D&S Report. 10 Jan 24

 Thanks to Craig for the report. 

Craig has been very kind not to mention the chaos I caused by sending the wrong cards, not sending a car, and the general confusion in my performance on the night. There is no doubt I was overwhelmed by the task. Ron and I have discussed it and I have decided to retire from the D&S and focus on the build of the GSD. I am very grateful to Ron for the experience of operating on a quaint little English layout, and for the assistance he has given me personally over number of years now. I am now standing on the platform watching the flashing tail lights of the guards van head off down the tracks of the D&S.

D&S Media Report

Wednesday 10^th January 2024

 

Operators:

Dispatcher: Ron

Charde: David

Marabost: Alan

Watchit: Craig

Tawnton West: Reg

Tawnton East: Ray

 

Another summer barmy evening greeted the 1^st D&S operating session for 2024. The usual pre-operating cuppa / chat commenced the evening’s proceedings. A variety of eateries, adorned the kitchen table and as usual there they were, the old faithful, ‘Monte Carlo’ biscuits but there was no Geoff Denton present, therefore they lasted until next time. The highlight of the pre-operating dining and chinwag session was the arrival of Reg Foster, well, to be more precise, his apricots. Reg brought each of the operators a fresh homegrown bag of apricots. This gift giving was greatly appreciated. Thanks Reg.  

 

At 7.25pm all operators eagerly entered the railway domain for the 1^st 2024 session. 

 

R & R took their respective positions at Tawnton. Normally R&R stands for rest and recuperation. Not this operating session. Tawnton operators were kept on their toes all session. It has been a while since Ray was present at Tawnton and this was Reg’s 1^st time at Tawnton. 

 

Alan is enjoying the ‘operating’ component of the railways and he is enjoying opportunities to fill in at various stations. This session he was based at Marabost and he getting the hang of the the panel, industries and card system, particularly at Marabost and Charde. Alan so far holds the record for operating passenger trains on the D&S. To be noted, at this 1^st 2024 session Alan sent out a DMU an hour early (in fast time – 6 hours in real time). The dispatcher approved it, so it must have been ok. Talking about Passenger trains the main passenger operation for the session whereby all operators drive passenger trains in the form of DMUs or diesel-hauled main line express passenger trains, went to time and was certainly without fault. No dramas with the people moving, except Mrs Kafoops was pretty peeved off at missing her local branchline DMU service because it ran an hour early. 

 

I think Alan is meant to be operating at Marabost – make sure you are watching the station!

 

Charde operator David was heard to be questioning the running quality of some of the locos and then it was determined that the controller was proving a little ‘iffy’ / sporadic. 

David was pleased to be having a break from Tawnton. He quickly mastered the operational requirements of Charde, with no apparent errors in operating. 

 

The Charde DMU at Watchit. 

 

 

Craig was back operating at Watchit. It has been a while with the last time Craig operated at Watchit was in 2022. It was certainly a welcoming change and operations went smoothy throughout the session. It didn’t take long to be familiarised with the operating sequence at Watchit. Certainly one has to be on the ball at Watchit because of the through trains that go through the station. Most operators let the Watchit operator know, with ample warning but one operator……who shall remain nameless, but was operating at a station on the ‘house’ side of the layout, forgot to warn the Watchit operator of a train entering his station. Thankfully the Watchit operator had had an afternoon nap, so he was wide awake and had reflexes of a mongoose. 

A busy Watchit! Completely under control though…….

 

 

The Dispatcher. 

 

The Clock got stopped a few times during the session, for varying reasons. There were no major derailments although the D&S owner needs to look at the track entering Charde because the Charde DMU kept derailing at various times. The dispatcher continued to bark instructions and assist where possible, particularly if things were a little confusing – which occurred at least once during the session at most stations. 

 

All up though, it was a good operating session to see in 2024. Thanks to all and Sundry for participating on the night. Here are some more pics. 

 

 

 

Until next time.

 

Cheers for now

 

The D&S Media Manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D&S Operations Report 11 Oct 23

 D&S Media Report 11th October 2023

Operators:

Dispatcher: Ron

Charde: Reg

Marabost: David

Watchit: Ray

Tawnton West: Geoff D.

