Tag: Train Orders

Hi everyone,

Our next meeting on Sunday 24th February is our belated “Valentine Special”; the one where we say thank you to the ladies in our lives for putting up with us and our hobby. So please bring your lady along for a glass of champagne and chocolates. I would appreciate it if you could advise me by e-mail or telephone before 8pm please on 01270 567050 that you are bringing your lady on the Sunday; I need to ensure we have enough glasses and champagne of course!

You will be sorry to hear John Baggaley has had an accident in his car. John is OK, shaken no doubt, but his van is heavily damaged having had the front end taken off in the impact. John is therefore currently without transport and I ask if anyone can detour at any time to collect John (or arrange a pick up close to his home) then please contact me so I can set up the arrangement in advance with John, thank you very much.

When you sent your renewal of membership to John Firth did you provide on the form your e-mail address? If so you should have by now received an e-mail from NMRA HQ in the USA which is a test mailing so you can put the sender address in your address book. The purpose of this mailing is so that in future HQ can communicate with individual members and provide information directly without the delays involved in publishing the NMRA magazine or communication following business meetings.

At our last meeting we asked the members present what they thought we should do in respect of the October Themed Event – whether it should be a one day or two day show, The consensus of opinion was that we should seek to run a two day show with a Dinner on the Saturday evening as done previously. The Theme of the event being “Fallen Flags” which gives us a lot of scope for selecting a variety of layouts. Talking of these – if you know of anyone who would like to show a layout that weekend could you please ask around and let me, Steve Scott, Mike Lenz, Les Herriot, John Hey or John Baggaley know as soon as possible their name, layout title, size and scale plus contact details.

Can I remind people that when you come to the meetings at Crewe to wear your name badges. Not only does this help new members know who you are but also when going to the kitchen for a drink it tells the person behind the counter you are a NMRA member and so your drinks are free of charge. We discussed at the last meeting if we should opt to purchase tea/coffee/hot chocolate drinks pre-packed instead of brewing/making our drinks in the kitchen. It was decided that this should be discussed at the AGM in April but in the meantime Mike Lenz will do a costing for us in readiness for the AGM to see if it is a worthwhile option.

Further to the last Train Orders we have now acquired a Propane gas cylinder for the layout and this is currently being constructed and made ready for positioning near the grain unloading facility. A raffle prize of a GP9 loco Terry won at the Benson last month has been fitted with a DCC chip (no sound) and is now a club model for use by members. The SD90-43MAC model (CP Rail) given to us by Les Dobbs when we moved to Crewe (in memory of Jim Burghall) has had a sound chip fitted and has been added to the club roster. We intend to fit DCC chips to a CN C424 and a West Coast Trains F59 given to us by Mike Lenz. We have also agreed to purchase an N scale loco for use on the new layout; John Baggaley is dealing with this currently.

I am also pleased to advise that the box of decal sheets and detail parts that went walkabouts has been located. It was in the AV room with the boxes of crisps. No wonder (pardon the pun!) it was put in there as these items were in a “Whotsits” type carton!!!

Finally I am pleased to announce that Les Herriot will be giving a clinic at our Saturday 23rd March meet on dealing with “Coupler height adjustment and curing freight cars that wobble” Les will explain his famous anti-wobble washers to us all. Make a date in you calendar to come along.

Terry Wynne
Chairman.

Happy New Year

After a turbulent 2012 let us hope the New Year brings stability to the British Region and that we can all settle to our models and club activities throughout the year with great enthusiasm.

First I want to advise you all of that the October Meet at which we are hoping to organise our bi-annual train show was originally scheduled for the first weekend in October has now been put back until the second weekend. We need to decide whether we opt for a one or two day event along with a Dinner at Crewe Arms Hotel or some other venue. This Themed Event needs to be discussed in more detail and therefore I will talk about this on Saturday. We need to confirm both who is going to take charge of organising the event and who will be the helpers. I have spoken to a few layout owners and these people will need to be contacted in the next few weeks to confirm. The theme for this event will be “Fallen Flags” which gives plenty of scope for a variety of layouts and displays. Please have your thinking caps on with ideas for the event.

