Comment......
Channel Five’s ‘Great Model Railway Challenge’ has now run full-circle and, for those who did not watch it, the club’s Gwion Rhys Davies’ ‘Who’s Counting Rivets?’ team took an extremely close second place. Gwion [pictured centre], with his team, are shown above and congratulations all on a really worthy running-up. I thought you were robbed.....
Bachmann have sponsored Gwion and his team to attend Warley with their build this weekend and those of you who attend will be able to see it, and them, there.
Incidentally, this is the second time that a club member has appeared in this programme, Simon Durrer was seen in the first series.
Old Alumni, and some welcomed back......
First, two well-known members have recently departed: Scott Rhodes, a long-time club member and our show manager in recent years, and Ian Stevenson, the ‘Box’ layout team leader. Scott has moved on, largely through pressure of work, but has promised to drop-in from time-to-time as commitments allow. Many thanks Scott for your significant contributions to both club developments and our shows and we wish you well in your career with Oxford Rail. We’ll expect to see you at our 2020 show mind you!
Ian has decided to take more of a sabbatical than a departure. Other substantial tasks require his time in the immediate future but he hopes to return later in 2020. Thank you, too, Ian, not least for the relatively benign tyranny you exerted over the ‘Box’rebuild team! If ever a phoenix arose from its ashes, it has to be so with ‘Box’.
And welcome back, too, to members David Lane and Peter Ryan. No-one can stay away for too long! It’s good to see you both back in the fold.
The recent and the next stock sale
Thanks to all who supported our recent stock sale. It was extremely successful and the commission earned through the sales has benefited the club well. Only some diecast cars and lorries remained unsold and they will go into a future diecast sale that the club hopes to hold in February or March next year. More on that in due course. There is likely to be another model railway sale in the early New Year also as I have been contacted by a potential vendor who wishes to dispose of his late father’s stock. News on that, too, as and when....
Tickets please.....
This time, a ticket which probably needs no introduction at all, to Swansea people at least.
Issued on the 5th. January 1960 to commemorate the closure of the Mumbles Tram, an iconic and much- loved institution which could trace its history back over 150 years. Possibly not South Wales Transport’s finest hour....
The Library, and a recent bequest to the club
You will have noticed that club member Bob Cotton, the librarian, has done a great deal of work in the library to put the books into a logical and [at last!] accessible order [for which, many thanks Bob]. He has now included the John Cook bequest of Great Western Railway books, kindly forwarded to us by his daughter. This new collection will be of value to GWR modellers and amongst other interesting books it includes the relatively scarce bible on Siphons published a while back by the Historical Model Railway Society.
Bob has also weeded out a number of books: some because they were of no real use or value to modellers and others because they were duplicates. It is the latter group that the club now wishes to offer members first refusal for sale. More details will be placed on the noticeboard soon [with suggested reasonable prices].
John Cook, incidentally, was a ‘country’ member who visited perhaps once a year from his home in Hampshire. He also had a model of ‘Box’ and took great interest in our build of the same, donating plans and photographs to help.
St David’s Wells
Unfortunately, the serious ingress of water through a leaking skylight has continued in spite of it receiving attention. It has damaged that part of the layout situated below it and Noel Blows has contacted FOYD again to ask for urgent remedial action. Consequently, St.DW will remain out of action for the immediate future.
Recent thefts
A note of this was sent to all members in a recent e-mail. Since that time, and regrettably, the most recent loss [a personalised modelling tool set] has not been returned. Consequently, I’d advise all members not to leave any personal property at the club in-between attendances. Whatever is left must now be at the owner’s risk and it is so disappointing to have to say this, too.
The 2020 modelling competition, and a mini-event before Christmas
It’s extraordinary how quickly this comes around each year and the 2020 event is only 4 or so months away – NOT a lot of time if you haven’t thought about it yet, but enough time to buckle down if you start soon! Once again, it’ll be judged by all members at the end of March. Simon Durrer will be managing the event and he’ll be issuing guidance in due course. Remember, cash prizes!