Tawnton East: Craig (again!!!), should just call it ‘Craigville’

This media report is going to take on a slightly different format. It will be written like a short
story and the title is: ‘What’s the Point’?
‘What’s the Point’, the D&S owner wondered as each time the Flying Banana left Charde or
was on the way to Charde it would derail. ‘Oh no’, yelled the dispatcher, ‘not again’ was
heard by the crew, after about the fifth time. The guilty little Brown and Cream single railcar
was being a right royal pain the rear end. Eventually the actual spot of derailment was
identified and no doubt this meant the D&S maintenance crew were to become busy once
again.

Guilty – as Charged

The Culprit – driven by the Charde operator but on this occasion the constant derailments were not his fault.

No doubt once it was repaired the point would be tracked in case future issues arose.
The efficient D&S operators continued to raise the expectations. If they were in the Defence
Force they would have risen through the ranks to all be commissioned officers by now. No
more Privates or Corporals. The way the operators are managing their stations and
controlling their trains is to a standard a General would be proud of, or in Tawnton’s case,
the King. King Geoff, albeit, inhibited with a hand injury, was still able to be proficient as
always.
Actually, all operators in most circumstances were so efficient that trains were accurately
blocked, even by those who don’t know what term ‘blocking a train’ means. Surprisingly,
well considering the D&S crew on the night, no, it wasn’t surprising, a number of trains
could depart early (Goods only), and I’m not just talking about a few minutes early, I’m
talking over an hour early. This enabled certain operators to get some valuable shut-eye in
readiness for the next train to shunt.

A quiet Watchit.

Somehow a wagon and card got left behind by someone but unfortunately the railway
detectives couldn’t locate the initial perpetrator, however, the Dispatcher thinks it may
have been from one of the operators in the Western end of the layout. There was not
sufficient evidence to charge anyone as guilty of this very minor offence, so it was swept by
the lineside.
We all know that change is inevitable, particularly in relation to the D&S, so when you next
operate on this wonderful railway you are going to witness some growth and development
in the way of a new station. Tiverton was born a while ago and now has almost developed
into a fully fledge operational line, so be prepared men – it is going to be exciting. There
might even be a ribbon cutting ceremony to commence this new dawn on the D&S.
As one famous Bugs Bunny once said, ‘That’s all Folks’.
Pics are of various aspects of the operational funfest.

                          Busy                                                               ‘Who, me’!

Marabost

Tawnton – The King and the Knight.

Charde and Marabost in the background

A busy Tawnton.

Addendum

Even though many operators looking at this next photo would think that the
Passenger train has entered the Tawnton Goods Yard by mistake (of the Tawnton
Operators), this is not the case. It is actually a ‘Works Train’, Train Order T/O GWT.
It does not contain passengers as many would assume but contains railway
employees (mainly Engineers) who were experiencing the construction of particular
‘Goods Yards’.

Cheers for now

The DS Media Manager.

The 838 Lazarus

 Auscision AN 830  838, with DCC Sound, was shorting. As soon as it went on the track, bang circuit breaker thrown. . Quick check of the continuity of the wheels indicated a deeper problem. Disassembly was called for. As I pondered the process I noted some gruesome repairs had been undertaken on the handrails on the back end. I took out the screws retaining the couplers, which should fall out, but they wouldn’t budge. Hmmmm. What to do….  

Open my set of stainless steel dental tools. With gentle prising I managed to lever out the couplers, they had been super glued in???? 

I noted four retaining screws on the underside which when removed allowed the body to be removed, but it was tight. Bugger, in removing the body a mirror dislodged and fell to the desktop. Shit, the piping on the side of the under frame dislodged and joined the mirror. The driver was glued to the body not his seat and some side frame crossmembers were separated loco had done some parasailing methinks.

Repaired sideframe crossmember

Unplugged the lighting circuit from the main board and viola, the exposed ESU Sound decoder appears.

I prised the decoder off the circuit board and placed it on my ESU Decoder Tester. Immediate short.

Another Duff ESU Sound Decoder.

I had a spare 21 pin Lokpilot non sound decoder, put that on the loco circuit board , put the loco on the program track, dialled up Address 3 and put it into motion. Lights on, sweet as.

Reassembled the body save for side frames which need 24 hr to harden up  glued mirror and under frame piping, readdressed decoder to 838. 

I know it’s wrong era, but I immediately rang the owner and offered to acquire the culprit. Deal agreed, 838 now joins 833 in a green and gold consist on the GSD. Will eventually buy a Sound decoder for it. Cant have enough 830’s on a SAR Layout.

