A happy and productive New Year to all, and welcome to the first Chairman’s Chatter of 2026, complete with a new editor. We hope to keep you up to date with everything the club is doing. Dave R
General chatter
Well done to Bruce, Jerry and Bev for flying the flag with Lockton Lane at Southampton Central on 16 December, in support of the Rail 200 Inspiration Train. There were some great comments and it has certainly helped raise the club’s profile.
Keep the evening of Saturday 21 February free: it is the President’s dinner aboard the steamship Shieldhall. Partners are, as always, invited.
Redbridge Wharf (Clive “Watty” Watson)
October saw Redbridge win yet another Best in Show trophy at Fareham, its last outing of 2025 (although we only held it for 30 seconds!). It is back in the club room and ready for a winter of remedial work and TLC, and available for OO stock and loco testing in the meantime. Roll on 2026.
Abbotstone (President Shaw)
Over the last three months we have had running sessions and some visiting stock. The old depot add-on was tested and works as intended. Next we plan to add the turntable, now working, to a new add-on board with two or three roads for stock storage.
President’s Ponderings
Exhibiting a club or private layout, particularly at local shows, has always been the most reliable way to attract new members. Shows let us share our craftsmanship and the friendliness and camaraderie among us. Long may it continue.
But invitations depend on our publicity and on regular appearances at shows, which is something of a chicken and egg situation. So the question for everyone is: how do we get things moving with a brand new layout? Please support the shows scheduled for 2026 and put the dates in your diary now.
Project Eastleigh
Discussions have been going on for a few weeks, and although there is little concrete to show yet, we are making progress. We have a concept track plan that shows we can build something worthwhile in a reasonable space. This is not going to be another generic N gauge layout but something meaty, built to a high standard to continue the club’s record of top-notch layouts.
We hope to start baseboard construction in January, with track building in parallel. A key decision is which traffic flows to model and how the scenic yard will operate, which will shape the fiddle yard and the operation overall. Then the wire stranglers can plan the electrics, and some of the major buildings can be started. We need a project lead (or two) to coordinate the planning. If you could help, do not be shy: speak to Dave R.