The reason for the date change is that the Heritage Centre Trust has agreed that the Railwayana Auction which has been advertised for the 5th October would conflict with our event and so they asked if we would move our date one week later. I agreed on the understanding that this would not happen in any subsequent years and was assured it would not. There is also an earlier advertised auction as well on April 18th, the day before our AGM but the organisers of the auction have promised to vacate the clubroom and the Signal Display Room in readiness for our use on the Sunday 19th. However, we will still need to reposition the “North Western Mills” HO layout and “Devils Creek” back to their normal locations on the Sunday before our meeting commences. Layouts will be moved to facilitate the auction during our Wednesday working group session prior to that weekend.

A note for your diaries – Crewe Heritage Centre are putting on a Train Show & Miniature Railway (7.25” gauge) Event on the weekend of 2nd/3rd March. We have been invited to have all our layouts operational and so we ask for volunteers to be available on those dates. Bring models to run and if you can models to display on the layout or on a table we will make available.

I have been asked by one of our members for a couple of the decal packs and some detail parts from the Eric White collection. You will remember Brian Neville brought these along and said members could take any of the items on the basis of a donation towards Eric’s favourite charity – the RNLI. These items have been kept in a cardboard box under the HO layout at the end nearest the big window. Currently we cannot locate this box and if any member has borrowed the items to look through in the peace of their home can they let me know by phone before our next meeting on Saturday 26th. Call 01270 567050 before 8pm please any day.

Our December meet was a great success. 28 members attending which saw the clubroom busy amid much conversation and good humour much like the old days of Calder Northern. The second month running we have had 28 members through the door, keep it up guys as this is what makes the meets so enjoyable. It was good to see those who normally are unable to make most meetings and I have been assured they did not come along just for the mince pies! The Christmas raffle was amazing – we had 80 prizes and thanks must go to those who kindly donated the gifts which I am sure we well received following the draw. Thanks once again to John & Mary Hey for their great efforts in persuading you to buy your tickets and for calling the numbers/prizes. The sale of tickets almost broke the Calder Northern record with £214 taken, only £2 short of the record.
Thank you to all who took part. This amount plus the extra dues taken at the last two meets helps tremendously in building up a reserve of funds for Calder Northern. Our rent for 2013 has been paid and we can hopefully look forward to a year without any major financial concerns.

The Christmas meet also allowed us to conduct a special presentation. As previously advised the Region President Award of The Golden Spike was made to Derek Milby at the Kegworth Convention in October. As Derek was unable to attend that event we were asked to give him the award at our next meet and so Steve Park duly had the honour of making the presentation. Derek has done so much for the Region members over many years as well as for this Division so this was a most deserved award to a great guy. Well done Derek we are as proud as you are!

Now for anyone interested in the marine side of modelling or railroads that had barge movements Tom Griffiths has a write up and photos in the December edition of Model Railroad Craftsman magazine. Very good it is too, up to Tom’s usual great modelling skills!

Last weekend was the Benson Show – which was most enjoyable with a good turn out by members. A Team Phoenix meeting was held during the show and Steve Scott will give a brief update on this project at our meeting on Saturday.

Now an appeal – Does anyone have a spare HO scale Propane gas cylinder (3 inches or longer) or a spare Propane Tank car that they might like to donate for use on the North Western Mills layout? We have used a Walthers Surge Tower kit alongside the grain facility with a Grain Dryer and it would seem suitable to have a propane gas cylinder as an additional part of the scene.

Work on the HO layout has been slow because of the cold weather, however, we need to finish the last of the ballasting and add some more detail to the buildings along the front of the layout. We can then finalise the photo shoot to provide Mornflake with a photo of the facility bearing their branding, which is to be placed in the entrance foyer of the company’s offices in Crewe.

John Baggaley has been working on the N scale layout along with Alan Wyatt and Doug Sayles. Those who have seen the layout must agree it is looking good and will definitely be a source of interest in the coming months both on display at our meets and the model events at the Heritage Centre during the year. Thank you guys for all your efforts.

Just a reminder to those interested – the Wednesday working group has started up again and we welcome anyone who would like to come along to help or even just a chat over a cuppa!

Finally a further reminder to you to send in your nominations to Les Herriot for the vacant Chairman’s position following the April AGM. As you know Terry Wynne is stepping down but Mike Lenz has made it known he is prepared to be considered for the position.

