Not longer after we installed the new bridge, a troll moved in to live underneath it. Which I guess is fairly commonplace, as bridges go. I have warned the junior navvies not to stomp over the bridge too loudly in case they disturb him and are eaten.

I can hear the objections from purists already:

• It’s not within scale.
• There is no record of any prototype narrow gauge line ever employing a troll to guard their bridges. (There were those stories about Dai Pont at Bryn-y-Felin on the WHR, but that was just local gossip. He was a very stocky man, was Dai.)
• The troll is clearly failing to observe correct lineside safety protocol and is standing much too close to the track.

To which we say:

• Wrong. He’s a giant in 16mm, which is obviously correct for a troll. See Lord Of The Rings, passim.
• Are you kidding? The entire WHR was run by trolls.
• His hair clearly fulfills the high-vis requirement. And any engine that hits him shouldn’t have derailed in the first place.
• Generally: bite me.