It’s August 1974. The Three Degrees are at No. 1 with When Will I See You Again, Carlisle United are sitting atop the entire Football League, and in Scotland, the Kyle Line is enjoying a long-awaited reprieve. After two decades of closure threats, the railway to Kyle of Lochalsh has been saved, securing the future of this remote and spectacularly scenic route.
For a young railway enthusiast holidaying on the west coast of Scotland, this was a defining moment. Instead of witnessing the last days of a doomed line, it became the beginning of a lifelong fascination. Decades later, that memory would inspire the creation of Portchullin, a meticulously researched 4mm scale model railway that captures the rugged beauty, remote character, and operational intricacies of the real Highland Railway as it was in the early 1970s.
Conceived as a homage to Scotland’s west coast and realised with meticulous attention to detail, Portchullin recreates a plausible, though fictitious, station near the far end of the Kyle Line. Built by Mark Tatlow to Scalefour (P4) standards, the layout bends convention by being constructed on a sweeping 90-degree curve. The result is a scene that feels authentic and atmospheric, presented with both artistic flair and a deep respect for the prototype.
Despite the 1974 setting, the layout’s buildings and infrastructure are designed to be flexible enough for backdating to the 1920s. By changing stock, signage, and signals, Mark can recreate an earlier period that aligns with his preferred modelling era. His long-term plans include developing alternate structures and rolling stock to reflect this earlier Highland character.
A Place That Might Have Been
Named Portchullin (pronounced with a deep Gaelic lilt: Port-hoo-lin, from the back of the throat), the layout is entirely fictitious in geography but firmly rooted in Highland railway realism. Rather than replicating a known station, Mark imagined a plausible stopping point on the tortuous, loch-hugging western reaches of the line to Kyle of Lochalsh.
The concept was based on taking Stromeferry, a real station near the end of the line, and relocating it slightly inland to justify the presence of another station serving a scattered group of hill villages. This gave Mark the creative freedom to invent a setting that feels both authentic and credible, while still adhering closely to the operational and architectural principles of the Highland Railway.
Portchullin features a single-track passing loop, an essential feature for managing traffic on long single-line sections. The station buildings are unmistakably Highland in character, combining wooden signal cabins with a main station building that displays the baronial flair seen on larger stations across the region. The layout is fully signalled, with cabins at both ends, reflecting the extended loops often found at key locations on the real railway.
These elements work together to create a setting that feels completely plausible. It is a place that could have existed, and one that fits naturally into the landscape and operating practices of the line to Skye.
The entire layout is constructed on a sweeping 90-degree curve. This design decision mirrors the real topography of the route and offers a distinctive visual experience. As the viewer moves along the front of the layout, the scene shifts constantly, revealing new angles and changing perspectives. It adds richness and variety to both viewing and operating. However, it also makes transportation and storage more difficult, since the baseboards are unusually shaped. Even so, the added complexity pays off. Portchullin presents a railway scene that is not only visually striking but firmly rooted in authentic operational practice.
Though Portchullin itself is imagined, nearly all the structures on the layout are based on real Highland prototypes. The station building is derived from Aberfeldy, while the signal boxes and up platform shelter take their inspiration from Killiecrankie. A former stationmaster’s house from the same location has been repurposed as the layout’s hotel, and the small cottage, or but and ben as it is known locally, comes from a location near Kyle of Lochalsh. This blending of borrowed architecture helps to ground the fictional location in a very believable reality. It reflects Mark’s broader approach, which balances creative interpretation with prototype fidelity.
The Challenge of Modelling in P4
The layout is built to P4 standards, using a scale of 4 mm to the foot and a track gauge of 18.83 mm. This ensures more accurate proportions, wheel profiles, and clearances than traditional OO modelling. It brings a higher level of realism, but also additional complexity. All of the track is hand-built, with turnouts constructed using the Brook-Smith method. This includes the use of interlaced sleepers, a feature once common on the Highland Railway. The track incorporates a mix of soldered and glued chairs, chosen to provide both strength and visual accuracy.
The signalling is entirely scratchbuilt using components from MSE and Masokits, resulting in a distinctive Highland appearance that matches the rest of the infrastructure. The baseboards also follow a non-standard approach. Rather than using traditional flat tops, the layout employs an open-frame construction with a raised trackbed supported by a central vertical spine. This allows the surrounding terrain to rise and fall naturally, better reflecting the undulating landscape of the western Highlands.
The track plan was designed entirely in Templot, allowing for flowing curves that mirror the real line’s meandering nature. The entire scenic section follows an eight-foot radius curve, which enhances the illusion of depth and movement and ties into the overall design philosophy. The decision to follow the line’s natural geometry makes for a compelling visual experience, though it brings practical challenges. The curved baseboards are difficult to handle and store, but Mark sees the compromise as worthwhile for the gains in realism and atmosphere.
