Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway Steam Festival 2019 - Photo by Gwion Rhys Davies.
Tony Richards will continue his break from SRMG until the New Year. He has been touched by the many expressions of concern for his health sent to him by card, email, and phone. I continue to keep him updated with club developments.
COMMENT
Members have been busy on all layouts. A start will be made on rebuilding Pennard Halt due w/c 25 November. 2 new collections have come in to SRMG together with a large amount of second-hand diecast. This will keep some of the committee members busy cataloguing and pricing, before items can be re-sold.
STOCK SALE
One collection for sale will enable buyers to access DCC and DCC sound locos at a low cost entry point - a great opportunity for buyers. So, running analogue locos at home and DCC locos at SRMG will be possible for those who would like their future to embrace digital as well as their existing analogue. The other collection is superb with top-of-the range DCC and sound locos and with wagons, some in mint condition, available at high, but fair, prices.
The die-cast sale will take place on Saturday 15 January 2022. A decision on which FOYD room to be used has yet to be made. On Tuesday 16 November 6 /7 members will all work together to sorting out 17 boxes of die-cast stock enabling the sale day to proceed smoothly. I remain grateful to all of you prepared to come and help out, in your own time, at short notice, and at no cost to the club.
SECURITY
The new signing-in book to record attendance is now in place in the downstairs foyer entrance. It has been placed there as we now occupy space on all 3 floors. It’s important we record members arrival and departure on any day visits made to the club. Please therefore do your bit and sign in and out before locking the front door on arrival and, again on departure.
2022 8th WAGON COMMISSION
All the club’s members and collectors on the database have now been advised of the Pascoe commission with artwork photos accompanying emails and letters. Approximately 330 wagons in the 3 main gauges comprises the commission and 85 of these wagons have already been ordered and, in some cases, with payment.
This is an excellent start given there is only the artwork, and no adverts have yet appeared in the trade press. It says much about the quality and professionalism of the combined Dapol and SRMG approach to these commissions. Orders increasingly are accompanied by warm, flattering remarks which can only serve to enhance the club.
CLUB PREMISES
Work continues behind the scenes to keep the club looking spruce as evidenced below:
LIBRARY
This is almost complete now with the possible addition of a clock in due course. Our resident librarian Bob Cotton and he is continuing to sort and catalogue existing and new contributions. Please feel free to donate surplus books you may wish to give away. However, understand that his decision on what to integrate and what to discard must be final – there is just too much going on at SRMG for everyone to be involved in every debate. Bob will retain surplus books for later sale or, if in his opinion, the items are poor quality they will be quietly discarded.
Please record any books you may choose to borrow in the register provided.
NOTICE BOARD
John Allnutt revamped the club notice board on 4 November and took responsibility for its ongoing maintenance. It looks a lot more cared for now and John would like to receive any further members’ photos or items to display.
CLOCK CUPBOARD
This is being upgraded now that sales items can be stored elsewhere. The site has never been touched since it was passed to us for use some years ago. It will be emptied, cleaned, new lighting added, and some painting carried out.
A permanent cross beam will be foam covered and made more visible to prevent accidents. The cupboard will be kept locked. Storage will be for the club’s show materials and for use by members seeking storage of dioramas and small layouts, all with effect from 1 January 2022.
The clock cupboard is not an easy area to manage and, as FOYD has insisted that the stable door access route must be retained, the entry and removal of members’ items will need to be carefully controlled. We remain grateful to Steve Rodwell for taking on the management of the cupboard. See him for further details.
FOYD
SRMG were advised on 9 November that scaffolding will be erected w/c 15 November to support the skylights’ repair. Given this news a further debate on the future use of St. David’s Wells is deferred.
TEST TRACKS
After some quiet renovations this, most popular area, just now needs to be kept tidy. A plea from Steve Rodwell to NOT leave coffee cups lying around needs to be recognised – and, in any case, it’s only a short distance to the club room sink.
Stools and chairs are being replaced with club coloured seating using fire resistant materials and the debate continues about a back scene to reflect our Swansea skyline. This would add the wow! factor to the area – usually the first area seen by newcomers.
BOX STATION
The electrical revamp will have been completed by w/c 25 November and the layout will then revert to its normal position enabling Ian Stevenson and Co to get on with their scenic work. This will take some pressure off the need to work long hours on additional days.
PENNARD HALT
Work on re-building this donated DCC layout will start under the guidance of Gwion Davies. The construction team will include John Allnutt, Gwion, Rob Pendry, Tony Richards and Mal Rowe. It is expected much of the re-assembly will take place outside club hours.
During construction the former 1st floor kitchen area will be commandeered as a building site delaying its use as a workshop for high end power tools.
MEMBERSHIP
The membership categories and fees are listed again below. To qualify for the dinner (value £48.75 with partner) please note you have to have paid a minimum of 3months subscriptions i.e., NOV/ DEC/ JAN to obtain your free and subsidised meal.
Full Membership – £15.00 per month. This is the category applicable to most members.
Family Membership - £20.00 per month. This is aimed at the Husband / Wife, Father/Son, Mother / Son categories.
Financially Impaired / Out of town Members. £10.00 per month. This is intended for those on very low incomes or who live more than 20 miles from the club and expend a lot of time and money travelling to and from SRMG.
Children / Student Membership - £7.50 per month for those who are naturally in this category.
Finally, the club notes that individuals’ circumstances can change both financially and domestically during the time they are at SRMG creating hardship situations. We recognise the important part the club can occupy in members’ lives. To help in such situations the club will waive or reduce subscription fees after a one-to-one confidential discussion with myself as chair. So, the message is: join the club in the appropriate subscription category and if you have a problem come and talk to me about it.
ANNUAL DINNER
More than 30 have now signed up for this event on Saturday 29 January 2022 which will, inevitably, be subject to Covid-19 restrictions. A guest speaker and some after-dinner entertainment is currently being discussed.
EXCURSIONS
The committee are planning a trip to Pendon Museum and, maybe, Steam – the Home of the Swindon Rail Museum - next Spring. Please see John Allnutt for further details or await the future announcements through this Newsletter.
LECTURES
David Beynon has provisionally agreed to come and present one of his Tram slideshows at the club in February 2022.
FAQ’s
I am frequently asked questions about SRMG. I list three below with my answers:
Q: What do you see as the purpose of SRMG?
A; To provide a facility for visitors to become members be they of any age; to enjoy railway modelling in excellent conditions, and with all relevant materials freely available at their disposal.
Q: Can you elaborate please?
A; The club has been a financial success over many years, and this enables members to plan layouts using first class materials at no personal expense.
Further, the club seeks to provide the best of everything – comfort, club appearance, tools, and a large membership to aid anyone, less experienced, to complete their own layout at home or to be able to discuss problems when in the club.
Q: Does the club do anything else?
A: Yes, many things all designed to support its members. Competitions, stock sales, private owner wagon commissions, an annual dinner and the use of a well-stocked library. Excursions and lectures also feature. The key point is that everything SRMG does is put back into benefits for the membership who remain its premier asset.
Best Wishes