Adding trackside detail to your layout - the basics

[@kellyashfordtrains2642]

I have a few of those accessories on my railway. The Lineside Huts are to me Platelayer's Huts, I have the water column and the WHISTLE sign. On the Llangollen Railway, there are similar signs alongside the track where unguarded crossings are situated. These signs have the initials SW, and SW stands for Sound Whistle. The SW signs are on either side of the track and quite near the crossings, so the Driver knows to sound the whistle before the crossing is cleared and then no-one gets lamb chops for their tea the unsavoury way.

[@AlanLancasterAlanRLancaster]

There are a number of other points along the line where a driver needs to sound the whistle, such as on bends, on the approach to a tunnel, in cuttings and - in the case of fast or semi-fast trains passing through stations - when not stopping. At stations such as York there were through tracks for non-stopping expresses or freight/parcels trains, so it wasn't necessary. There were unguarded crossings as well, on local lines where a railway crossed an un-gated road or other railway on the level as at Retford, where the GN main line crossed the GC local and mineral line between Sheffield and Lincoln. Here timings were crucial, but a quick toot on the whistle from east-west users helped alert north-south users. also, when having been held at signals, drivers might also need to alert a signalman at a junction to them still being there after main line traffic had passed through, although another way of alerting signalmen was by contacting them from a lineside (train crew only) phone. On the way up through the levels from passed cleaner to footplate inspector personnel had to learn a rulebook as thick as their wrists, and know EVERY rule in it!

[@matthewhoyland4617]

Thank you, always entertaining and informative. Matt

[@foxhillrailway2252]

awesome video Dave... I live in France now, but was brought up in Watford UK... There used to be water troths at Bushey... Keep up the good work... Au revoir Neil

[@skelligringphotographyandw7012]

Troughs. A troth is what you ply to your beloved (very Shakespearean) :)

[@andrewsgarage796]

Thanks again Dave Best Regards Andrew from Downunder

[@colwichjunction3366]

Good basic info👍👍👍

[@richardswiderski4985]

Thanks Dave which side of the track would the mile posts and gradient posts be on .These videos are very helpful.

[@HattonsModelRailways]

Hi Richard, generally they'd be on the driver's (left) hand side, although this can depend on exact company, area and era. Glad you're enjoying the videos - Dave

[@richardswiderski4985]

@@HattonsModelRailways Thank you Dave I thought so but thought I would check.👍

[@mineit5796]

Would you have the water trots in era 5 where steam is coining to an end and diesels are being introduced?

[@HattonsModelRailways]

Hi Freezy, yes, water troughs were used up until the end of steam in the late 1960s.

[@AlanLancasterAlanRLancaster]

The water troughs look to me to be at Wiske Moor near Northallerton. Some insight was needed by train travellers on their way in either direction between Darlington and Northallerton, not to look out of the window (external door or compartment) lest they get drenched. At this point on any main line it wasn't wise to stretch forward out of the windows anyway on the right of the train because of suction from fast traffic in the opposite direction - people literally lost their heads in their excitement!

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

The signal must behind the camera. I think that the hut contains equipment related to to troughs.

[@AlanLancasterAlanRLancaster]

You're talking about the horizontal zig-zag sign on the left, aren't you Neil. Wonder what year this was taken, and who took it (no name in the bottom left corner). When our (NELPG) Q6.visited the North Norfolk Railway were you able to get a glimpse? Hardly ever managed to see her, let alone get near.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Telegraph poles shouldn't be right in the cess as there would typically be a drainage ditch there.

[@AlanLancasterAlanRLancaster]

Another factor is the accuracy in size of telegraph pole arms. These Hornby ones look oversize, whereas the Ratio (Peco) type is much more accurate. From what I remember when travelling on the ECML they were on the bank, as on the left in the image of the water troughs. Near tunnel mouths the telegraph wires were led down to the ground and passed through ducts. You'd see the wires vanish near bridges as well, and reappear on the other side. They couldn't be too far away as they carried the telephone and telegraph cables between signal cabins on different sections. These days, with IECC a lot of lineside communications features have disappeared, their places taken by different features. On some branch lines, or on preserved lines these features haven't changed. They're 'educational features', to show how railways were run in times past.