When you consider building a model railway, it’s pretty likely that you’ll want a few sidings and possibly tracks ending in a terminus station, bay platform, or loading dock. In these situations, something is needed to denote the end of the line and prevent wagons and locomotives rolling off the end, or careering into whatever immovable object is next in their path. These are usually referred toas buffer stops. Over the course of railway history, a varied range of designs have been created to address the problem, from the crude solution of placing a sleeper across the tracks, or bending up the rail at the end of quayside and private owner sidings, and through to the sophisticated hydraulic arrangements in large city termini. Between these extremes exists a range of examples to challenge the modeller, built from various materials such as timber, rail, or even concrete. That development continues to this day, especially since much of the modern passenger rolling stock is no longer fitted with traditional ‘buffers’.