Ps I will also be on the lookout for SAR 830 bodies to replace these in the fullness of time.

D&S Operations Report 13 September 2023

Hi All, 

Due to work commitments there was a delay on creating the D&S media report for Wednesday the 13th September. If this is an issue for anyone, then please come and do my role and I'll get the media report done in a more timely fashion. It would mean you would be working with teenagers, hence why the D&S Media manager values train operational events. It keeps the sanity in some control....sometimes.

The usual cuppa and pre-operational chat occurred around the Solly kitchen table. Some decent food was on offer, so no-one went hungry and had plenty of sustenance ready for an operating night. Operators were:

Ron - Dispatcher

Ray - Watchit

Alan - Charde

David - Marabost

Craig - Tawnton East

Connor (filling in for Geoff D.) - Tawnton West.

One thing that is becoming very apparent with operating nights, and in reality, it is most probably no different to the real railways.......THINGS GO PEAR SHAPE!! (A bit like Port Power's Finals record). Looking at previous reports and hearing about a recent Wild Creek Operational session, it appears no model railway is free from mishap, particularly when Murphy enters the room. Basically, as in Life and no doubt you can attest to this - Shit happens! 
If you require the PG version just write 'Poo Bottom'. Well, this night at Ronald's was no different. Read on............

Marabost:

In reality it is most probably a good thing that Marabost doesn't have a super busy timetable (like it's Watchit cousin) because at this operational session there wasn't an operator at Marabost full time. Well, yes, it was David and he was present (standing) in the Marabost station region 

but he had other jobs to attend to during the evening, not of his doing mind you. David became a ganger for the night, fixing track issues.......as in a lifted rail. He was quite innovative. See the clamp image.

At one stage he was the 'Point Repairer' and re-railer, when a train derailed. Certainly his time at Marabost was filled with variety, much more then he expected, but he was still able to manage the operational requirements of Marabost quite efficiently. 

Charde:

Alan is certainly starting to get the hang of various 'operational' platforms, with card systems and train sequence lists.

 Alan managed Charde quite effectively and like all of us on the D&S roster, we started our D&S operational days at 'laid-back' Charde. In reality though Charde is not as laid-back as it used to be. Ron has implemented a few additions to his timetable structure to ensure Charde isn't just sitting back having tea and scones. Alan appears to be enjoying the evenings and it has been good to have him on board (pun not intended). Next step Alan, is Tawnton West! By the way, most operations in and out of Charde seemed to go fairly smoothly. 

Watchit:

With changes to the D&S timetable structure over the past 12 months, actually 5 years.....what am I saying - changes on the D&S happen hourly, and if not hourly, certainly daily. It's like a Physics equation really. Instead of mass = velocity x speed (or whatever) the following equation applies on the D&S: Ron = Change. Back to Watchit, comment from the young one on the night (Connor),' it's almost like Watchit is becoming the new Tawnton', relating to busyness. There might be some 'truth' in that comment. Certainly recent operators, including Paul, David and Ray have appeared to be busier, to the point of not all operations getting completed or operations not getting completed to the high standard the railway was once accustomed to. Train lengths appear to be getting longer, tracks are getting crowded, which delays through trains coming through Watchit on time and certainly the particular language coming from that side of the room has had an increased tone to it recent times. Tawnton received a train from Watchit that they were told was blocked. Obviously there were 2 interpretations of the term 'blocked' that occurred on the night. All in all, Ray managed the busy Watchit by using his operational experience and carefully reading instructions. 

Tawnton:

For this report the media manager has decided not to split the Tawnton locations into 2 separate sections in the report. There is no need, because, like other recent Tawnton operations it was a real team effort and this operating session was no different. The operators could read each others thoughts and acted as one very conducive, efficient, effective, cohesive, timely, and incredibly productive team.


 Yes, there was 1 error picked up at the end of the operating session, with the incorrect wagon leaving the Goods shed instead of a similar looking wagon leaving the Stores. Upon investigation this wasn't a mistake but initiative, because Tawnton operators decided, based on discussions with the CEO (not the owner) that, to make money for the railway a different wagon would leave on the train. Still, further investigation revealed that the wagon that was meant to leave Tawnton, had a 'flat wheel', which as Geoff M. could attest to, it could have caused repercussions that would have been very costly for the railway. In recent Tawnton fashion, operations were timely and operational efficiency oozed from that side of the room.
 Thanks to Connor for filling in for Geoff D. It was appreciated and it was good to have you with us again. 

