Glenmutchkin’s main source of inspiration is Wick or its slightly more slimline cousin, Thurso.  These are very similar in layout except for their MPD’s; where Wick’s was quite a lot larger.

An overall view of Thurso in the 1970’s, with thank to Richard Oaks

Wick in 1983; photograph by Peter Whatley with Creatives Commons Licence

However, rather than a facsimile of either (hey Ben Alder/Richard Oaks has nabbed that idea anyway!), I am proposing to use the same arrangement of MPD as at Kyle of Lochalsh’s shed area, with the access road leading to a turntable and then the shed roads coming back off this.  Due to the way that the layout will sit in its home, I have had to do a mirror of the shed at Kyle but otherwise it will be the same.

A rather fab photo of Kyle shed with a superheater goods (which were the mainstay of the line from about 1930 through to just after the war) on shed.  It is also a fine view of the signal here – one that I wish to model.  Photo with thanks to Jim Payne and available at www.throughtheireyes2.co.uk

All of the lines to the west coast of Scotland; both built by the Highland or any of its rival companies or projected come late in the 19^th century – partly as a result of Prof Aytoun’s story that I have paraphrased in part 2.  Wick and Thurso however were built rather before this and are stylistically rather different as a result.  The main differences are the way that the platforms were arranged and the use of a stone built station building/train shed.  However, having decided that the Glenmutchkin was much earlier than this, I felt that I could assume that the terminus was built before any of the other lines to the west coast were achieved and thus use the older style of station.  In practise I have done so because I wish to model the overall roof – probably the building at Wick as its screen to the end of the train shed is very attractive.

Photo of the road side of the main station building at Wick (that at Thurso is a bit smaller).  Copyright held by Peter Whatley and reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence.

Another feature of Kyle that I will take is the overbridge splitting the station from the shed area.  Being the son of a bridge engineer, I guess I need to get some proper civils into the model and the latticework is quite attractive. I will go for a single span bridge, rather than the twin span seen here at Kyle.

Copyright held by Ben Brookshank and reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence

Those cattle pens will appear at some point too!