March Meeting Reminder The postponed “Ladies thank you Valentine celebration” will now take place on Saturday 15th March, when we will provide champagne and chocolates for the ladies, thanking them for putting up with us and our hobby! Will those members bringing their wives or partners along please advise Terry Wynne by phone 01270 567050 or e-mail <T_WYNNE@sky.com>before Friday 14th so he can ensure we have sufficient supplies on hand.
Activities at the Heritage Centre; Activities at the Heritage Centre are listed for information and to advise members about possible parking issues that may arise. On Saturday, 15th March the Centre is hosting a “Diesel Weekend” and there will more cars in the parking areas on site than usual. Car sharing is recommended where possible to reduce demand. Remember that the TESCO car-park has a 3 hour limit and a fixed £70 penalty if this time limit is exceeded. There are public pay and display parking areas on the other side of the TESCO roundabout. On the 22nd and 23rd of March, the Centre has scheduled a “DRS event”. Our layout will be on display and we need some volunteers to operate of one or both days.
Weekend Operations: It is important that we all share in the responsibility to operate our layout and meet and greet visitors who come into our area when the Centre is open. This period is from the Easter week-end in April until the last week-end in September. Les Herriot has prepared a list which will be displayed on the wall for each member to select which day or days they can help. If every member would volunteer for one days operation, it would be sufficient to cover the entire period the Centre will be open. This may not be possible for everyone, but it is a wonderful way to improve one’s operational ability with the layout.
Potential new members: Terry reports that during the “Model train and Miniature Railway” event March 1st and 2nd, two potential new member took away enrolment forms. One, a person living locally and the other, a gentleman who lives in Wrexham. Hopefully both will come along to our next meeting and we can make certain they see what we are all about. Both seem very keen and the Wrexham gent is an N scaler so that would be a boost to the few members who enjoy that scale. There is also another person who has expressed an interest in joining and he lives is Ellesmere, Shropshire. Under the British Region admin, he and the gent from Wrexham would be considered Red Dragon members but both have said that Crewe is obviously the place to attend meetings.
Trevor Austin’s accident: Our friend and fellow member Trevor Austin is currently in hospital in Crewe. In the month prior to our February meeting, Trevor had a couple of periods when he experienced short blackouts. A trip to the hospital and a ECG did not show anything untoward. However, following a Wednesday gang session two weeks ago, Trevor had another blackout whilst walking past the APT on his way home. An ambulance called and whilst in hospital over the next few days, they said he needed a DCC decoder fitting (that is a pacemaker to those of a non-medical background!) which was done at the hospital in Newcastle, Staffs. Trevor was doing well and enjoying being home again but on Sunday last he experienced chest pains and his wife got him to the hospital where he is still. We have asked his wife June to tell him we are all thinking of him and wish him well soon. A get well card was sent to his home on behalf of all CN Group members. More news when we hear.
Nominations: Last month a call was made for nominations for 4 Committee members to be placed on the ballot for the AGM vote Again a reminder to advise your Secretary, George Neyman, of your nominees. Remember that the individual nominated must be willing to serve prior to placing his name in nomination for any of the 4 Committee posts.
AGM: The AGM is scheduled for Sunday, 13 April. This is a call for any agenda items that should be put in place for discussion at the AGM. Please advise your Secretary, or our Chairman, Les Herriot.
Layout Reassembly: A good crowd of willing workers turned up for the February meeting ready to reassemble and troubleshoot the layout after the renovation of the room. The Wednesday gang had gotten everything in readiness and even put many of the modules in place, the work went ahead with excellent results. Well done to all! A brief discussion ensued wherein several projects were briefly discussed. A new locomotive terminal is to be added alongside the Mike Lenz’s repositioned diesel terminal and a turn-back loop on one side of the Devil’s Creek layout. Volunteers are solicited for anyone interested in undertaking either of these future projects.
L&NWR sold: We have just heard that the Pete Waterman’s L&NWR business has been sold to Jeremey Hosking (an investment portfolio manager who owns something like a dozen steam locomotives) and in addition this gent is also buying the Crewe Diesel Depot. Full details have yet to be confirmed and the implications relating to the Heritage Centre will be advised when these are known.
Clinics / Demonstrations: You will recall that a call was made in the February Train Orders for members to list modelling areas they would like to hear discussed or for volunteers to prepare demonstrations or clinics covering the requested subjects. None of these requests for specific subject areas have come forward but we do have some volunteers to discuss some specific topics. Initially, Len Ford will present on computer control using the Hornby e-link controller for the May meeting. George Neyman will share some information on acoustic performance of speakers in diesel and steam models for the June meeting. These are confirmed events and we are working on filling out the year with a number of discussion topics. There is room to put your ideas into this planning picture.
European Region: A note picked up from the NMRA e-News. The European Region has been approved . Nobby Clarke, former Atlantic District Director is the temporary Chair for the new Region.
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