Look forward to seeing you at the weekend.

Terry Wynne
Chairman

As you know next Sunday is our Christmas Meet so do come along and enjoy Mince pies and our annual Raffle. We have a very good selection of prizes to tempt you, so there is no reason not to dig deep into your pockets find those hidden fivers and tenners and buy plenty of raffle tickets. Thank you very much to those who have already donated prizes and a thank you to those of you who are bringing prizes with you on Sunday. Our friend Patrick Bopp in Luxembourg has generously sent 7 HO freight cars and a truck & semi trailer for the raffle. Thank you Patrick we appreciate it very much!

I am happy to say that Derek Milby is coming along and we can therefore formally present him with his British Region Golden Spike Award given by the Region President in recognition of Derek’s efforts on behalf of Region members over many years.

I also understand Brenda Porter is hoping to come along as is Alan Rogers. It will be great to see familiar faces again after such a long time.

Please note that during “Notices” on Sunday, Steve Scott will give a quick update on the ‘Team Phoenix’ project announced at the Kegworth AGM.

Our November Meet saw 28 members signed in which is very encouraging and following the two previous monthly meetings where 25 members attended it was good to see the clubroom so animated. Here’s hoping this is the start of a return to larger gatherings which will give us the opportunity to arrange extra activities such as talks and clinics in the Signal display room away from those who want to run trains. Don’t forget the committee wish to know what members would like to happen at our meets.
More work has been done to the HO layout with more ballasting plus the short line grade alongside the yard and the bridge over the tracks almost complete. John, Alan and Doug have worked tremendously well on the N scale layout and that is looking very good – anyone interested will be welcome to help with the work.

I have received a request from Alan Corkill, who lives in Sale, says he is contemplating moving from his home sometime in the near future and that he has been asked by members and some of his friends if they could view his models and layout before it is removed. Alan is pleased to allow this and is inviting any Calder Northern members to contact him (0161 962 2565) if they wish to view his layout. However, he does say that as some of the electrical control panels have some ‘gremlins’ and he would welcome anyone with electrical skills to help sort out the problems.

We are still looking for more pictures and stories about Calder Northern’s early years, so please dig out those old photos and get the ‘grey matter’ working to recount events and stories of Bardsley Hall or earlier as well as the people attending in those days. Please let Len Ford or me have those photos/stories as soon as you are able, thank you!

A Very Happy Christmas and a Healthy & Prosperous New Year to you all.

Terry Wynne, Chairman

Dear member,

For those of you who could not manage to get to Kegworth for the Region Convention I want to just update you on the nominations for positions on the BoD as voting papers will be issued soon. As you were aware the President Robin Swan had resigned, Patrick Grace, the Treasurer also stood down due to his occupational workload. Two other members decided to withhold the nominations. Therefore, at the AGM Keith Webb was elected into the position of President unopposed, the Treasurer’s post was filled by Paul Evans. An explanation of some of the issues surrounding the decisions of the BoD members was provided by Steve Scott and Steve also stated he was prepared to put forward his nomination for Secretary again. As there were no other nominations he was elected to the post of Secretary. In respect of the Vice President position there were two nominations – Mike Arnold and Gavin Fry. There are also two nominations for the post of Membership Director, John Firth who reinstated his nomination and Richard Czaja. Therefore all members will in due course receive ballot papers for them to vote for one person per position for these two posts. I will answer any questions on this matter at our next meeting if required.

Our next Group Meet is on Saturday 17th November and I am pleased to announce that Tom Griffiths our New Jersey (or should that be New Joisey!) friend and honorary member is coming over to see us. Tom is also going to be at Warley the following weekend. Please make every effort to come along and help make it an enjoyable and welcoming meet for Tom.

Following my recent trip to Florida I have acquired another Calder Northern baseball cap which is available for purchase to the first member interested. Cost has unfortunately risen but £15 will secure.

Would those people who have not yet received their Calder Northern name badge please advise me this next week so I can put right those missing badges. I have unfortunately lost my list so please e-mail me or phone me (must be before 8pm please) so that I can prepare one for you. Yes Alan Wyatt, I remember yours so you don’t need to call!