Dispatch:

Anyone that likes cricket can remember a segment a number of years back now, titled 'Classic Catches'. Well, the Dispatcher took the honour on this operational session by introducing 'Classic Comments'. Such comments, and some were repeated a number of times throughout the evening were simply, 'Don't worry fellas, that's me' or simply, 'that's me' or alternatively, 'my fault'. This was in relation to some signals not changed, points not changed, etc, etc. It was nice to know that even the head of the D&S makes mistakes but in true honourable style, he quickly owns up to them. It wasn't always the station operators that caused the short circuits in the session. 

In Summary. 

The session was a lot of fun, and even though a lifted track, a dicky point and a train derailing in the tunnel occurred in the session, still a good night was had by all, and like any good session, no-one got injured and Mrs Kafoops didn't turn up to complain.

Supper was the usual, with some good chatter going around the table, whilst sipping on tea / coffee and feeding our faces. 

That's the lot. 

D&S Media Manager

D&S Operations Report 28 August 2023

 D&S Media Release 28^th August 2023

 

Operators:

Dispatcher: Ron

Charde: Rowan

Marabost: Ray

Watchit: Reg

Tawnton West: Craig

Tawnton East: David

 

This edition of the D&S ramblings is a ‘condensed’ version due to the Media Manager’s work commitments.

 

A barmy 'Almost' Spring evening greeted the operators at Evanston Gardens. The usual cuppa and chin-wag was ever present and it was pick night so that added to the entertainment around the kitchen table. Charde was off limits as Rowan had ownership for a little while yet. Ray filled in for Paul and did a sterling job of picking Marabost, much to someone else’s disgust.

 

Charde:

Rowan is getting used to the operations. He is carefully reading instructions and getting to understand the difference between a standard goods train and an Express Goods Train. Even though Charde is a ‘laid-back’ little English branchline there still some complexities and Rowan is getting used to some of these. Practice makes perfect, however, those on the D&S roster, no-one is perfect although there are a couple of gentlemen that are getting close. 

 

Keep up the good work Rowan.

 

Watchit:

Reg was a 1^st timer at Watchit and certainly it appeared he was grasping the complexities of the 2^nd largest operation of the D&S. There were a number of times whereby the phrase ‘extremely efficient’ was heard from the Watchit operator (at least 5 times). Interestingly, this may have been to remind others of how inefficient others were. It is valuable when one can back up their claims of ‘extreme efficiency’, however, in this case the term may have been overused somewhat……particularly when the Watchit operator was the only one on the night that didn’t (yes, didn’t) complete their train sequence. (Dispatcher note - I think he was prepared to do the last train but I did say – “leave it” as I think I may have not allowed enough time to finish the main goods shunting before close of the session to allow for another lot of shunting).

Extremely efficient, possibly not! Efficient….possibly at times. In the Watchit operator’s defence (force), there was certainly not much request of assistance so one presumes that it was smooth and timely operations. 

  

 

Marabost:

Ray continues to manage the small but busy hamlet of Marabost. Certainly it appeared that most trains left Marabost on time and went to their correct destinations with the right wagons. Ray was also efficient on the night, and even though instructions may not have been read or observed, there did not appear to be any serious consequences because of this. Thanks for filling in Ray. 

 

Tawnton West:

This was Craig’s 1^st official time at Tawnton West. Even though this station is not on his ‘Favourites’ list, it was still manageable and workable. The Tawnton West operator continued to get use to the new tracks and changes since last time and he tried to work cohesively with the Tawnton East operator. This occurred most of the time and as a pairing the 2 Tawnton operations were ‘Extremely Efficient’. Yes, there were a couple of shorts because points weren’t changed over and 1 train left 2 minutes late but other then that, it was operational awesomeness. It certainly will be beneficial for the Tawnton operators to have consistency in the LEDs in the panel (Green or Red) and no doubt the D&S owner has put this on his ‘to do’ list, along with the 23 other jobs Ray has suggested he do and obviously all D&S operators are waiting for that elusive HELIX to be constructed. 

