<p>It is May 1944, weeks before D-Day. The munitions depot at Monkton Farleigh mines is busy day and</p>
<p>night shipping out vital supplies to ports on the South Coast where the invasion fleet is being</p>
<p>assembled. Troop trains are also running constantly to these ports. A limited passenger service is</p>
<p>running including various branch line services. In addition refurbished US locomotives are being</p>
<p>moved to Southampton docks.</p>
<p>Obviously, the track layout differs considerably from that in service then, but I hope that I have</p>
<p>provided a reasonable simulation. One of the main differences is that the link from Didcot directly to</p>
<p>the south coast via Newbury has long gone, so all trains for the Southampton area are routed via</p>
<p>Reading. Thingley Yard substitutes for the branch into Monkton Farleigh mine, which was the largest</p>
<p>ammunition depot in Southern England. Ammunition trains for Weymouth are hauled out by a pilot</p>
<p>which detaches at Chippenham and then returns to the yard.</p>
<p>Empty freight for Thingley which enters via Bathampton will detach their engines at Chippenham to</p>
<p>run to Swindon Loco Depot and will then be hauled into the yard by a pilot. This pilot from the yard</p>
<p>will need to be authorised to pass signal 29 at Chippenham in order to effect the join. Locos will run</p>
<p>into the yard from Swindon, and also empties from other directions which may emerge from</p>
<p>Cocklebury. To facilitate movements, a one-way system is in operation around Thingley so there will</p>
<p>be no up trains entering from Melksham. Trains from Westbury reverse at Bathampton. If a train of</p>
<p>empty wagons (4V**) is waiting on the up line at Chippenham for a loco to haul it into the depot be</p>
<p>careful not to let any loaded ammunition trains (6V**) enter before the shunter (0P**) enters.</p>
<p>Local services to and from Cirencester and Highworth are simulated using freight lines. The</p>
<p>Cirencester - Reading services stop at every station so best not to let them get in front of an express.</p>
<p>Some of these run well into the evening as staggered business hours were in operation to avoid too</p>
<p>much traffic in the conventional rush hours. Watch out for up mail trains using the down line to</p>
<p>access Swindon PCL. Ammunition trains for the Southampton area use the ML from Didcot as they</p>
<p>have priority.</p>
<p>Some troop trains entering from Chipping Sodbury change engines at Didcot. Troop trains and</p>
<p>ammunition trains take priority over standard passenger and freight services, which may lead to</p>
<p>delays. Occasional wrong way working may facilitate timings, but should chosen with care. The</p>
<p>Parcels option should be chosen at the start and ARS should be switched off. Routes should not be</p>
<p>set too far ahead.</p>
<p>Watch out for 'Alive' a special train used by General Eisenhower.</p>
<p>This TT has not been tested on the SwinDid loader version as that doesn't work very well on my</p>
<p>antiquated XP system.</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
<p>Hotwellian April 2014</p>