Summer has finally arrived and the rails are buckling already. When you find it too hot at home, remember the club room is always pleasant. Get up there and play trains or, if all else fails, do some modelling! Dave R
General chatter
The last quarter kept us busy, with two exhibitions for Redbridge, one for Bruce’s Lockton Lane, and the NSE 40th birthday celebration at the club. Special thanks to the organising team for the idea, the smooth running of the day and the invitations. It was good to see three layouts running (mostly) NSE stock, and plenty of visitors and members enjoying themselves. Thanks also to Bruce and Helen for their sterling efforts on the catering front, as always.
Redbridge Wharf (Clive “Watty” Watson)
April saw another successful show for Redbridge Wharf at the NEC, sponsored by Key Model World. Sharing the hall with other modelling groups made for an interesting and enjoyable weekend.
On Saturday 6 June we celebrated 40 years of Network SouthEast at the club room. Invited guests from the railway modelling world came to see Redbridge in a relaxed, informal atmosphere, and some brought their own stock to run and film, which was great to see. Thanks to young Rich for organising the day and using “most” of his stock, and special thanks to Bruce for the bacon baps.
Abbotstone (President Shaw)
Abbotstone has been used in both DC and DCC modes. For now it will stay in DC, but remember we can split the layout so that only part is DCC if needed. It was put to good use on NSE day.
The L&B project is moving forward with Bratton Fleming station joining the layout, and from the list of stock owned we appear to have a full complement. I hope members will support the Winchester GOG open day at Sparsholt on Sunday 16 August; part of the L&B and Lockton Lane will be there for you to operate.
President’s Ponderings
The emails about how Redbridge is operated have brought some useful comments and suggestions as we think about controlling Eastleigh. We will certainly need to use technology, and I leave that side of the planning to those who know. Part of the joy of a layout is operating it once the hard work is done, so I expect to draw up a wish list.
Project Eastleigh (Dave R)
Eight of the twelve Eastleigh boards are now assembled, apart from diagonal bracing, and four have been sprayed with primer and undercoat. Much work has gone into checking where the board framing might clash with turnout mechanisms; thankfully there do not appear to be many problems.
Eleven of us had a hastily arranged meeting on general design: transport, staging, lighting, backscenes, track construction and operation. We came up with some basic solutions, but much still needs resolving, especially control. The next big job is the transport and staging trolleys, plus the lighting rig and backscene supports. If you want to get hands-on, now is your chance.