A Railway in Motion
Although Portchullin is visually striking, it is far more than a static diorama. It is a fully operational model railway, designed to reflect the working practices of its real-life counterpart in the early 1970s. This was a period of transition for Highland railways. While modernisation had begun to take hold, many traditional operating procedures remained firmly in place.
Passenger services on the layout consist of short loco-hauled trains, typically comprising BR Mk1 coaches in corporate blue and grey. These are hauled by Sulzer Type 2 locomotives, mainly Classes 24 and 26, which were a common sight on the Kyle Line during this period. Freight traffic, always essential in remote areas with poor road links, is represented by mixed formations of goods wagons. These include general merchandise, perishables, and occasional infrastructure loads, all consistent with what might have been seen trundling westward through the Highlands.
One of the more distinctive operational features modelled on Portchullin is the Highland practice of overtaking. This often involved one train arriving early, pulling forward past the platform, reversing into the opposite loop, and waiting there to allow a faster service to pass. This manoeuvre, although slightly theatrical in model form, is entirely prototypical and is frequently demonstrated at exhibitions to great effect.
Adding to the sense of realism, the locomotives are equipped with DCC sound. The deep, distinctive growl of a Sulzer engine echoing through the cuttings or idling in the platform, bringing the scene vividly to life and capturing the essence of the real line. The models themselves are based on modified ready-to-run examples, upgraded with P4 wheelsets and detailed to reflect the Highland region. Class 24s, for example, feature altered headcode boxes, refined grilles, and a recess for the tablet apparatus. Class 26s include cab door infills, repositioned bogie springs, and distinctive headlamps that mimic those fitted to road vehicles, as used by the Inverness-based fleet.
The rolling stock fleet is equally considered. Most vehicles began life as ready-to-run items, but have been converted to P4 standards with replacement wheels and, where necessary, new bogies. Several wagons and coaches are built from kits, and the entire fleet has been weathered to reflect the slightly worn, utilitarian look typical of the era. Despite the technical challenges of modelling to P4 standards, the stock performs reliably, thanks to careful conversion and a strong focus on mechanical consistency.
Carving the Highlands
The scenic treatment on Portchullin is as carefully considered as the railway itself. The real Kyle Line was among the most expensive routes per mile ever constructed in Britain, forced to thread its way through a wild and rocky landscape of headlands, inlets, steep embankments, and deep cuttings. This engineering challenge has been faithfully echoed in the model, where every element of the scenery reflects the uncompromising terrain of the western Highlands.
The cuttings are carved through hillsides in a way that mirrors the real line’s incisions through exposed rock. The rock faces themselves are made from cork bark, chosen for its natural, craggy texture. However, cork bark has many open pores and exaggerated fissures that can look unrealistic at scale. To address this, Mark filled the worst of the cavities with car body filler, applied by hand using fingers and thumbs. This kept the overall surface texture intact while softening the more exaggerated details. Once painted and weathered, the result is a convincing representation of weathered Highland geology, full of variation but grounded in reality.
The surrounding scenery includes carefully modelled Scottish moorland, formed from scenic mats, static grasses, MiniNatur tufts, and fine crushed stone. This combination convincingly recreates the boggy peatland, scrub vegetation, and rough ground that dominate the landscape in this part of the world. Embankments are built using real crushed stone, applied in a way that mimics the dumping and levelling techniques used during railway construction.
Water features also make an appearance. One section of the layout includes a loch surface, created using a simple but effective mix of black card, crumpled cellophane, and a sheet of glass. This approach produces a dark, reflective water effect that is entirely appropriate for the peaty, wind-stirred waters of the west coast.
Structures and details reinforce the Highland setting. The buildings follow real precedents, with wooden cabins constructed using battened timber for weather resistance. The main station building’s baronial styling reflects the architectural influence of local landowners, a reminder that the Highland Railway was often referred to as The Lairds’ Line. Elsewhere on the layout, bridges, stonework, and detailing are modelled on examples from Plockton, Erbisaig, Blair Atholl, and other locations along the route.
Framing the Scene
While the scenic work on Portchullin is impressive in its own right, it is the careful and deliberate presentation of the layout that often leaves the most lasting impression. From the beginning, Mark approached the display as a piece of theatre. The layout is framed by a proscenium arch, which masks the lighting and directs the viewer’s gaze toward the modelled scene. Below, a simple cloth screen conceals the support structure and fiddle yards, keeping the focus entirely on what is happening above the baseboard.
