Newsletter

Volume 14 Issue 4

Dec 2011 (Page 1 of 3)

HEADCODE

Welcome to the December issue of 2011

I’d like to start with an apology for this

rather ‘slimline’ edition, this is due to

the rather ‘bursty’ nature of my work

commitments and other domestic

concerns which have kept me from the

clubroom for the last few meetings. I’d

like to re-assure you all that I’m still

very much alive and kicking and

preparing for a full scale return to such

matters for the next newsletter.

So, this issue, alongside the usual

suspects, we have a brief feature on the

international show at Leamington. We

have also been fortunate enough to

secure a wife’s thoughts on Railway

Modelling.

There is also some layout news and the

regular ‘Tail Lamp’ column. TB

 

Volume 15 Issue 1 should appear in

early March 2012.

 

Copy deadlines for the next four

issues are:

Mar ‘12 Issue: 11th February

June ’12 Issue: 5th May

Sept ’12 Issue: 11th August

Dec ’12 Issue: 12th November

*********************

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

December sees our club’s AGM and

whilst these meetings are always

important, this year we have to decide

how we fund the club going forward.

From the start we’ve been a non

subscription club, with people paying

only when they attend. Attendance at

meetings has fallen in 2011 so that

paying for attendance only at the

current rate means our income is less

than our expenditure.

Like all groups, organisations and

the government, balancing the books

is a key to the survival of the club. I

hope to see many of you in 2012.

Have a great Christmas vacation.

Best wishes

Ken Jones, Chairman

The Club Layouts

 

Waterstock . . .

Work has been proceeding on the

turntable in the engine shed area. An

unprototypical Fleischmann turntable

is being fixed to the underside of the

layout, and physical connection made

vertically to the Peco turntable on the

top of the layout.

By turning the lower turntable the

turntable on the layout will move, at

least, that’s the theory, but this

sounds simpler than it is in practice.

Water Orton…

Following on from the last

newsletter, the club has made good

the track and electrical connections

on this layout before dismantling it in

November. It’s been a layout that has

often progressed at a snail’s pace and

more recently at no pace. So it is now

indefinitely mothballed and we won’t

be reporting on it in future

newsletters unless we restart it. Some

of the base boards have gone back to

Mike Turner’s home. Currently the

layout is stored at the club.

Tipton Hills…

There’s still scenery and track work to do on this layout. It will be erected in place of “Water Orton” in the clubroom

instead of us having to build it every time it is needed to be worked on. We hope this layout will be invited to exhibitions

in the near future. KJ

*************************

CLUB MEMBERS

Derek Gibbin is stepping down as layout coordinator at our AGM. Despite his own personal commitments Derek has

coordinated our appearance with “Waterstock” at 2 x N Gauge Shows, at the Sutton Coldfield show, at the N Gauge

Society anniversary event in Kettering and

EDITORIAL ADDRESS

Anthony Butler

43, Severn Way,

Cressage,

Shrewsbury.

Shropshire.

SY5 6DS

Tel: 01952 510133

at numerous smaller exhibitions. The club hopes he continues to visit us, and

our best wishes and thanks go to him and his wife Alison.

Mike Turner has visited the club to help to dismantle his layout “Water Orton”. His campaign against HS2 continues,

but he has found time to update our website at www.ngaugewmg.co.uk

Ken Jones has done his last model railway exhibition for 2011, ending with 2 of his N gauge layouts at the Solihull show

in November. He’s booked for the Sileby and Lutterworth shows in 2012 both of which have asked for his T gauge

layout. He promises to update his website www.kenjonestrains.co.uk in the near future. KJ

************************

BRANCHLINES & BYWAYS Ramblings off the cinder path

 

Taking safety-consciousness to the extreme, the following is quoted from the instruction sheet of an imported kit:

‘Please study the drawing carefully, and if all else fails, read the instructions. This kit is intended for adult hobbyists and

is not a toy. The castings contain lead which may be harmful if ingested or melted down into bullets and propelled into the body by guns, slingshots, or gravity.’