NEWSHEET NO 3 - DEC 2006 (Click HERE for a Word format downloadable version) ALSAGER RAILWAY ASSOCIATION NEWS SHEET No.3 DECEMBER 2006  Editorial –.In this edition we have some news items from Phil Harding in Australia, perhaps you can send in your comments or experiences, after all we don’t want too much of an O gauge slant to the news sheet. Correspondence can be handed in to me at the club, or posted to – 33, Dane Close, Alsager, ST7 2HZ. If this edition gets out in time, a happy new year to all our readers.              Iain Chippendale.  Chairman’s Message - 2006 is almost finished and what a year it has been for our Association.  Everyone has seen and been amazed at the way in which our 0 gauge group completed their layout to exhibition standard and had their first outing to Telford.  This layout is a credit to the club and all concerned.  In addition our N gauge layout has appeared at various exhibitions and collected a few trophies along the way.  Both layouts have featured in national journals/ magazines.  The reputation of our Association can only be enhanced as a result.              2006 was also the year when further building work was undertaken on our club hut including internal decoration and the creation of a ramp for disabled people.  It is hoped that next year this particular work will be completed.  2006 was also the year when we put on a good quality exhibition at Crewe which has resulted in a number of new members for the club.              Next year we can look forward to the 00 layouts - both senior and junior being operational.  This is so important as most people model in this scale.             At the conclusion of the year may I thank you for your support for both myself and the club.  May I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Modelling New Year. May Santa bring you lots of modelling cheer.             Norman Jones  Treasurer’s Note. The main news you will want to know, is what about the exhibition, but first thanks to Fred Johnson for putting together an excellent show for the public, we were in the black, making a profit of £270, details are on the club notice board. Perhaps not as much as we would have liked, but we are in the black. Numbers on the door were down from 1028 at Alsager in 2005 to 850 at Crewe in 2006; this appears to be a national trend and will need to be budgeted for in our 2007 exhibition. Lower attendance was offset by some very hard work by Wilf and Richard on refreshments, John and the ladies in the kitchen, John and Matt on the tombola, and Alan on the club stall, this is the sort of work that saves the day, it certainly saved the finances, and deserves a round of applause. Sorry if I missed a name. Better mention Norman and Mick who relieved the punters of their money as they passed through the doors.   A reminder that the Associations insurance covers the Associations property, i.e. the building, the layouts and fixtures and fittings, and we also have public liability insurance in the event that the Association, the Managing Committee or a club member is sued for damages as a result of a possible act of negligence on our property. Members or visitors rolling stock is not covered, if you wish for your models to be insured you must make your own arrangements for an “all risks” policy.  Finally a welcome to new members Steve Woolley and Jon Honeysett, both of whom I believe are of the “oo” persuasion.         Iain Chippendale.  Local News - There has been concern in the local press about the future of local services, particularly at Congleton, but Jon Honeysett, one of our new members, passed on some information, regarding the possibility of an hourly “local” from Stoke to Manchester stopping at Kidsgrove and Congleton being included in one of the new franchises. There is also a possibility of Stone regaining its train service, hopefully more details will be included in future, and perhaps a note from Jon on how you can have your say on local rail services. My pet gripe is that the early weekday trains from Derby to Crewe have been withdrawn, and the first train (0742 from Alsager) now misses the 0754 Glasgow connection at Crewe.      IC.  Hut working parties – Future projects are, handrails for new ramp, big tidy up in the hut, coating exterior woodwork, and more. To find out please contact John Cox. Unsung Heroes – Some things happen around the hut without anyone really noticing, why is the grass always cut? Who makes the tea when the rostered person does not turn up? Who helped make the Crewe exhibition a success? These are the people who keep this association going, Wilf Egerton who cuts the grass and will always turn his hand to tea making, he is not just the person who grabs your money on a Friday, Richard Sheward often deputises on refreshments, and with Wilf helps to keep the tea flowing at exhibitions, Alan Cannell always seems to have a pint of milk on a Friday when one is needed. It is easy to turn up to play trains, and then leave; the continued existence of the Association is down to what people are prepared to put into the running of the Association.             IC.  O Gauge Report - The O gauge group had a very enjoyable time at our recent exhibition at Crewe on the 18th 19th November. Big thanks to Fred Johnson for organising and managing the show and for the evening meal on the Saturday night. The layout was well received by all who saw it, with lots of very good comments and praises. We even won the Trophy for the best layout as voted by the public, praise indeed. Yours truly, whilst unloading the van on Friday evening twisted my knee, which then blew up like a football so I was limping about all weekend like an old man. Some people even tried to mimic me (thanks guy’s I know were you live). I would like to thank those club members who helped to dismantle and load the layout into the van on Sunday, as I was unable to thank you. We now have our next two exhibitions to look forward to in the New Year, Macclesfield in March 2007 and the big one at York in April. Just to remind everybody we will be holding an open Afternoon for the O Gauge layout on Friday 29th December where we will have invited guests running their trains, including a member from Australia.  All club members are welcome. A Merry Christmas from the O Gauge group.   -    Mike Sant  00 Gauge report – held over. N gauge News – Mick Tooth reports that extra detailing work has taken place on the layout, further improving the layouts appearance. All the groups good work has paid off, no not another trophy this time, but a video session with Tony Wright from British Railway Modelling, the end result should be a DVD in 2007 featuring the Associations N gauge layout, this is likely to be distributed with “B.R.M.”, I am sure the N gauge group will not let this milestone go past without drawing our attention to it. An excellent result, for the group and the Association.         