CALDER NORTHERN GROUP
TRAIN ORDERS February 2020
Welcome to a rather long Train Orders this time, – the reason being the call for an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Calder Northern Group.
First of all this is a reminder about layout operation for the summer season at the Heritage Centre. Hopefully each member has already contacted Paul Mitchell with the dates they are unavailable to operate at weekends during the Heritage Centre’s summer season. If you have not already done so will you please make contact and advise Paul right away. Thank you very much.
Meeting dates for 2020 are as follows:-
• SUNDAY 16TH FEBRUARY
• SATURDAY 21ST MARCH (AGM)
• SUNDAY 19TH APRIL
• SATURDAY 9TH MAY
• SUNDAY 14TH JUNE
• SATURDAY 18TH JULY
• SUNDAY 16TH AUGUST
• SATURDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER
• SUNDAY 4TH OCTOBER
• SATURDAY 14TH NOVEMBER
• SUNDAY 13TH DECEMBER (CHRISTMAS MEET)
Can you please note the February Meet is NOT now a Valentine’s Event as we do not have sufficient ladies attending for it to be a special event for them. Sorry!
You will also note that the March meeting date is our AGM. Please let me have your proposed nominations for Group Committee members by Sunday 15th March. Obviously you must seek the permission of the person you are nominating to confirm that they are prepared to stand for election to the committee. If no nominations are received by the due date then the membership will be asked for a vote of confidence at the AGM to re-appoint the current committee, assuming they are prepared to stand again. The post of secretary is or will be vacant at the AGM so please make proposals for this position too.
Don’t forget that being part of the Committee is an opportunity for you to work towards an AP certificate as Association Volunteer.
As you know Dorothy Flude, Chair of the Heritage Trust died in December. She had expressly wished that any donations offered were to be made to Crewe Heritage Centre. Calder Northern Group made a donation as she had been very supportive of our presence on this site. We understand a total exceeding £1300 has been raised in donations, showing that she was held in high esteem by many.
I hereby give notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting of Calder Northern Group on Sunday 16th February 2020 in the North Junction Signal Box at 11.15am.
Our February Meeting will host a special Extraordinary General Meeting so hopefully as many Calder Northern members as possible will make the effort to be there. This meeting is called following a request by Gordy Robinson, who organised last year’s British Region Convention in Aberdeen, with the hope for Calder Northern to host the 2021 Region Convention. Gordy had made tentative enquiries with a hotel from the same group as the one in Aberdeen, this time in Manchester. However the costs quoted were much too high and therefore, he sent an approach to this Group hopefully to work with Calder Northern and a local hotel for attendees.
In subsequent discussions with Mike Lenz we have been given a price for the use of the Heritage Centre for the first weekend of November 2021. Whilst this event is a little later than normal for Region conventions it is the first weekend outside the Centre’s summer season. The Heritage Centre will provide catering at the kitchen, run the miniature railway and allow such events as clinics in the two heated cars in the APT. Plus they will co-organise the shuttle bus to run between the Centre and hotel and railway station during the weekend. Other Heritage Centre attractions will operate as a normal weekend. Car parking and other requirements will be dealt with once a full agreement of Calder Northern members has been sought. This is what this EGM will seek to discuss and gain member thoughts with a view to informing the Region BoD should it be that our intentions, are or not, to proceed.
Gordy Robinson and Jonathan Small would head an organising committee but with some volunteer input from us here in Crewe. They will also deal with all computerised bookings and other matters so we are saved a task that many may feel is outside their comfort zone.
I have prepared a list of tasks that we would need to consider and hopefully gain support from our members to undertake some of these requirements during the next 18 months. A summary below will give you some idea of those tasks that need to be carried out before and over the weekend of the event. Obviously when that November weekend comes around, feet on the ground will be necessary. Please think about this venture and even if you cannot make the meeting please will you advise your thoughts to Terry Wynne so they can be considered alongside those attending the EGM on the day. If agreement by members is forthcoming then those volunteering need to be fully behind this event. We unfortunately cannot have people saying they will undertake a particular task and then further down the line advise that they no longer are able to complete the task. This has happened in the past when organising our Themed Train Shows and work has then fallen on others who have already had a heavy workload of their own to complete. So please think carefully about what you are prepared to offer in helping with this event. The aim would not be to overload just a few people but spread the tasks across all those who volunteer to help. Ideally the tasks will not be too onerous and it is intended that no one will have more than they can manage and it would be great if some might be able to share their tasks and help each other.
