New members: We extend a warm welcome to Basil Stevens of Merseyside who has joined the NMRA in our Division area. We hope that Basil will consider becoming a part of the Calder Northern Group. From Carlisle, we welcome Steven Brown as a new member. Les has introduced Steven to Brian Neville and we hope he will also become active in our Group.
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Special Thanks: The Auction was held 18-19 October which meant that the layouts had to be disassembled and moved to open the room for the auction. On the following Wednesday the layouts were moved back into place. We want to thank the Wednesday Gang along with any others who performed this necessary job on behalf of the Group.
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Events for 2016: Other events for 2016 that we should keep in mind while planning the year: There is every possibility that our Group will take part in the annual preparation for the summer at the Heritage Centre. Clean-up weekend has not yet been announced however this can be expected in mid-March as Easter is the 27th which would be the opening day of the Centre. Of greater concern for our Group is
planning for those days through the open season that the Trains must be running. Andrew Wicks has indicated that he is retiring from the task of summertime coordinator and being always available to open and operate the layout when there are no volunteers. This means that a firm schedule of operators must be established and published for the entire period that the Centre will be open. Please be prepared to volunteer for a running day or even several in order to make this an orderly exercise. Admittedly it may be hard to make the journey to Crewe but once there, it is great fun. Another event to keep in mind is the Aviation and Transport Fair held at the Aviation Viewing Park at Manchester Airport. We had two tables in the Concorde Hanger and which were shared with the Heritage Centre Volunteers. This event was considered an effective way to show what the Heritage Centre and its occupants are all about. There is every probability that we will again support this show.
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Presentations: I think that everyone who heard Brian Neville recount his experience and planning scheme for operations on his home layout found it quite remarkable and enjoyed hearing about the effort he invested in defining very realistic operation. One of the unique features is that the scheme allowed the operations to be paused until a later time to complete an operating session. For our November Meet, Terry Wynne will present a brief on the Achievement Program (AP) along with a report on the British Region Convention from October. In December, the theme is the Christmas raffle will be the exciting feature event. In January, Mike Lenz will talk about his experiences in building the several layouts that he has constructed and from what we know of Mike’s efforts, there would be some excellent modeling tips along the way. February will feature Tony Gath covering the Portland Convention and some train watching on the former Southern Pacific lines in Northern California
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Bill Walker’s Model Collection: You will recall that the Devil’s Creek Layout benefited from some locomotives and passenger cars appropriate to its theme which were selected from the collection by Steve Scott through the generosity of Mrs. Walker and the Barry and Penarth MRC/ Red Dragon Group. Your Committee decided to make a donation to the Club of £100 to show our grateful appreciation for this kind gesture. Terry has since learned that the £100 will be applied to some carpet replacement work in their clubroom.
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Tom Griffiths Visit: Tom will be in the UK this December and is planning to vist for the Meet on 13 December. Terry Wynne has a little surprise for Tom when he visits. This will be his first visit since earning his MMR.
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RAPIDO Visit: Jason Shron and Bill Schneider are traveling to the UK to attend the Warley Train Show on the 28th and 29th of November where RAPIDO will have a stand. Hopefully they will call at Calder Northern during their time in the UK. At this time their exact schedule is not known.
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Phil Riley Passing: Those who attended the October Meet will remember that Les announced the sudden passing of Phil Riley and gave the funeral arrangements. You will also remember that Phil had made available his collection of freight cars for sale to members and donated 50% of the funds raised to the Calder Northern. From this sale £400 has been raised through Phil’s generosity. Condolences have been sent to his widow, Carol, and a cheque is to be prepared to forward the other half of the money raised to her.
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Backshop Module Ordered : An order has been placed to the White Rose Model Workshop for the backshop module addition to Northwestern Mills. The actual delivery date of the module to the layout has yet to be determined.
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Christmas Raffle Prizes: Have a look through your collection of railroad items and choose a spare item or two for the Christmas raffle. Railroad items are encouraged and can be brought to the November Meet or arrive as early as possible on December 13th for the December Meet.
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Northwestern Mills Improvements: The troublesome turnout located at the window end of the layout has been replaced and now needs only ballasting to be completed. You have also probably had a problem running your train through the double slip turnout at the terminal throat leading to the program track and the inner storage tracks. A suggestion has been made to replace the double slip with a right hand turnout and isolate the program track as an abandoned section. The program track will be addressed at a later time.
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Season’s Greetings: Like the local Department Store, we are early but we may not issue a Train Order in December. Your secretary may be busy writing Christmas Cards instead. Therefore, to all, have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and may Santa bring you that wonderfully detailed freight car you have always wanted. In the New Year, resolve to have some modeling fun and make a presentation
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