 

Tawnton East:

Interestingly this operating session was a straight swap for the Tawnton operators with David doing East and Craig doing West. On the last roster it was the other way around, and to be honest both David and Craig would prefer it that way. Both operators are developing an understanding of how the other thinks D&S wise, so it is a team effort. The East operator did a lot of the point changing on the panel for the roster, which worked fine. All wagons were shunted where they were supposed to be and trains were made up and departed in a very timely fashion….except one, whereby there was some confusion on the nature of 10 or 11 wagons and double bogie wagons counting as 2. This issue (challenge) was discussed and some alternations may be made. 

 

Overall, the Tawnton team continue to make money for the D&S and cover loses incurred by the other stations on the layout. 

 

In Summary:

The operating session was enjoyable. Even though the ‘Dispatcher’ hasn’t got a mention before now, he continues to guide and facilitate and in this particular session, it was observed on occasions that he was walking around with a pencil and his beloved running sequence folder…………… more regularly then normal one must say. A greater emphasis at times was focused on the pencil and it was noted that it was used 6 times at various different locations. This usage was predominantly for making changes to T/Os, just minor changes that liquid paper wouldn’t fix. 

 

It was great to see Ron’s progression with the Tiverton extension and it is certainly coming along at ‘Ron’ pace. It will be finished by the next operating session. (Dispatcher note - dunno about that  :-P )
 It will be another very workable addition to the D&S operations. 

 

Unfortunately, there are no photos for this report. Operating at Tawnton West meant the Media Manager didn’t have time to take any photos. Apologies. The evening ended with some general chit chat and banter plus the usual cuppa and biscuits. 

D&S Report 9 Aug 23

 NEWS HEADLINES

Stop Press

Disaster stops railway operations!!

On Wednesday the 9^th of August all operations on the D&S came to an abrupt standstill. Mayhem and passenger injury and death was averted but only by the fast response actions of train operators. The outcome of this disaster is not fully known at the time of writing this news report but it was evident many carriages, wagons and diesels are on their side. The cause of this man-made disaster was ascertained fairly quickly, however, it is going to take time to clean up the mess. It has been reported that the Charde Peninsula (also containing the operations of Durston and Mynend) was rear-ended by someone’s rearend. The person under investigation for this act has not been placed in custody, however, only once the full damage report has been compiled then the true costs, both financial and human, will be made public. The said rearend belonged to the D&S owner (Dispatcher, Fat Controller, Train Control). This makes this disaster all the more difficult to comprehend. All operations ceased just as GD21 (Charde operator) ex Durston was due to depart at 12.26pm. A further update will be published in due course. 

 

This event truly threw the D&S into chaos with all operations ceasing immediately and passengers certainly didn’t take long to air their concerns, with one passenger in particular, a Mrs Kafoops really going off her tree. Mrs Kafoops had traveled on a special excursion train all the way from the Border Downs District and as a regular train traveler, she wasn’t happy when she was left stranded at Watchit. She has been known to complain before and unfortunately she was at it again but in reality, this time it was for good reason. She was left high and dry due to someone’s rear(end) actions. At the end of the day this whole event was as simple as: someone’s misguided bodily actions giving both operators and passengers a bum steer. 

Media Report

9^th August 2023

 

Operators:

 

Dispatcher: Ron

Charde: Allan

Marabost: Geoff M. (for David)

Watchit: Ray

Tawnton West: Geoff D

Tawnton East: Craig

 

Operational Preamble:

As per usual the kettle was on and the evening started with coffee, tea, biscuits and some nice looking tarts. The night was a ‘pick night’. Allan, the new kid on the block, was automatically given Charde, so that left the 2 Geoffs, Ray and Craig to pick. Geoff D. picked the station he was king of in a previous operating session and he decided to keep not only his title but decided to keep his ‘lot’ at Tawnton. Ray picked his favourite station, the one right next to Ron – this way Ray could easy offer Ron advice for required changes rather than yelling across the room. He could just lean over and say, ‘hey Ron, have you thought about this’ or ‘Ron, you should do this’ or ‘Ron, this isn’t working’. Ron’s immediate response to this last statement would be the standard, ‘well, read the bloody instructions’….

Geoff M. was a rather happy chappy when he saw he had grabbed the Marabost card. Craig was envious but graciously accepted his most familiar spot as the Tawnton East operator.  