I would like to remind everyone that we need gifts for the Christmas Meet raffle so please search those boxes in the back of your model cupboard for kits you have never built, or better still bring along one of those new DCC locos you realise you don’t really need! I am sure someone would be happy to select that as a prize!
The Christmas Meet will be a Mince Pie event to get you into the festive mood.

Congratulations to Derek Milby. The Region President has recognised Derek’s service and many accomplishments in furthering the enjoyment of the hobby for members of the Region and awarded him with the Golden Spike Award. Thank you Derek for all your hard work and efforts on behalf of Calder Northern Division members, we all remember those great weekends at Ulverston.

Les Herriot has reminded me to again ask you for nominations for the Calder Northern Chairman’s position in readiness for our AGM in April next year. Please let Les know your nomination after making sure the person you nominate is prepared to be considered.
2013 MEET DATES
Saturday January 26th – Sunday February 24th (Valentine’s Day Thanks To Our Ladies) – Saturday March 23rd – Sunday April 21st (Annual General Meeting) – Saturday May 18th – Sunday June 9th
Saturday July 6th – Sunday August 11th – Saturday September 7th – Sunday October 6th – Saturday November 9th – Sunday December 8th (Christmas – Mince Pies & Raffle)

Terry Wynne
Chairman

I have to advise you that Crewe Heritage Trust have received a proposal from the people who organise the Railwayana Auction to rent the Lecture Room (sometimes referred to as the Viewing Room), which we currently use as our clubroom.
Les Herriot, Tony Hayselden, Steve Scott, Mike Lenz who are your committee members and Terry Wynne who was involved with Calder Northern’s agreement with the Crewe Heritage Trust have been considering this matter. George Neyman (CN Secretary) and John Hey (CN Publicity) have not deliberately been left out but it was felt that those who are regular Wednesday attendees could meet more easily and debate what effects this proposal could have and seek our best options in dealing with this matter.

The proposal from the Railwayana Auctions people is to provide the Trust with a higher rent than currently paid by CN and to have a certain number of weeks sole use of the Lecture Room. There are a number of other elements within the proposal but it is not necessary to list all the information here. We are therefore, asking for as many members as possible come along to our next group meeting on Saturday 18th May when a full explanation will be given.
We need your input, co-operation and support for a proposal from Calder Northern to the Trust but of course we will have to consider what if any Crewe Heritage Trust decisions might subsequently have on Calder Northern’s occupation of the Lecture Room. It will then be for our members to consider what they feel and want to do in respect of our long term activities and indeed future position.

As you are aware there have been some voices in the past indicating the Lecture Room is a great asset to the Heritage Centre and should be used more effectively and commercially. Equally there are those who point out the condition of toilets, catering, heating & lighting and decor and floor coverings which will in no way compare with other local facilities for such activities as conferencing or meeting rooms.
We are awaiting any feedback from the Trust in the meantime.

We are aware that not all members can attend on the 18th and so we will also continue to debate the options at our June Meet on Sunday 9th June.

Do come along so that you can share in any decisions that are taken – it affects all of us!

Terry Wynne

Dear member,

We have sadly received a phone call from Pat, Norman Davies’s wife to say that Norman has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He is currently in The Countess of Chester Hospital but will be coming home soon as that is his wish. I have told Pat that I am sure all members join me in hoping that Norman is not suffering and for her to tell him we are all thinking about him.
Norman had asked Pat to contact Les Herriot and myself as he had asked particularly that his collection of models and layout be disposed of and I will be making contact/liaising with those who knew Norman to see if they can help in this matter.

I am unable due to family commitments to go and see Norman this week; Sue & I are then away on holiday for one week returning on Sunday 12th August which happens to be Calder Northern’s next monthly meet.
I will therefore be unable to attend that meet and my apologies to everyone but hope you have a great day.

Now to the more usual TO notes – On 18th/19th August there is a Steam Weekend at Crewe Heritage Centre and we have been asked if members could be available to run all the Calder Northern layouts that weekend. There will be steam locomotives on site and an event like this is sure to attract many visitors. It is also a great opportunity to showcase our layouts, trains and maybe welcome local people to join the Group. I will ask Mike Ingham if he can let us have some more membership brochures that we can display or hand out to prospective members.

