistair Mail' has set off towards Rae Bridge.



As the 'Mail' is still a hour away from the intermediate station, we can see what happens there as the mixed comes in. The loco proceeds to the overbridge - the platform starter clears the way to the advanced starter - to run round the train. Then it pushes the carriages beyond the loop points, which clears the way into the works yard and to the carriage shed.





Next, the train is taken apart again as befits a way freight, and the stock is put out of the way so the bogie flat carrying a spare boiler can be put into the works siding. There is quite a lot of stock waiting to be taken up the line, but most of it is empties, so the Hunslet can be expected to work the 12-wagon train uphill without stalling. In the second photo the train is waiting for the 'Mail' to come down the line.





The 'Mail' comes barreling through the Glenclachan Gorge, and as soon as it arrives, the goods train has to get a move on to clear the station. The loco on the 'Mail' has developed an injector problem and the Inverlochan stationmaster has telegraphed for a replacement which has been getting up steam in the yard. The replacement is the new Kitson, E.R.Calthrop, which has been taken over from the Leek & Manifold Railway.







Within a few minutes the locos have been exchanged and the Kitson hauls the 'Mail' out of the station. After descending the line to Dunalistair we see the train rounding the headland into Dunalistair station.





Finally, the train slows to halt within a few yards of the buffer stop, so the passengers, the mail bags and express goods can transfer to the waiting steamer. Not long afterwards she will cast off her moorings and head down the loch to sea, then to Oban and Fort William.



This is the final instalment of this series, which was prompted by a feeling of modelling withdrawal, then turned into a project of its own. I hope you all liked it, and since it is already Christmas Eve, I wish you a happy Christmas from a rather stormy Netherlands!

[MickT]

Thank you Ted, and greetings too from a very battered, flooded and road-blocked Dorset. It was quite a storm last night, 5 power cuts during the evening and then one at midnight that went through to the early hours.

A great series, a pity that it had to end, but a very fitting and impressive finale instalment. On behalf of all those who have enjoyed this on both this forum and NGRM can I express my thanks and appreciation for your efforts which have kept me very much entertained during what you know has been a bit of a torrid fortnight for my family.

Have a great Christmas!

Mick

[tedp]

Thanks, Mick - I hear it has been quite a mess on the south coast. Here it's blowing a full gale, but not too bad right now.

Good luck to all who have to deal with wind, flooding and power cuts down there. I hope it doesn't mess up you Christmas.

[Tigger]

A truly wonderful collection of photographs Ted. I've not done any real model building since May 2012 but have been running the L&TR - although not so much last year. During 2012 the Railway evolved a repeating operating sequence which takes less than half an hour to run - which gives me time to do any extra shunting and photography. It's the sort of timeslot that can be dropped into most evenings and keeps my hand in and interest up.

I actually have enough locos to run the railway with some redundancy for casualties so really there's no need to build any more; besides I need to ensure I have enough spare power units to keep the ones I have.

As for stock, there are some items I have yet to build or finish plus new loads for the wagons.

There's always scenery needing refurbishment of course and every now and again someone passes a comment regarding the lamentable lack of signalling...

Happy New Year everyone; here's wishing you clean rails and successful soldering and glueing!

[tedp]

Thanks Dave, and I hope you won't mind me rubbing some salt into the wounds by saying a few Ratio signal kits work wonders...   ;D

[Tigger]

Thanks Dave, and I hope you won't mind me rubbing some salt into the wounds by saying a few Ratio signal kits work wonders...   ;D

For your slightly larger rolling stock perhaps, Ted. I keep looking at the Ratio stuff and wondering but it always looks as though it's a bit too big and cumbersome for my smaller profiles. For all three stations I have a set of signalling diagrams which I produced about 15 years ago but the usual 'never got any further' excuse kicks in! The two mock-ups actually look reasonably convincing in photos! Maybe one day...

I've been taking short video clips on the phone recently and dropping them onto Facebook so I really must see about You-Tubing them as well.

If people ask me nicely on Sunday I might play some of them...

[tedp]

Over Christmas and today, Boxing Day, I have been operating to my timetable once again. As I was at it, I thought 'why not make a photo report out of it'. So I got out the camera and made some photos in the process. We start as the 7:30am arrives at Dunalistair from Rae Bridge. This is a double-headed train as it takes the harbour shunter and a spare carriage into Dunalistair. 'Brutus' and 'Greta' haul an easy downgrade service round the headland:



Here the train arrives in the platform:



Meanwhile, the new loco 'Lyn' heads a coal train down the Glenclachan gorge:



The spare carriage is detached from the passenger train and both it and the harbour shunter take refuge in the siding:



All completed, and 'Brutus' serviced for the return trip, the passenger service heads back up the line at 8:20:



Shortly afterwards, the branch mixed arrives at Rae Bridge, being held on the tramway behind the station. The coal train is held in the loop till the passenger arrives:





This is rush hour at Rae Bridge, but not to worry, most of the station will be cleared soon:

More later!

[Gerhard Novak]

Thanks for updating us - otherwise I would have probably never seen your phantastic layout - or may be after a long time digging into old threads. I really like your landscape and background, as well as the camera positions you are using. Just perfect.
Merry Christmas
Gerhard

[tedp]

Thanks, Gerhard! Here is some more.

After the passenger arrived, the road for the coal train was clear. Here 'Lyn' pulls away from Rae Bridge:



This frees the way for the branch mixed. Sir Theodore hauls the GVT carriages and a few goods vehicles hung at the rear end:



The water roars under the bridge after the recent rainfall, as Sir Theodore reverses into the station:





'Lyn' arrives at Dunalistair with the coal train. Here the train comes into the harbour road, past the shipyard. The shunting engine simmers in the quay siding. Lyn will reverse the coal wagons on to the jetty without need for the shunter:





After the coal wagons have been positioned over the chutes, Lyn reverses the brake van on its way to the water tank and the ash pit:



More photos tomorrow!