Merchant Navy Pacific ‘Peninsula and Oriental S N Co.’ seen simmering quietly in the late afternoon sun at Cheltenham Racecourse Station, towards the end of our recent club outing.
COMMENT
There’s plenty to look at this month but, first, a warm welcome to a number of new members to the club. We hope that you all settle in well and enjoy the facilities. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask! Best wishes, too, to member Richard Grigg after his recent short spell of ill-health. We look forward to seeing to back soon Richard, with those cakes!
This month there’s news of a members’ stock sale [an opportunity to bring in and sell-on your own surplus rolling stock], advance notice of a new competition for all members [you don’t have to be a modeller for this one], a reminder about our forthcoming club dinner and reviews of our recent outing and the modelling competition amongst other news items.
THE RECENT MAY CLUB OUTING: THE COTSWOLD FESTIVAL OF STEAM
At Winchcombe Station, Noel Blows, Paul Dally and Dave Francis trying – and failing miserably – to remain incognito. Photo by the ever-watchful Phil Place.
In spite of the coach having a puncture even before we had left Swansea, the trip to the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway was a hugely successful event and many thanks to John Allnutt for organising it all without drama. 30 members travelled to Cheltenham Racecourse Station for the start of their steam journey and a day was spent travelling behind a range of steam locos, visiting the main shed, whiling time away on picturesque stations, exploring various trade and society stands and occasionally – just occasionally – visiting the beer tent. The weather was perfect, too, a boon for photographers.
Everyone will have had a favourite from the many locos in steam and certainly the visiting ‘Pendennis Castle’ and the resident Merchant Navy Pacific were hugely impressive. For me however, the beautifully restored ex-Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Pug stole the show. Built in 1910 and scarcely bigger than the original Dapol OO model, it performed faultlessly and was seen lifting three Mark One coaches without a second thought.
7820 ‘Dinmore Manor’ awaiting its train. Photo by Gwion Rhys Davies
THE RECENT MODELLING COMPETITION
The April newsletter announced the winners of this recent event which saw 16 entries across the three categories. Inevitably however, some of the smaller entries were completely overshadowed by larger, more detailed models and so received little attention from voting members. Because of this we are going to redraft the rules for next year, to ensure that the categories are more strictly policed and also to include a ‘highly commended’ section on the voting form. No prize will attach to this new category but it will allow members an opportunity to commend one model from each section if they feel that it is worthy of mention even though it is not their first choice.
Typical of such a model might have been Phil Place’s excellent scratch-build of a typical wharf-side crane. Once seen all over the country alongside small docks or canal basins, these small steam cranes often travelled less than 20 - 30 yards in their lives and were shunted for short distances by small tanks or horses. The weather-proofing protecting their boilers was often knocked up on site out of corrugated iron or thin sheet steel, and offered only the most rudimentary protection. Many had gone by the late 1960s, to be replaced, if still required, by diesel cranes. The origins of this model are almost as old as the prototype it represents and a Triang jib and mechanism is seen mounted on a GWR pressed-steel bogie and an old loco roof repurposed to cover the ‘cab’. Imaginative modelling and, for me, this is what the competition should be promoting.
Photo by Phil Place
THE NEXT CLUB DINNER
Please all diary this forthcoming event. John Allnutt has booked the dining room at Norton House for a club ‘do’ on Friday the 16th. June. The ‘Gold’ menu has been chosen [details now posted in the club] at a cost of £33 per person, although note that for club members the meal will be free of charge and although their partners will have to pay, they will receive a 50% discount, making this an extremely economical night out! You’ll have to pay for your refreshments however….
A note – with menu choices - has now gone up on the notice board inviting expressions of interest. John has secured post-dinner entertainment and, for those who have not been to one of our Norton House events, they have always been extremely successful and well-attended. Early booking will be essential however as there is a limit imposed by the size of the dining room.
A NEW COMPETITION
Seeing so many photographers at the Cotswold Festival of Steam, some with cameras the size of small artillery pieces, made me wonder whether there was potential for the club to run its own photographic competition every year, something which modellers and non-modellers alike could take part in and something for which camera-phones and Hassleblads could compete against each other on equal terms. The rules would be simple: one entry per member and apart from cropping and straightening up, absolutely no digital ‘improvements’ would be allowed. The judging would be external [a well-known railway photographer] and there would be small cash prizes for First and Second place with a highly commended mention for the best of the rest. We are also looking at the possibility of a club calendar to feature the best twelve [with the winner being featured on the cover]. So save your shots or make a point of starting to shoot now! Further details, with the submission date, in due course.
THE 2023 CARDIFF MODEL RAILWAY EXHIBITION
Advance notice that the Cardiff club has its annual show on the 21st and 22nd October this year at the Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground.
PLANNED MEMBERS’ PERSONAL STOCK SALE
An opportunity for members to sell their own stock has been arranged for the 8th June. We are hoping to use the old library on the first floor and the sale will commence at 7.00pm to finish at 8.15pm. If you have stock to sell, please ensure that you label it appropriately [ie. ‘not working’ or ‘working but needs cleaning’, etc], price it appropriately and be with your stock throughout the sale. This will need to be a cash sale as the club’s card machine will not be available for transactions. Should there be a change of venue, all members will be advised.
YOUNGER MEMBERS’ PROJECT
This development was featured in the April newsletter. Steve Rodwell has asked however that should any members have unwanted items that they might be prepared to donate to the project, their contributions would be gratefully accepted. Please see Steve if you are able to assist in any way.
ABSOLUTELY THE TOP DOG
In conversation recently with member Paul Dally, he mentioned that his maternal grandfather, W.T. Geden, was the Station Master at Paddington Station from May 1946 until December 1955. He would have served there through the last years of the Great Western Railway and into the early years of the newly-Nationalised service. For the railway, these were momentous times. Paul forwarded me some photos of his grandfather and I thought that they might be of interest to members. The loco below is King Edward l by the way……
W.T. Geden, Station Master Paddington, greeting the late HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
If any members have railway employees within their families, and interesting photographs of them at work, do let me know so that they might be shared.
That’s it for May!
Best wishes.