Official welcome to new members Brian Burke and to father and son duo Len and David Ford; Len & David have already made swift moves to get our Calder Northern website up and running. These two guys have already shown the basics of the site and now are looking to obtain information which can be posted to the site for both member benefit and for others to see. If anyone has photos, press cuttings or suitable anecdotes about the Division and its activities then please would you mail that to Len at len.ford@caldernorthern.org Obviously your committee will have to limit what is on the site as we have to consider what we may wish to add in the future and we don’t want to have too much information in one section which prevents us adding detail in another.
Len has indicated that sections such as – Home page; About us; Layouts; Photo Gallery; News & Events; Contact Us; Members; Links to other sites, will be included and each member will have a unique access.
I am currently preparing information to mail to Len for inclusion but would appreciate any additional detail you can provide.

Welcome back into the Calder Northern family to Brian Neville in Dumfries and Trevor Austin in Crewe, it is good to have you guys back on board.

If anyone has asked Brian Neville for items from Eric White’s collection that was not dealt with at our last Meet then Brian will be along at our September meeting on Saturday 8th. Contact him on 01387 710782.

We have offers from Les Herriot and Paul Doggett to host clinics and your feedback is requested on when you would like these to take place. Les is doing his on KD’s and his famous Anti-wobble washer (to get rid of those freight cars wobbles) and Paul’ is offering a guide to soldering be it work on your soldering things like track or on your brass models or kits.

Finally a big thank you to those of you who have been regulars operating the layout during the weekend public entry days at the Heritage Centre. Your generous help is much appreciated.

Terry Wynne

Dear member,

Our next meeting is on 7th July which happens to coincide with the official Crewe 175 weekend celebration at the Heritage Centre. Therefore it is suggested that you arrive as early as possible as car parking spaces will be very much at a premium.

On this day Brian Neville will be coming down from Dumfries by car and will be bringing those items which members have purchased or agreed to purchase from the late Eric White models/book collection. Please bring your wallets/cash to settle your account with Brian.

This is a good time to remind members that they should always wear their name badges when on site. If you do not have a badge then please let Terry Wynne know so he can arrange for a badge to be made for you. E-mail Terry on or telephone early evening 01270 567050 (strictly before 8pm please).

It was suggested that Les Herriot might present his clinic on 7th July but in view of the events taking place at the Heritage Centre we must put this on hold for another meet date later in the year.

As mentioned in previous Train Orders and agreed at the AGM, Rory Lushman is going to produce a DVD about Calder Northern Division and we are seeking information from anyone who remembers the early days of the Group or has any information which might be worth including either in an interview or pictures/film that could be considered for inclusion.
For your information Rory did some filming at our May meeting and this is available for viewing on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTh6ZhOj-yE Rory has good selection of his DVD’s available for purchase – see his advert in the latest Roundhouse magazine.

The purchase order for Perspex display covers for Devils Creek has gone to the supplier along with a further purchase request for the protective panels which will be affixed around North Western Mills HO scale layout. Hopefully these will be in place before our next meeting.

You will remember we advised you that some Crewe Schools would be visiting the Heritage Centre to see and in some cases have hands on activities around the site. This visit is to take place on Wednesday 27th June and we at Calder Northern would like those who can come along to be available to help if required.
Should the weather turn wet on the day then shelter will be sought in places such as North Junction Signal Box and if we have volunteers on site we could then show these young people and their teachers our layouts in operation. Parking on this day is different to our normal access to the site. For safety reasons on this day we are asked to park on the Tesco Store car park. Steve Scott is making arrangements with the Tesco Store Manager for those who can come along, to park their car and go to the Store Customer service desk to show their NMRA Membership Card and present their car registration. The Store will then enter your car details into their systems which advises their car park security contractor that your registration must not raise an overstay payment report and avoid you receiving a payment demand for exceeding the normal 3 hour limit. Steve will have more on this in the next few days. Please contact us if you intend to come.