Simon is also running a mini-competition to be judged on the 19th. December, the last Thursday before Christmas. As already announced, the theme of this event will be modelled rocks or rock-faces, to test your scenery skills. Lumps of limestone from the beach will be disqualified immediately! Speak to Simon if you need further information. Simon’s last mini-event [tree making] was really successful, let’s make this one a hit, too.
The Recent Extraordinary General Meeting
This event, held on the 31st. October, was attended by 27 members and took place to consider the possibility of a further club show in 2020. The minutes of this meeting will be circulated to members only in due course but, in principle, those present agreed that the show planning committee would be allowed [and supported] to make the decision over the venue for the show, the traders who would be invited and the exhibits sought. Whilst the vast majority supported the notion of a further show [some with qualification], it was accepted by all attending that the running expenses must be carefully contained and we should be careful not to over-reach ourselves.
Noel Blows and Tony Richards agreed to jointly act as show manager with Gareth Lewis acting as floor manager and Mike Brooks managing communications and advertising. We are extremely grateful to a number of other members who have volunteered help and advice.
The minute of the meeting will be circulated shortly and will provide more detail to place the above in fuller context.
The 2020 show
A decision having been taken to proceed, next year’s show will be held on the weekend of the 19th and 20th September and the venue will be The Orangery, Margam Abbey. A deposit has been paid to secure the site and floor planning and other tasks have commenced.
The decision to change venues was in part financial but more one of practicalities. The Orangery, apart from being a prestigious venue, is very reasonably priced and offers good parking and a number of adjoining attractions to encourage family visitors. Both Pentrehafod School and the LC were fully considered: for the former, as yet unknown 2020 football fixtures at the Liberty Stadium and consequent road closures could compromise fatally parking arrangements in the vicinity and so deter attendance, and trader/exhibitor dissatisfaction with our use of their distant Sports Hall was strongly noted with some refusals to return. For the LC, cost is a feature but, more importantly, the possibility of 10K events or similar and probable adjoining construction work on the planned Digital Arena will affect both parking and the venue itself. The risks there were considered just too great to proceed.
A decision has also been taken to run slightly smaller events from 2020. Expenses for recent shows have reached up to £8000 in total. If this is not covered by ticket sales and trader fees, the liability has to be borne by the club. The reality for us is that Swansea, being at the end of a long run, requires most exhibitors to have to travel considerable distances to attend. They also require accommodation. None of this comes cheap.…
It’s likely that the 2020 show will have a change of name, possibly something along the lines of ‘The Swansea Bay Model Railway Exhibition’, although the club’s ownership of the event would feature just as prominently. Details will begin to be shared now that planning is underway. Please – please – remember though that help with marshalling will be required and volunteers are still needed: without them, it will be extremely difficult [if not impossible] to manage the weekend.
Locking-up rota to the end of December
A corner of ‘Box’ towards sunset.
The local bus, still wearing its wartime utility livery, follows an Austin Ten saloon with its passengers on their way to the station.
Club developments
Most will have noticed that the redecoration of the ‘Box’ end of the club has now been completed and a large amount of stored rubbish has been cleared out. To avoid the empty space once again becoming a repository for all sorts of junk [believe me, it’ll happen!], consideration is now being given to the appropriate use for that space. Further information on this will follow, once a number of members have been consulted.
Given its quality, we also wish to move the library from its present gloomy and rather inaccessible position to somewhere brighter and more likely to encourage its use. News on that soon, too.
Diary dates
Saturday 30th. November 2019 – 4mm Railway Modellers’ Workshop. An eventfor all OO-EM-P4 modellers. Open between 10am and 4pm with a £4 admission fee. Venue – Coleg y Cymoedd, Nantgarw Campus, Heol y Coleg, Parc Nantgarw, Cardiff CF15 7QY. See www.emgs.org for details and where to park.
Sunday 15th. December 2019 – Porthcawl Railway Club’s Small Model Railway Show. Open between 10.30am and 1.30pm with a £2 admission fee. Venue - Awel-y-Mor Centre, Wellfield Avenue, Porthcawl CF36 5TP.
Best wishes all.