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The signalling on the Settle and Carlisle (S&C) route leaves a lot to be desired, whereas that on the North East Corridor (NEC) seems to be more than adequate...

...Most of the stations on the S&C are simple two-platform types and for some reason, in MSTS, have only been provided with incorrectly-sited approach signals, namely a distant and a home, and...

I wrote the foregoing in the Introduction to my tutorial MSTS BRITISH SIGNALLING PRACTICE, freely available for download as a PDF document on the UKTrainsim (UKTS) web site. Pat Dalton, who at the time was building his wonderful reincarnation Settle and Carlisle 1920s, asked me if I would build Midland Railway signals for his route, I took up the challenge and so commenced a bit of a steep learning curve, for a senior citizen, learning how to use a modelling program.

Having completed the signals for Pat, I then turned my attention to the lack of anything, other than colour-light signals that had been provided by both Alan Thomson and Rob Thorburn, and a kit of UK style semaphore signals made by Hubert Feyerabend ('matchstick signals'), so I made the signal kit LSWR-Style Signal Kit, which was uploaded to the UKTS site. I was then approached by two route builders and asked if I would build a similar kit to the LSWR, but this time for the L&SWR's bitterest rival the GWR, to be used on the Bala and Highworth routes. I agreed and the results were eventually uploaded as a GWR signal kit to UKTS. Other kits for other grouping companies and a couple of pre-grouping companies followed.

A decision was taken right from the beginning that the kits would contain prefabricated signal types, compatible with various sizes of posts, dolls and brackets, each signal arrangement being attached by the user as required, rather than having complete configurations. This decision has been justified as some route builders, notably Australian, have used the lower quadrant variants to good effect by marrying them to posts and brackets of their own design. It also enabled me when building the SR upper quadrant signals to include just the modern posts and brackets, yet allow the signal arrangements to be used with the L&SWR lattice posts and brackets, which the Southern did in real practice.

Later I was asked by BATS to make the signals and install them on the Southern Region route and my latest contribution to MSTS has been to build a kit containing NSWR 3-position upper quadrant and 2-position lower quadrant semaphore signals, and colour-light signals of various combinations, for an Australian freeware route due for release at the end of 2006.