Web Site. – The “0” group website run by Phil Harding, has been updated with new photos taken at Telford Guildex 2006. www.hassellharbourbridge.com.  The association has a web site set up by member Roy Yates; this is a service for members. The address is www.alsagerrailwayassociation.co.uk .  Please, please, please note in your diary; Tea Duty -    The new tea duty rota is on the club room notice board, please make the effort to check this and put the date in your diary. If any dates are unsuitable please arrange a swap with some one, don’t just leave it.  News from Down Under.  We only see our farthest flung member, Phil Harding a couple of times per year; it’s a long way from Melbourne, Australia. First off are Phil’s thoughts about our O gauge layout at Telford 2006. “Thanks all for a great weekend, I really enjoyed it and the pub beer/food was good to remind me of things missed whilst out here. Sorry I was falling asleep. The jet lag is now catching up with me this end. My travel was good back to Australia, and I got off the plane Wednesday morning at 5.40am, had a shower and went straight to work. No point in being tired at home when you can be tired at work.” (Of the layout)· “Derailments seemed to occur because of the way we set up on Friday, as stock, which ran ok in the club hut, was having trouble. · Trains allocated to a storage line need to be checked that it will fit and run through the points. I agree that if all is running well, one operator can work both inner and outer lines. We shouldn't roster this until say Saturday mid day to make sure the layout has settled down and risky stock has been fixed or removed. · I enjoyed working the coalmine. It's far more interesting than the narrow gauge and a bit of shunting is therapeutic. We need a man with a coupling hook on the outside of the layout or the cables for the operation lengthened so that the operator can stand outside, this would need the switch for the vibrator on the control panel. · Did anyone else find on the colliery that engines had sticky running. If it is the coal dust, then maybe I have to build a battery remote control shunter. · Too many people inside the layout. My fault with the Aussies. Operators were struggling to see when to stop trains. It feels rude to ask them to move. It seemed ok for people to congregate at the bottom of the layout near the mine. · We have lots of features to operate. I noticed the front yard was shunted only occasionally. Does my breakdown train parked there spoil the interest in shunting by using up a valuable line? Should we have planned drop offs from a goods train on the outer line? · Next time I will put up a notice of the times the crane will operate, if we thought that was a feature worth keeping. · Can the outer line transition from banked track to straight be adjusted to reduce the number of bogie carriage derailments. · If I am to assist the set up of electrics at York, I will need another training course at Christmas, and make some notes. It's all very logical, just a lot of it to remember. · The team spirit and the way we work together made the weekend a joy. · If we are going to have an article in BRM we need a write up. Any volunteers?” (Phil followed up with this story) “I'll start with an unbelievable story. Last week I came home from work, 7.00pm, and noticed Police Crime Scene Tape across my garage door. On closer inspection I noticed the roller shutter guides for the door no longer contained the door, which was hanging down from the top. Through the gap left by the door out of its guide, I notice another car in the garage. I thought 'ram raid’. On the other garage door there was a city of Kingston surveyors note stating I should not enter the garage or back of the house. I assumed a car had driven through the door and hit the back wall, and on the other side of the wall was the gas heater system so I opened the front door and waited 30 mins for help in case a leak had occurred. On entry to the house the laundry wall was buckled by the car impact, three doors didn't fit in the apertures downstairs and cracks in the plaster up the stairs. I went around the back into the side garage door to find a Hyundai Getz with the front end stoved in to the bulkhead, twin air bags had gone off and no one around. Miraculously the car had entered through the garage door which closed behind it like a cat flap and ran down alongside my bench, just clipping the hand wheel of my milling machine with its door mirror. Damage to my compressor, paint boxes, stools, and tools was evident. The two ladies in the car (76 & 80 years old) were taken to hospital and news of the accident was on the radio whilst I was at work and we didn't know. The building inspector has said we have to move out of the house to enable it to be rebuilt so we are packing up. Ian Norman has returned and I saw his Side Lines coaches run last night. Very nice. Paul Brown who travelled with him picked up a Prairie from Telford, on sale for 350 pounds. He said he would buy it if he saw it run on a test track. The seller started to hesitate and Paul found the wheels were seized, no pick-ups ever fitted and a RG7 without a pinion. He beat him down to 100 pounds, and found it was a Malcolm Mitchell kit when he got home. I feel sorry for the poor bloke who might have paid 350 in good faith. Modelling going well, bullied (pacific) coming along, I am on the body now. Almost downloaded all the video shots (1.5 hrs) and will start to build the story. Details of your trains would be handy now please. Off to Sydney Motor Show tomorrow to launch a new car.”   Phil Harding.  For Sale – The Association has a Unimat Lathe for disposal. The lathe can be viewed at the clubroom. Offers over £100 please in a sealed envelope, (with your name) to Mike Sant by the 14th January 2007. The highest bid will be successful.  For Sale – some “oo” gauge wagons “J.Settle of Alsager” by Dapol, there are still a few left, if you want one please see Roy Yates at the club, I am sure he can do a discounted deal.   Next issue – hopefully with February A.G.M. details, so please send in items for publication, it’s up to you. Information received is printed in good faith, to help you. Alsager Railway Association and its members are not responsible for any loss or damage as a consequence.