This used to happen a lot in real life if a hst was running on one power car British rail used a loco in front of the hst over the steep gradients in Devon and Cornwall
The layout is based on the Australian state run railway of New South Wales.With the scenery and buildings from the now closed Northern Tablelands section from Walcha Road to the Break of Gauge station of Wallangarra on the Queensland border.The layout is HO and from the 1970,s to 1980