For those of you who do not subscribe to the British Region Yahoo ‘Chat’ Group, Nobby Clark has posted a message saying that he would like comments from members about the possibility of the Region hosting a National NMRA Convention in the UK sometime in the future (probably 2017 or 2018). If you have any views on this – positive or negative, can you please send them to Nobby. Obviously at this stage no fixed ideas as to location have been suggested but Nobby intends to draw together a small team to discuss all issues and anyone wishing to be part of this team then again please contact Nobby direct. With NMRA members likely to come from many countries around the world the location would have to be capable of providing many hotel rooms and near to rail related interests. The North American convention model where visits to homes to view layouts is an essential part of conventions, this is probably not applicable in the UK as home layouts are small and access to homes for a large number of people is not achievable. However, it could appeal to American visitors to visit British Model Railway Clubs as well as prototype locations. Do try and input your thoughts to Nobby whenever you can.

Bill Jackson has asked me to include the following information to members about a Hobby shop in Preston who he has found to be most helpful in obtaining Walthers catalogue items quickly –
Hi Terry,
I mentioned to you last Sunday – Transport Models of Preston, as a model shop that came recommended by Walthers for ordering model railroad items from their catalogue. I said would pass on their details to you for inclusion in the next Train Orders.
I’ve spoken to Mark (one of the joint owners) at Transport Models about including his details in our newsletter and he said he would be pleased to accept any orders from members for any Walther’s items.
However, please make clear to everyone, that Transport Models sell mainly British model railway items and do not stock any US railway items, other than some ‘G gauge’ and ‘Bachmann On30’ currently! They do stock the Peco range and lots of scenic material, Woodland Scenics; etc.
They have been very friendly and speedy in getting ‘HO’ railroad bits and pieces for me when I’ve emailed my orders to them and they do mail-order (ordered one week, in their shop the next!!!);.

Their details are as follows:- Contact either Mark or Liz at

Transport Models Ltd;
Unit 1, Oyston Mill,
Strand Road,
Preston,
Lancashire,
PR1 8UR.

Tel. No. 01772 733 644
Website: www.transportmodels.co.uk
or by email: enquiries@transportmodels.co.uk or for orders at elizabeth@transportmodels.co.uk
Shop opening times: Monday to Saturday – 9am to 5pm; Closed Sunday.

Reminder – For those intending to go to Kegworth Yew Lodge Hotel for the British Region convention it is recommended that you book before the end of the month otherwise the hotel will sell rooms to the public.
Bookings can be made by phone or by using the form in Roundhouse.

Another reminder chaps! If you are going to enter a model or photograph in the “contests” at Kegworth then do start your preparation and if you need help with documentation then I am only too pleased to help.

If anyone has any HO scale Yellow Cabs (either 1950’s or 1980’s style) that are surplus to your requirements then we will be happy to purchase them from you for use on the layout.

Hope to see you soon,

Terry Wynne
Chairman

Dear member,

Our next meet is only a few days away on Saturday 12th May so here is a quick update in respect of what is current news and happenings on for the day.

Terry Wynne will be giving a short clinic/presentation titled, “scratchbuilding, kit-bashing and adaptation”. This will not be a very in depth presentation but Terry will be showing some of the models he has worked on including some of the buildings positioned on the HO scale North Western Mills layout. The aim is to encourage some of you who may feel inhibited when faced with building an item which is needed for your own layout but where you possibly feel that your skills are insufficient. We have all been in that position but it is really quite easy once you have the confidence or determination to make the first move.
Future clinics will include one by Les Herriot on fitting and adjusting Kadee couplings and Les’s “anti-wobble washers” to correct those freight cars that have a distinct wobble.
We are also hoping that Tony Hayselden will regale us with his wonderful trip to India including the cab ride down from Shimla.

Brian Neville from Dumfries is making the journey to see us on the 12th. Brian as you know used to come along with Eric White to the meets at Broadheath often bringing a couple of modules and staying overnight. After Eric’s sad death earlier this year Brian is now involved with selling Eric’s models and if you are interested in discussing this with Brian then he will be pleased to tell you what is available.

At our AGM last month we saw potential new members Brian Burke and Len Ford and family and we hope they feel that they would like to join us as members. Welcome guys we are happy to have you aboard!

Following the AGM decision to push our advertising of the group Rory Lushman has started producing a video for us. He proposes to hold interviews with older members to set the scene about the Division history and will include ongoing film of the progress of the HO layout, Devils Creek and also the new N scale layout. Any suggestions for inclusion will be welcomed by the committee.

