We are now well into the spring exhibition season, and it has been good to see some of our newer members getting involved. There are more opportunities to play trains in the diary, so enjoy. Dave R
General chatter
Thanks to President Shaw for organising our annual dinner aboard the steamship Shieldhall. We were slightly down on numbers because of illness and diary clashes, but everyone had a pleasant evening, and the tour of the bridge and engine room entertained the engineers among us.
As is traditional, our annual award winners were announced:
- Mick Rich Trophy (contribution to 4mm projects, voted by members): Nick Hargreaves, for his continued efforts to get people involved with Redbridge Wharf
- Keith Dear Trophy (contribution to 7mm projects, voted by members): Bruce Armstrong, for keeping the club’s 7mm work in the public eye
- Peter James Trophy (most interesting or innovative Show and Tell item): Andy Keane, for the new gantry crane for Redbridge
- Winchester Trophy (general contribution to the club): Bev and Jerry, for getting the new club room up and running
Redbridge Wharf (Clive “Watty” Watson)
The first exhibition of the year is ticked off and we are heading for the NEC at a rate of knots. Redbridge is in good shape with just a few minor repairs to do. Key Model World Live at the NEC is one of the most prestigious shows of the year, so we are looking forward to showing Redbridge to enthusiasts and modellers from other hobbies.
Abbotstone (President Shaw)
We will keep running stock on Abbotstone whenever possible, in DCC for a couple more sessions and then back to DC for a while. A simplified schedule is now ready for the main line, with one for the branch under way, which should let more members join in running sessions.
President’s Ponderings
The arrival of the new baseboard parts for Eastleigh is encouraging. Roger and I are building the main station building and footbridge, the features visitors to Eastleigh notice first from the road. The station has a long history, but modelling it as it is today lets us capture its current character.
After the Basingstoke show we held a wash-up meeting. Learning to use the NCE cabs is essential for all our DCC layouts; ideally they should feel as familiar as your TV remote. A small test track in both OO and N would let us practise away from the main layouts.
Project Eastleigh (Dave R)
At last, concrete progress! The Grainge & Hodder baseboard kits for all twelve Eastleigh boards have arrived and assembly has started. Next we need to settle the storage and support for the layout, the backscenes and the lighting. The track plan is still evolving, with a lot of work on the fiddle yard and on portraying the works in the space available.
Members have already gathered plenty of suitable N gauge stock, so we really should crack on and build some track. Roger S has threaded rail into plastic sleeper bases to make more than 20 metres of plain track. Better build some points, then.
