NEWSHEET NO 4 - MAY 2007 (Click HERE for a Word format downloadable version) ALSAGER RAILWAY ASSOCIATION Editorial. –  Another  A.G.M.  over,  and  a  very  healthy  turnout from club members, of  particular  note,  was  that  you seem  to want  the  news  sheet to continue, but we need items and news, so if you have something to say please send an article in. Also annual subscriptions run from February to February and so they are now due, please see Treasurer’s item for changes to annual subscriptions.  Date for your diary, 2007 exhibition at Alsager Civic Centre on Sat 17 and Sun 18 November 2007, help will be required. Correspondence can be handed in to me at the club, or posted to – 33, Dane Close, Alsager, ST7 2HZ.      If you have renewed your subscription, and you have not received a membership card, the card should be included with this newssheet.                   However if you have not renewed, please find enclosed a renewal invitation, to jog your memory. We hope you will renew. Please return the form to me at the club or the address above; any cheques to be payable to “Alsager Railway Association”.                                        - Iain Chippendale.  Chairman’s Message. Welcome to spring or the way the weather is going is it already summer.  Since our last Newssheet there have been a number of issues that I wish to bring to your attention  Thank you to all those who attended our AGM in February.  It is a healthy sign that we had much to report by way of club layouts being invited to various national exhibitions.  Reference was made to the number of new members that had joined the club since our Crewe exhibition last year.  A report was given on our proposed exhibition at Alsager this year and your help will be required - more details in a future newssheet. This year we intend to continue our programme of improvements to the clubhouse including the addition of hand rails to our disabled ramp, permanent rear steps and cladding to the front of the building.  John Cox will be putting up details of working sessions required to complete these tasks - please look out for them in the tea room. If you are a member of the 00 group and you can spare one evening a month can you please consider becoming a member of the management committee.  John Day and Mike Aaron have resigned from the committee and it is important that all groups have their say in the running of the club. Outside the club house we have been informed that the garages adjacent to our property are shortly to be demolished and in addition the parking area which is used by both ourselves and the air cadets will be made up with a stone base.  That should improve our outlook. Finally, there is a first for the club in that Keith Miller who was recently retired from EWS on ill health grounds has had a locomotive named after him in Spain - the Railway Gentleman - the name is in Spanish.  It is going to be applied to 58 020 which is currently on hire from EWS to the Spanish Railway Authorities.  I look forward to seeing you down at the clubhouse, if you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact me or any member of the management committee.  May I wish you happy railway modelling this Spring and Summer. Norman Jones Chairman  Treasurer’s Note. -  Main item is the changed rate of annual subscriptions as passed at the A.G.M. the revision is of a £5 per year increase across the range, this means that rates are now as follows:-              Adult (16 and over)                                          £30             Junior (under 16)                                              £20             Senior (Retired and in receipt of a pension)       £20             Family (Adult plus children/spouse)                   £35             Senior Family (Senior plus family)                     £25   4 weeks grace is usually allowed, if you can not get down to the club a cheque made out to “Alsager Railway Association” can be handed in or posted. Membership has steadily grown to the 60+ mark so the Association must be doing something right; there is certainly plenty of work to do on the layouts.             Fees per visit stay unchanged at £1 or 50p, with continuing discount for multiple visits per week, so Wilf will still be coming round.             Thus we hope finances can remain healthy, after all it costs about £2,500 to run the Association per year (gas, electric, water, rates, insurance, and lease) before we start spending on layouts or building enhancements. Finally a warm welcome to our new members Michael Abbott, Elliot Brookes, Stephen and Christian Hancock, Robert Jones,  Brian Keenan, Paul and Jonathan Moran, Maurice and James Tomkinson, Martin Shaw, Jack Steele, and  Jamie Willetts.  As soon as we can get extra copies of our “Welcome pack” and “Constitution” printed we will send them to you. It is encouraging that most of our new members are active 00 modellers, hooray - trains are at last running on the 00 layout.       Iain Chippendale. O Gauge Report We have attended two exhibitions so far this year, one at Macclesfield in March where we took and exhibited the Colliery only. This gave us the opportunity to test out the operation before York, it worked very well. We then exhibited the whole layout at York over Easter, Sat, Sun and Easter Monday (3 days), which we all enjoyed. The layout ran for the 3 days without any problems. A big thank you must go to Pete who planned and redesigned the wiring with help from Derek. Unfortunately John Gregg and his wife were unable to go to York, as John wasn’t to well and ended up in Hospital. He is now much better and looking forward to coming down the Club in the next couple of months. At York we received verbal invites to Wakefield, Keighley, Doncaster, Southampton and Warley. Also while at York, Tony Wright took some photos of the layout for a “British Railway Modelling” article, hopefully to be published in Sept/Oct 2007. Our next outing is to Stafford on the 2nd and 3rd February 2008. The other exhibition to which we were invited to has been cancelled. This was to have been Scale Rail at Bolton on 16th/17th February 2008, the complete exhibition has been cancelled. We have received an official invite to Warley at the NEC in Birmingham for the 5th/6th December 2009, so make a note in your Diary. We had an 0 group meeting at the Manor House, Alsager on Thursday 19th April, where we enjoyed a few pints while discussing York and jobs we need to do on the layout before our next exhibition at Stafford in 2008. There is now a long list of improvements to the “0” layout, which will keep everyone busy.   -        Mike Sant      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.  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 – late summer.              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.