With all the changes likely at the Heritage Centre regarding L&NWR and the site lease we would like all members to please wear their identity badges at all times whilst on site.

I would like to reminder you that your dues for this and subsequent meets is now £4 for members and £5 for non-members as voted through at the AGM.

We are offering for sale the unused parts of the Union Station building at a price of £15. This Cornerstone Kit now contains parts to build a backscene station or if you feel it is too difficult for you then Terry Wynne says he will build it up in similar fashion to the one to be located on the layout. No extra charge!

The old N scale layout in the Hall has been dismantled and currently sits beneath our HO layout. John Baggaley and Alan Wyatt have proposed using up to four of the old modules to build a new portable layout with folding legs affixed and perhaps two balloon style return loops on the ends. This layout can then be stored beneath the HO layout and on meet days erected in the middle room where films are shown. The buildings from the old layout are stored ready for further use.

See you soon,

Terry Wynne
Chairman

Dear member,

Just a few notes to keep you updated with Calder Northern happenings.

First I have managed to make contact with Derek Milby who tells me he is feeling much better although he is still having difficulty with his right hand. Derek has moved out of his Sun Street home and is currently in an apartment which he says is at the moment temporary but could be permanent in the future. I wished derek well on behalf of our group.
Derek has unfortunately had to put some of his railway items for auction but by the time I made contact with him the locos were going under the hammer and regrettably I was unable to advise members of British Region about the sale.

Now as part of our planned series of short clinics/presentations Tony Gath will be presenting his clinic at our next meeting on 10th March starting at 12 noon. Tony’s clinic is on constructing switches (points) using the ‘Fast Tracks’ jig. It promises to be one very interesting presentation and hopefully many of you can attend.

With regard to our Wednesday gang people working on the HO layout we are still looking for helpers to come along when they can. Oh, by the way I will not be able to be at the 7th March session due to having to be at hospital for a scan that day but will see you on Saturday 10th.

The calendar of events for the Crewe 175 events is being compiled and a copy will be available at our meeting on the 10th for perusal. We understand 3 or 4 steam locos will be based at Crewe Heritage Centre for the summer railtours so that should add some interest. There will be events of some sort on most weekends either at the Centre or in the town. If events on site are likely to create a parking problem we will advise you in advance of our meeting dates and suggest other options.
It is early days but we have been approached by the Cheshire East Council education liaison co-ordinator for maths & science to help on Wednesdays as part of proposed educational visits to the Heritage Centre. Thoughts being discussed and in due course proposals will emerge relating to small groups of children visiting the signal boxes, APT, Exhibition Hall and doing work associated with our model layout.
The guy said that perhaps children under supervision by teacher and our members could complete work associated with timetables, moving a train from (say) the Mornflake building to the Pilsbury bakery building. We would of course have to set speed limits on any DCC loco being used so that anyone could not do a “SantaPOD” start with a train!
Initial thoughts see this as a good way to get young children interested in model trains and who knows they may convince their parents that they should come along and see what we do.

Another issue has raised its head and this is about the requirement for more display space and activity area in the exhibition hall. The Trustees have decided that the layouts and Scalextrix will have to come down and what is done with them is to be debated in the next couple of weeks. The volunteers are no too pleased but are having to accept that with the occupancy of Waterman’s set up space is at a premium and with the big event this year this space is necessary for display or other purposes. The small N scale layout built by Trevor Austin will have to be considered at our next meeting whether we sell the layout to a member or break the layout up. The large N scale layout is also to be discussed but in conjunction with the CHC Volunteers. As you are aware the backscene which is continuous across the joints was changed some time ago and some tracklaying was done at the same time. This again could involve track crossing baseboard joints. I had suggested we could perhaps store this layout if the ends boards are still around but space again is the issue as you know the centre has very limited storage facilities. Unless of course members know of somewhere they can store such a large layout? Lets all discuss this next Saturday.

Look forward to seeing you next Saturday.