 

Charde

Allan was a new kid on the block and like all new operators over the years their first operational roster is at Charde. Allan embraced this new ‘operating’ concept with enthusiasm and he took it all in. He attempted to learn the ropes and in reality, he did a pretty good job. At times it certainly wasn’t ‘laid-back’ Charde and Allan was kept busy all throughout the session. Hopefully Allan wasn’t put off by what he saw and heard and he will be back again for the next round. Interestingly, a new shunting manoeuvre was seen at Charde in which the Flying Banana DMU shunted a van into the track at the CCC company, quite effectively one might add. There were reasons behind this move but it is too difficult to explain in this format. At the end of the day, ‘what the Fat Controller doesn’t see, then it doesn’t matter’, as long as the outcome is still achieved.  

Charde operations

Busy 'at Charde with both Goods trains in the station

Tawnton

 Craig was on East and Geoff D. was on West. Between them communication was effective and this then transferred into the operational running which was seamless. All wagons were shunted into their respective sidings, trains were made up and all trains left Tawnton on time.

 

A lot of handy work occurred at Tawnton, particular at the location of a 3-way point that was causing some grief and for the entirety of the operating session it was, in reality, a 1-way point. Basically 1 out 3 tracks were alive. The point had 2 tracks dead, so the big hand protruded out of the sky 58 times during the operating session to push locos past the dead section of track. 

 

Tawnton gave a new meaning to the word ‘efficiency’ throughout their operating session. They were on time, every time…..actually in most circumstances the Tawnton operators were so efficient and so effective at their shunting that they were often ready for trains arriving at Tawnton well and truly prior to the scheduled arrival time. Someone recently commented that David and Craig were the dream team at Tawnton. ‘Were’ being the operative word, ‘in the past’, ‘historically’ maybe yes but not any more. The effectiveness of the Tawnton operations were taken to a new level throughout this session. The new ‘Dream team’ has arrived. 

 

Even though a so called error was picked up by the D&S owner in relation to a tanker train from Watchit that enters Tawnton (T/O TE4), it was further investigated and it was deemed not the error of the Tawnton operators because the operating session hadn’t finished and therefore not all duties were completed. If operations hadn’t ceased because of the disaster then the job in question would have been completed and there would not have been an error.  Editor note..  see Stop Press #2

Notice the lack of trains - that's because Tawnton was so effective at shunting.

The tanker train

 

Marabost

Geoff M. operated at Marabost just like he did when he worked on the real railways……’he just went about his job and made it happen,’ with relative little fuss. It was evident that Geoff was reasonably pleased to get Marabost and there were no recorded mishaps or derailments or damage done at Marabost. Everything travelling out of Marabost seemed to be on time and had the correct wagons attached. It is certainly evident that Geoff is getting used to the various D&S stations and operational processes. 

Operations at Marabost with Newton Abbot in the background.

Focus time at Marabost - considering the make-up of the next operation

Watchit

The most experienced D&S operator had the pleasure of being the chief at Watchit. It must have been a relatively productive session for the Watchit operator as there wasn’t a great deal of communication coming from that side of the railway room. For the entire evening there was very minimal ‘Fornication under consent of the King’ language used by all. Yes, certainly Watchit had the odd train depart a little late but no additional operations were held up because of this and in reality it may have only been 1 late departing train from Watchit. The reading of instructions, or lack there of ............ didn’t appear to hinder the effectiveness of the Watchit operator on this occasion. 

 

Who is the Watchit station master in this photo??

 

Dispatch

The Dispatcher did a reasonable job……..well until the disaster occurred and then all operations turned to diarrhea. There were a couple of instances that the Watchit operator had to keep the Dispatcher on his toes by reminding him to change a signal but other than that, the new dispatch panel is proving valuable and there were times where the dispatcher became repairer and tried to fix the above mentioned point problem. In reality, the dispatcher kept control of the evening, until it stopped abruptly.

The Dispatcher on the phone to ARTC after operations ceased at the D&S - due to the disaster.

 

Once operations were ceased the crew made their way indoors and enjoyed a cuppa, some biscuits and a chat, although unfortunately most of the tarts had gone. It was great to welcome Allan on board and thanks to Geoff M. for filling in for David. A good night had by all

STOP PRESS: The 3-way point is now working as a 3-way point. It was a wire issue. 

STOP PRESS #2  The problem with Tanker train T/O TE4 was very early on in the Op session, it had  arrived  at 5:50 & had left well before all the mainline passenger & DMU  services  & the calamity was far later around 12:30. The problem has been identified in detail to the Tawnton "Dream" team & I guess each person is allowed one error during the Op session... :-P 

That's all Folks

The D&S Media