Mick Thornton visits the C&DR

Mick Thornton & Ted Polet (2003)

Shortly before the Valkenburg show of June 2003 Mick Thornton paid a visit to the Craigcorrie & Dunalistair Railway in my attic for a running session and photos. Mick had brought a large selection of his locomotives and rolling stock which is now being lettered 'Mull& Iona Railway'. Included was his new rake of bogie coaches built from Ratio parts. Because Mick uses the same N gauge couplers I do on the C&DR, there was no problem using the stock together. A problem we did encounter was the tight curves behind the backscene on my layout which Mick's locomotives don't like. We managed to run them over the visible parts of the line however.

Click on any image to enlarge. All photos by Mick Thornton.

Overview of the double-deck area on the C&DR.

Panorama of the harbour and a close-up of the Garratt waiting between coal trains at the Dunalistair water tank.

Left: the inspection railmotor named after my son Terry. Centre and right: the local service descends the road section off the branch into Rae Bridge. This area is still devoid of its scenic finish. Right: the Creag Dhubh mountain tramcar still under construction from two Bachmann cable car bodies.

C&DR no. 14 Calabar and no. 2 Craigcorrie at Rae Bridge.

Left: diesel loco named after my son Axel on the quay at Dunalistair. Centre and right: C&DR loco Ariadne with a goods service from Inverlochan.

Atlantic on Mick's new bogie passenger train which is minutely detailed and painted. Compare them to the rather austere C&DR bogie coach in the viaduct scene and you will see that I still have some work to do…

The train arrives at Dunalistair, where Mick's Australian 'NaF' Baldwin Matilda waits on the turntable.

The loco shed at Rae Bridge, with Matilda and Mick's Donegal-inspired railcar and trailer.

Mick's 0-4-0 tender loco Beatrice was the only one of his which managed the severe curves behind my backscene, but as this loco is a bit underpowered for the heavy bogie train we added my ex-Darjeeling loco Shiva to provide more muscle on the gradients to Rae Bridge and beyond. Centre: the train enters Rae Bridge. Right: into the Glenclachan Gorge.

Finally the train arrives on the top level, where an uninterrupted view is possible, ending up on Inverlochan Moor.

Left: no. 18 Ryan of Mick's M&IR receives a push by C&DR no. 14 Calabar. Centre and right: the Caledonian blue 2-6-0 Jordan provided a fine view on the viaduct and the Moor. This loco is an excellent conversion by Mick of an Airfix saddle tank kit and an Arnold 0-6-0 mechanism.