Terry Wynne
Chairman

p.s. Don’t forget to get your nominations to Les Herriot for Committee positions by 31 March

A Happy New Year to you and your family,

I hope you had a good Christmas and that you are ready for a great 2012.
This New Year is going to be quite eventful with the Olympics, The Queen’s Jubilee and our local celebrations commemorating the 175th anniversary of the railway coming to Crewe. In addition the Crewe Heritage Centre turns 25 years and so as you will expect there will be a number of events planned during the year. Our monthly meetings will go ahead as detailed but obviously we must be aware that with the exhibition about the town’s 175th celebrations the public will be present on site on meet days. This is a great opportunity for us to showcase British Region of NMRA and perhaps we can mount a display of models as well as our display boards in the clubroom. I am sure there is a glass display case available that we can use.

I am pleased to say I managed to talk to Derek Milby just before Christmas to pass on all your good wishes to Derek for a speedy recovery. Derek had been moved to the hospital in Barrow so he was nearer to his family members. He sounded in good form but told me he was still having some difficulty with the movement in his right hand. He was at that moment unsure when he would be discharged but asked me to convey his good wishes to you all. I was also very pleased to pass on the thoughts and prayers from Jim Zinser and Bob Charles in the USA who Derek converses with on a regular basis.

Now to group matters –

• Our AGM is to be held on the April meet date of Sunday 15th April. Please think about nominations for committee positions and let Les Herriot have your nominations by 31st March at the latest. We are asking for nominations for Chairman (currently Terry Wynne), Treasurer (currently Tony Hayselden) and committee member (currently Gordon Nelhams).

• Please note ‘The Wednesday Gang’ working group will start again after the Christmas/New Year break on Wednesday 11th January. If anyone wishes to come along any Wednesday they will be very welcome as many hands will help to speed up the work we are doing on the HO layout.

• Our January meet coincides with that of the Region Winter Meet at Benson – 14th January. We had considered changing but have decided to leave things as they are as it is rather late to make significant changes to dates which might also conflict with members existing plans.

• I detail the meet dates again for those who have misplaced their latest Train Orders due to the festivities. The dates – January 14th; February 12th (Valentine Special for the ladies); March 10th; April 15th; May 12th; June 10th; July 7th; August 12th; September 8th; October 7th; November 17th; December 9th.

• The new TESCO Store opens on 16th January for those interested. Please be aware that the new entrance for delivery trucks is along the roadway (which actually belongs to Tesco) you normally use to access the Heritage Centre. However, the trucks turn off to the right just before the gates to the Centre. So please take care when entering or leaving the Centre.

• Following some discussions at the Christmas meet some members expressed a wish to ask those who are willing to give a (say) 15 minute or 30 minute “show & tell” talk at our monthly group meets. This could be on something they have built, modified, or on something of interest that they have done or are about to do. Will those who would like to give one of these short talks please contact me with details, thank you.
Tony Gath has offered to “show & tell” his construction of a switch using the FastTracks switch/point jig. I will draw up a list of volunteers who are interested and arrange to publish the dates of when these will take place. I would think one talk per meet will be likely unless we are inundated with volunteers!

Look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our meets.

Terry Wynne, Chairman
Next Calder Northern Meet – Sunday 12th February

This is just a quick reminder that our next meet on Sunday is our Special Valentine Event for the ladies. There will be a drink of something bubbly (not washing up liquid) and chocolates as a thank you for putting up with our hobby. Do bring your better half along on Sunday.

The date for closure of nominations for the committee positions becoming vacant is fast approaching. Please let Les Herriot have your nominations by end of March at the latest. If you wish those who are currently serving in a committee position to be nominated again then please do ask them if they are prepared to hold office for another term.

I have received a comment from a member saying that he felt we should have more ideas for the HO layout discussed between the members. If anyone has any views and solutions to move this forward we can discuss the merits of this at our ‘Notices’ session on Sunday. Do bring along your ideas.

If anyone has any news about Derek Milby we would be pleased to hear how he is progressing. After Derek was transferred to the Barrow in Furness Hospital and then subsequently discharged from there we have been unable to make contact as we do not know his family’s address in Barrow where we think he went to continue his recovery.

On Sunday we will be able to give you some information as to the events going to take place during the Crewe 175 celebrations. Obviously our monthly meets will take place as normal but there may well be lots more visitors on site on those days than experienced in previous years.

Look forward to seeing you all.

Terry Wynne
6th Feb 2012