As with the usual format at Region Conventions 2021 will take place from Friday noon to Sunday afternoon. Accommodation will be at a local hotel. Suggested hotels are the Crewe Arms Hotel and the Ibis Styles Hotel both close to the railway station. These will be looked at and discussions as to what level of services they can provide. Besides meals and maybe the ‘banquet’ on the Saturday evening we might need a couple of clinic rooms and a leisure room for any ladies attending. Possibly a room for model/photo contests could be needed should interest be shown by Region members. It might also be possible to have an operating layout there as well depending on what the hotel facility has to offer. Principle layouts and traders will be located in the Exhibition Hall at the Centre with possibly clinic rooms in the APT if required. It is proposed that the public be welcomed on the Saturday only, so that as well as easing parking for Region members around the site there is more leisurely viewing of layouts and purchases from traders on Friday pm and Sunday am before everything wraps up for another year.
Summary of things that need to be considered.–
• Stewarding of car parking.
• Making sure APT clinic rooms are ready for next clinic.
• Pay Hut on Saturday for public and NMRA members (membership cards to be shown)
• “Can I help” stewards on Saturday only when public are involved.
• NMRA members Pre- Registration desk at hotel.
• On the Day Registration desk inside Exhibition Hall for NMRA members.
• Sale of raffle tickets Friday pm to Saturday 3pm – draw at 4pm
• Supervision of raffle prizes on display Saturday from noon.
• Arrange for as many as possible to pre-register car registration numbers for advising Tesco for use of their car parking. CN and NMRA members only.(not layout operators and traders who would have bespoke parking close to the exhibition hall)
• Suggestions for external visits in the local area and organising of same.
• Assist with setting up of tables and taking down at the end of event.
The above give you some of the requirements which will need to be discussed soon after this meeting to start the early preparation. This will be an ongoing programme and whilst at the start we might need only a few people to be involved, the nearer we get to the event the greater the commitment is needed.
I will have a number of other things to say at the EGM as will no doubt Jonathan Small and Tony Gath.
Please make every effort to come along and make your views and thoughts known.
I will add further that should this event go ahead as some would like there is every likely any financial surplus that the event realises will be shared between the British Region and Calder Northern Group which would certainly help club funds as we go into the next stage of our agreement with the Heritage Trust. We certainly will not lose financially should the event not be as popular as hoped.
The Heritage Centre would also gain financially from this event, apart from the fee for the use of the whole site, they will also take all the receipts from the sale of drinks and food at the kitchen counter and of course the Centre’s shop in the NJSB.
After the EGM –
Jonathan Small and Terry Wynne are hoping that we can also talk to members about the Achievement Programme and what each of you have done in terms of modelling or layout building at home. Many of you/us have made models of buildings or super- detailed items or wired up our layouts etc. Many of these tasks could count towards AP certification. How many of you have a layout more than 4’ x 2’ with freight cars, buildings and track wired up and have trains which can run around the layout? If the answer is yes it may be possible that you could gain the Golden Spike Award which is a stepping stone towards various AP qualifications. It would be ideal if we could talk with each person – not on a one to one basis but openly so others can hear what is discussed and maybe realise what they have done is something similar and we all can learn from what others have accomplished.
Relative to the last note the Wednesday Gang have been very busy lifting the tracks at the south end of the room where the double slip was located. The reason for this is to eliminate the double slip and realign the approach to the platforms as well as making a switching loco spur/lead track. This work is not yet completed and maybe for our February meeting only limited running will be possible. Perhaps it is a good thing with much to discuss on the 16th.
The curve on the short line to the barge slip has been realigned and some further work on the sidings and lead track have been completed and are now working fine. Thanks to Roy, Alan, Steve and Tony for their efforts. Thanks also to Tony for his doubling the track on the signal display layout in the middle room. It now requires the electrical connections for the track and for the signal levers to operate the inner track again. The outer track will have a train running continuously whilst switched on.
You might have been aware that Roy Harris was going to present a clinic on using Arduinos but in view of our EGM etc he has suggested he presents this at a later date – perhaps after the AGM at our March meeting. Further information on this will be forthcoming in the next Train Orders.
Well I think this is as much as I can remember for the time being. Hope you have not dropped off to sleep reading it all.
Look forward to seeing you on Sunday 16th February.
Terry Wynne
Secretary
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