The backscene is taller than average, serving to eliminate background distractions and heighten the sense of immersion. Operators remain out of view, and their absence further reinforces the illusion that the viewer is looking through a window into a real Highland location.
This theatrical approach reached its peak during an exhibition held in a drama hall, where the entire room had been painted black. In that setting, the layout appeared as a single illuminated window surrounded by darkness. For Mark, it was exactly the effect he had been striving for, a moment where the layout transcended modelling and became pure visual theatre.
To deepen the sense of place, a video of real-life Highland railway footage sometimes plays alongside the layout. The sounds and images of the line to Kyle of Lochalsh, captured in the 1970s, reinforce the atmosphere and connect the viewer to the real-world inspiration behind the model.
Conclusion
Portchullin is more than just a model railway. It is a carefully observed tribute to the Kyle Line, capturing its atmosphere, operations, and rugged beauty with remarkable skill. It does not recreate a specific location, nor does it attempt to condense an entire main line into a compact footprint. Instead, it presents a believable place, one that could have existed, with authenticity, restraint, and a strong sense of purpose behind every modelling decision.
Although it is Mark’s first fully operational layout in over twenty years, Portchullin has proven to be a success both visually and operationally. It has also been a valuable learning experience. The distinctive curved baseboards, while essential to the visual impact, have made storage and transport a persistent challenge. Early exhibitions revealed minor issues at baseboard joints, including slight humps that had to be corrected later. Some rolling stock also required attention, particularly longer-wheelbase wagons, which benefited from sprung suspension to improve running quality on the hand-built P4 track.
Yet none of these challenges diminish the achievement. Portchullin offers something that few layouts manage to achieve, a genuine sense of journey. It evokes not just the look of the Highland railway but also its mood and rhythm. There is nostalgia here, certainly, but there is also precision and craft. The layout draws on memory, imagination, and historical detail, and brings them together in a compelling and atmospheric whole.
Like the real Kyle Line, Portchullin rewards those who take the time to explore it. It is a model railway that feels grounded, remote, and real, and that, perhaps, is the highest praise of all.
Exhibitions
- Scaleforum 2008 – Winner of Challenge
- 17 October 2009
- DEMU Showcase 2010
- Scaleforum 2010 – MRJ Chalice winner
- Tolworth Showtrain 2011
- Portsmouth 2011
- Model Rail Scotland 2012
- Watford Finescale Ex. 18th February 2012
- Nottingham Show Bilborough, Nottingham – 17 March 2012
- Tonbridge Model Railway Exhibition, Tonbridge – Saturday 16th February 2013
- London Festival of Railway Modelling, London – 23rd & 24th March 2013
- Wigan Model Railway Exhibition, Wigan – 15th & 16 June 2013
- Warley National Model Railway Exhibition, Birmingham – 23rd & 24th November 2013
- Trainwest Model Railway Exhibition, Melksham – 12th & 13th April 2014
- York Model Railway Show- 20th April 2014
- Great Central Railway Model Event, Quorn & Woodhouse – 20th, 21st & 22nd June 2014
- Scalefour North 18-19 April 2015
- St Albans Model Railway Exhibition, St Albans – 16th & 17th January 2016
- Diesel & Electric Show, Telford – 20th & 21st February 2016
- Manchester 2016
- East Anglian Model Railway Exhibition, St. Neots – 11th & 12th March, 2017
- EXPO EM –
- Modelspoor, Houten, Netherlands- 23rd, 24th & 25th February 2018
- Spalding Model Railway Exhibition, Spalding – 3rd & 4th November 2018
- EXPO EM, Bracknell – 18th & 19th May 2019
- Brighton (37)
- Perth Model Railway Exhibition, Perth – 29th & 30th June 2024
- National Festival of Railway Modelling, Birmingham – 23rd & 24th November 2024
More Information
- Tatlow, Mark. “Portchullin.” Model Railway Journal, no. 215, 2012, pp. 123-134.
- Tatlow, Mark. “Nostalgic Challenge.” British Railway Modelling, July 2024, pp. 20-31.
Epilogue
Portchullin is not just a model of a Highland station that never was. It is a reminder of how personal memory, historical research, and creative imagination can combine to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. Born from a teenage recollection of the Kyle Line’s reprieve in 1974, it stands as both homage and interpretation — a plausible outpost of the Highland, framed with the eye of an architect and the discipline of a finescale modeller.
Like the real railway it honours, Portchullin is remote, demanding, and quietly spectacular. It asks its audience to look closely and take time, just as the line to Kyle asks of its passengers. In that way, the model achieves something rare: it doesn’t simply represent a railway scene, it conveys the spirit of a railway journey.