Portchullin, The Highland Railway in 4mm Finescale http://portchullin.fotopic.net/ 9 rows en-gb 60 Leytonstone 2009 http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1699167.html A Selection of Pictures From the Leytonstone Show, May 16 - sorry a couple are not well focus; new lights and inadequate photographer! Sunday 17 May 2009: A Selection of Pictures From the Leytonstone Show, May 16 - sorry a couple are not well focus; new lights and inadequate photographer!

The morning sun glints of the windscreen of a class 26

Published in Portchullin, The Highland Railway in 4mm Finescale

]]> Sun May 17 2009 Layout Information http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1594476.html The story behind the layout, trackplans and exhibition manager's information. Sunday 12 October 2008: The story behind the layout, trackplans and exhibition manager's information.

This is the layout plan of Portchullin. There are fiddle yards at either end (not shown).

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]]> Sun Oct 12 2008 At Scaleforum 27 & 28 September 2008 http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1592948.html A selection of photographs taken at the competition's conclusion, at Scaleforum 2008 in Leatherhead. Each visitor to the exhibition was given a voting sheet and the winning layout was selected from the publics vote. Portchullin won, narrowly beating another cracking layout - Wheal Elizabeth. Saturday 27 September 2008: A selection of photographs taken at the competition's conclusion, at Scaleforum 2008 in Leatherhead. Each visitor to the exhibition was given a voting sheet and the winning layout was selected from the publics vote. Portchullin won, narrowly beating another cracking layout - Wheal Elizabeth.

A busy moment at Portchullin. I think the footbridge is the signature of the layout. It has been made from a Lochgorm Models kit - not easy but worth it. Another view of 26 046, as she pulls away from the station. 27 005 gets the right of way from the up starter and pulls off towards the next station which will be Strome Ferry. The rear of the butt n ben cottage. The stone embankment got a lot of comments. It is made from various size chippings. The trick is to look how the prototype really looked. Start with the bigger chippings, nearer the base and work up with finer chippings. It actually was quite easy to do. With three timetabled trains a day in each direction, we are seeing a third of the daily activity at one moment! In real life it would be another 3 - 4 hours before the next train comes along - make yourself comfortable or maybe take a dram in the Portchullin Hotel? The station building was probably rather grand for the station - especially as it was built on a shoestring and struggled to ever make money. It is based on the one at Aberfeldy, but with a number of extentions omitted. The characteristic scottish cottages are called butt n bens. This has been scratchbuilt with Wills sheet and paper slates. The Highland Railway's signal boxes we very characteristic. This model is based on that at Killiecrankie and was kindly made for me by Peter Bond. Thank you Peter! A general view of the station, as it would have been for much of the day - deserted! Having just exchanged the token, 26 046 runs into the up loop. 26 046 running through the platform. In the 1970's much of BR's stock did get dirty and this particular model was weathered for me by A mixed freight passes through the station. 27 005 at the bridge across the burn. The Kyle line at the time had a significant parcels traffic, hence most trains had a CCT, GUV, BG or A class 26 emerges from underneath the footbridge; engine off just drifting up to the up starter. This is my father's loco, Clan MacKinnon, made for him by John James. In reality, my first choice modelling era is the 1920's and the layout is designed to be backdated at some point. Here is a taster. A class 24/1, no 5114, waits in the down platform as 26 046 comes in with a train for Inverness. Once the Inverness's train has surrendered its token, 5114 can be given right of way for the final part of the journey to Kyle of Lochalsh. Photograph with thanks to Tim Easter. The gentle sweep of the layout creates varying views and adds interest. Here a class 26 draws away with an up passenger. Photograph with thanks to Time Easter. A class 27 passes through with a mixed frieght. Even in 1974, there was quite a lot of freight traffic because the competiting roads were rubbish. Photograph with thanks to Tim Easter. The class 27's were rare visitors to the Kyle line but did occassionally get there. This is 27 005 at the head of a train of TTA's running through the up platform. Photograph with thanks to Tim Easter. Most of the station visable in this shot, as a class 27 pulls away past the up shelter. This would in reality be a bit swanky for a station like Portchullin. It was borrowed from Simon de Souza and is a model of the upshelter at Killiecrankie. A rare event, some shunting in the yard; watched over by my father! I hope the passengers do not notice the hand of god pointing out Peter Bond's fabulous signal box in the background! This is the other box. The Highland often had two boxes on even the simplest of stations because their crossing loops were sufficently long to mean that the two distant signals could not be operated from the one box. There was one viewer who really was not having this though - albiet that the loop on the model is not long enough by quite a large margin! Still a lot to do at the west end, but the rugged nature of the countryside that the line really did pass through is apparent. If it weren't for my son's arm poking over the top of the backscene, you could probably hear the noise as 26 046 pulls out of the station. The bridge started as a Wills vari-girder kit, but with additional flanges between the sections and scratchbuilt abutments. Bridges are big, we fail to realise this as this is only really a tiddler but dwarfs the locomotive. The sea has been made with crumpled cellophane laid over a black card base. It is trapped in place with toughened glass. A sparklingly clean class 25, it won't stay like that for long in the north of scotland! 27 005 was bought weathered by Making Tracks in the Sun - via ebay. not a bad buy as the weathering is just right for a neglected Sulzer!

