NEWSHEET NO 2 - OCTOBER 2006 (Click HERE for a Word format downloadable version) ALSAGER RAILWAY ASSOCIATION NEWS SHEET No.2 OCTOBER 2006  Editorial – We have survived to edition number 2, but we still await your contribution, comments or articles, even a relevant photo suitable for black and white copying. At least there have been no complaining letters, so the association must be doing O.K. Do you have any sales and wants, these can be included. The chairman has done us proud, looks like 6 pages this time, so no space for local news. Correspondence can be handed in to me at the club, or posted to – 33, Dane Close, Alsager, ST7 2HZ.     Iain Chippendale.  Chairman’s Message More Tea Vicar - One of the attractions of our association is the ability not just to model but to sit down with a good mug of tea or coffee and have a natter.  The tea rota is located on the notice board in the kitchen and I would encourage every member just to check when they are on duty.  There have been a number of occasions where the member concerned has not turned up and we tend to rely upon the same people covering tea duties on these nights.  If you can't make your turn please arrange a swap with another member. If you are on tea duties please remember to: *Empty all the bins in the club house and take the rubbish home at the end of the night. *Take the tea towels home, wash it and return it when you can. *Ensure the toilet is clean. Many thanks for your co-operation in this matter. N Gauge Success - In September the N Gauge group exhibited Newcastle by the Water at Loughborough and had a very successful weekend.  Coming back with the trophy for the layout which entertained the public the most.  There was no truth in the rumour that the N Gauge people dressed up as clowns to ensure that they won this award.  The Mayor is coming. We have received confirmation that the Mayor of Crewe and Nantwich, Councillor Howard Curran will be attending our exhibition in Crewe on Saturday, 18th November at 2pm.  Howard is a former railway man from Crewe Works (not as good as Swindon) and has always had a keen interest in railways and local history.  He will be accompanied by the Mayoress, Sheila Curran, and we look forward to their visit.  At Crewe one of our trophies is dedicated to the Mayor's choice of best layout so Howard will also have his judging hat on. Chairman's Jottings - Welcome to autumn, as the dark nights set in I trust that we will see more people down at the club house as perhaps we have a little bit more time on modelling with less required in the garden.  Since our last newsletter there have been a number of developments which I would just like to draw to your attention. * Work on the hut has progressed and the disabled ramp is nearly complete with handrails being the major outstanding job.  In addition, a further paved walkway has been constructed from the extension.  Both these developments ensure that it is easier to move layouts in and out of the club house for exhibition purposes.  This was certainly the case for the O Gauge at their recent showing at Telford and the N Gauge for their trip to Loughborough.  The O Gauge members have also taken the opportunity to paint their part of the hut and the OO Gauge will shortly be painting their end. * Our O Gauge members have recently completed their excellent layout featuring a superb suspension bridge and working coal mine which has recently been exhibited at Telford and received numerous favourable comments - well done. * A recent survey was undertaken at the request of the management committee in respect of those members who have left the club over the past two years.  Seven questionnaires were sent out and from the returns very favourable comments were made in respect of our facilities and layouts.  There were various reasons for these people leaving however, seven Members over two years do not represent a large proportion of our membership which shows that we have got a lot going for ourselves. * By the time you read these notes arrangements for our annual exhibition in Crewe on the 18th and 19th November will be well in hand.  Many thanks to Fred for all his hard work.  Please support us and help us where you can.  Very shortly by the signing in book you will see a form for you to complete in respect of volunteering for duty on that weekend.  Please do your bit, it's your club, and it’s our exhibition! * During January to March of next year your management committee are considering a programme of monthly talks and film showings in the Graham Woodcock room.  Your management committee will be considering this issue on the 1st November.  If you have any suggestions or you wish to indicate your support for such programmes please have a word with a management committee member so that your views can be represented on that night.  Norman Jones. Chairman.  Treasurers Note – Income and expenditure are reasonably in balance at the moment, however the forthcoming Crewe exhibition may be a testing time. We use vast amounts of tea and coffee at exhibitions, and these are good cash creators, any donations of tea bags or jars of coffee, gratefully accepted at the hut. Friday attendance has been a bit light recently, as Wilf points out, those groups meeting on other nights need to make arrangements to collect fees; I will certainly check up on the O gauge.  Iain Chippendale.    Hut working parties – To find out please contact John Cox.   00 Gauge report – With the holiday season now over, October sees at least 6 members to progress the completion of the basic infrastructure of the layout. Mike Aaron is forging ahead with track wiring, each board being wired individually using the same colour coded wire for recognition. Each board, when complete will be connected together using the same colour coded method via a “D” type plug and socket. The branch line is now taking shape with the help of Steve and Paul. This will be used as an end to end single track spur, with a centre passing loop disguised as a rural station. The last board joint in the main station will be completed within the next 4 weeks, giving the opportunity for stock to be run by Christmas 2006 (hooray!). After proving the track and baseboards, control wiring and point motors will be installed, bringing the main line to a fully automated system. Discussions during this period of time will take place on the type and theme of scenics required.  John Day  N gauge News – The layout has just had an outing to Loughborough in September, where the layout was well received, gaining another trophy for best layout. It is on the cards to have a photo shoot of the layout by Tony Wright, with a view to an article on the layout being published in British Railway Modelling. -  Mike Tooth, layout manager. Junior OO – No report, construction continues, but as Carl is now working on his own much of the time, perhaps some help can be given. O Gauge Report - Hassell Harbour Bridge made its debut at The 50th Anniversary O Gauge Exhibition at Telford on the weekend of 9th/10th September. The layout performed very well and received a lot of praise and very good comments. Although we have found a few problems when operating this did not detract from the layouts performance. After all it was its first outing and I must congratulate the O Gauge group members for all their hard work over the last 3 years. We have received invites to other exhibitions in 2008 and we will be featuring in BRITISH RAILWAY MODELLING magazine in the New Year. Although we did not win the best layout at the show we did come in the top three, (out of 38) a good result on our first public viewing. We still have a lot more work to do, correcting some faults and starting to add all that detail that is now required, now where should I put these seagulls and rabbits.(don’t ask) Thank you to the club and Committee for your support over the last 3 years, we now have another layout to represent Alsager Railway Association on the exhibition circuit.  Mike Sant –layout manger.      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 -    Friday rota is:- 20 Oct             Andy Small       |           17 Nov            Exhibition w/e 27 Oct             J. Pritchard       |           24 Nov            Denis Martin 3 Nov              Roy Yates        |           1 Dec               Mike Aaron 10 Nov            Atul Katwa       |           8 Dec               Richard Barnett  News From the coal face (O gauge). Or the trials and tribulations of exhibitions. The O group had an invite to Gresford in July, and I duly went with Mike Sant and Richard Brady, everything went well, the girder bridge was much admired, and I managed to make 3 coal wagons giving a wagon building demo. However on departure, everything was loaded up, so I shut  the van door. This was followed by much shouting from Mike, initial puzzlement, followed by realisation that I had trapped Mike’s finger in the van door. After initial concern it seems there was just painful bruising, luckily nothing more serious, at least we could suggest where to put his finger to speed healing. Does the club have a reputation? I sometimes walk with the Rail Ramblers who are Shrewsbury based, after a walk in the Aberdovey area we were sitting on Penhelig station waiting for the train home, I was having a conversation with a chap (turns out his name is Bill Castellan) when we some how turned to model railways, whereupon he said there is a very good model railway club in Alsager. I had to reply, yes, I know. Let’s hope we can keep it that way. I visited a couple of preserved lines on non operating mid week days (during the course of walks) and there could not have been a greater contrast. Firstly, early in the year, the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway at Wirksworth, plenty of people about doing things working on stock and locos, and they were even open for refreshments, (which we purchased); we even borrowed high visibility vests for a walk around to take photos. Very impressed with their approach, but having once worked for a Derby organisation, people in that area seem to be doers. Marks 8 out of 10, even though trains not running. Hope they open to Duffield soon. In complete contrast was a visit to Blaenavon in summer, where the Pontypool and Blaenavon railway was shut, no one about, looked very uninviting, plenty of barbed wire, and a lot of derelict rolling stock spread about, no information at all, not even a station building on the platform, very surprising as this area is heavily promoted for its industrial heritage. Marks 0 out of 10. And so to Telford, to be forever remembered. As Mikes report says excellent all round, and it was stunning to see our layout completed, something we have not been able to do properly in the clubroom. But just as we were starting to pack up on Sunday, suddenly there is Mick Martindale lying on the floor in agony after a fall; a quick dash to get the first aiders, followed later by the paramedics, and a free trip to A&E Telford. If that was not enough he had brought Bert Proctor, and his car had conked out with a broken water pump at Telford and he was waiting for the AA. Bert managed to get a lift back to Trentham from some of the North Staffs group, and Chris McCready went back with the AA and Mick’s car to Longton. After loading up the van Richard and I went to the A&E to see Mick, where still in pain he decided he was going home, the next half hour was spent manoeuvring Mick from a wheel chair into the cab of the van, despite him having cracked ribs and a cracked pelvis, eventually we got him loaded and away to drop him at home. We were having serious misgivings. Back at Newcastle, after about 30 mins we had got as far as Mick sat on one of his kitchen chairs on the pavement outside his house, darkness and mist all around, and wondering what to do next. Luckily his neighbours came to the rescue, and managed to find a wheelchair, so transport up the garden into his house was solved, and by rearranging the furniture we got Mick limited mobility in his house. Reluctantly we had to leave him in the care of his neighbours, in order to get the layout back to Alsager, nice to know good communities still exist. Mick is on the mend now, Norman Jinks has brought him over a couple of times, hope you are back to “normal” soon, don’t do that again, at least not when we are around. -  Iain Chippendale.            We have a new layout – Richard Thomas Hawthorne Worrall unfortunately passed away earlier in the year, and his widow graciously presented the association with certain railway artefacts, including a very well built EM (not P4 we think) gauge layout with rolling stock. Our condolences to his family. This will be kept in the middle of the “O” layout and hopefully made available for our 2007 exhibition. Are there any 4mm fine scale modellers who wish to help with this project?  There may also be sufficient books to start a library in the Woodcock room.   IC.  Exhibition 2006 –18th and 19th November at the Victoria Oakley Centre in Crewe, help is required so please sign up on the form at the hut entrance. Please note, the committee has ruled that any member not operating or helping will have to pay the entry fee.  For Sale – some “oo” gauge “J.Settle of Alsager” by Dapol still left, 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 around end of December 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.