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]]> Sat Sep 27 2008 Portchullin the real location http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1592946.html Portchullin is a real place, about a mile to the west of Strome Ferry and four miles to the east of Plockton. Here are some photographs of the real place. Friday 24 August 2007: Portchullin is a real place, about a mile to the west of Strome Ferry and four miles to the east of Plockton. Here are some photographs of the real place.

Published in Portchullin, The Highland Railway in 4mm Finescale

]]> Fri Aug 24 2007 At the Highland Railway Society Meeting - May 2008 http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1592938.html Its first outing......................having spent the whole week wiring it, it did actually go moderately well. We did not have hte fiddle yards complete, nor any couplings so locos merely wondered up and down the loops......but it worked! Friday 9 May 2008: Its first outing......................having spent the whole week wiring it, it did actually go moderately well. We did not have hte fiddle yards complete, nor any couplings so locos merely wondered up and down the loops......but it worked!

This is the whole of the scenic part of the layout, with my son operating. I beleive that flat baseboards lead to flat models. I am not a member of the flat earth society, so I have used open top baseboards, with the ground levels coming in after the track is up and running. The class 24 was converted from the Bachmann 24, by cutting in the headcode panel, filling the filler access panels and sorting out the front end. Medium level of diffculty. The tehn current entire locomotive stock are in this view! The class 26 was converted to a 26/1 by filling the windows to the cab doors. Relatively simple, if needing a nerve to carve into a great model by Heljan. The class 24 also had a rebate for the site of the tablet exchange equipment. Lots of work still to do, but the open feel of the layour is already apparent.

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]]> Fri May 9 2008 Under Construction March 2007 http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1592933.html Early days, the boards are under construction and the layout plan has been laid out. this was subsequently changed to delete the headshunt as this was not very "highland". Friday 2 March 2007: Early days, the boards are under construction and the layout plan has been laid out. this was subsequently changed to delete the headshunt as this was not very "highland".

The view eastward. The But n Ben got swapped to the other side of the track eventually. The original intention was to have a headshut that supported the yard. This was found to be most un Highland (almost without precedent indeed!). There would have been so few trains, blocking out the section that the engine needed to shunt in was never a problem.

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]]> Fri Mar 2 2007 Under Construction 1 July 2007 http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1592921.html Trackwork beginning to be laid to the west running line and loop, boards complete but little else has been done. Sunday 1 July 2007: Trackwork beginning to be laid to the west running line and loop, boards complete but little else has been done.

This is the west end, there will be a loch lapping upto the side of the line at this point. The up side to the station, with the completed but not painted footbridge apparent. a train leaving the up platform, about to cross where the level crossing will be.

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]]> Sun Jul 1 2007 Under Construction 30 August 2008 http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1592904.html All of the loop and running line track now laid, along with the up siding. Limited ground work done but many of the buildigns now complete. We now have some correct stock too...........! Friday 1 August 2008: All of the loop and running line track now laid, along with the up siding. Limited ground work done but many of the buildigns now complete. We now have some correct stock too...........!

Published in Portchullin, The Highland Railway in 4mm Finescale

]]> Fri Aug 1 2008 Under Construction 21 September 2007 http://portchullin.fotopic.net/c1592894.html Track beginning to go down to the running line and loop, nothing working though! Friday 21 September 2007: Track beginning to go down to the running line and loop, nothing working though!

21 September 2007 - east and centre boards 21 September 2007 - most of the layout looking from the west end 21 September 2007 - looking east 21 September 2007 - centre board 21 September 2007 - east board looking back to the west. Class 26 in the up loop 21 September 2007 - Class 26 at the crossing

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]]> Fri Sep 21 2007