Wednesday 21 September saw us arriving at the park at about 2pm the idea being that we would run steam engines in the afternoon / evening and during this time we would be suitably fed with baked potatoes. Sure enough we had eight engines in steam during the course of the day and were very pleased to see Lindsay and Nicola Oliver, complete with locomotive, come over from Carlisle. Unfortunately the weather was a bit of a mixed bag with rain and sunshine followed by more rain. However this did not deter members from their activities and everyone enjoyed themselves. At around 6.30pm Linda provided jacket potatoes with a variety of different fillings and on top of this Gordon provided the usual tea and coffee. Thanks to Linda and Gordon for their hard work with the refreshments – as usual this was appreciated by everyone.

 

 

This took place on Wednesday 12 October and although it was a wet day 25 members plus Lindsay and Nicola Oliver from Carlisle braved the elements to support the event.  Ian Spencer steamed his B1 and this along with Lindsay’s Atlantic locomotive ran for a reasonably long period.   Pies and peas were prepared by Phil Work and these were served at 6.30pm. I must say that the hot food was very welcome because the rain had a very chilling effect on those who were outside for any length of time. As usual Gordon provided tea and coffee. Thanks to both Phil and Gordon for their work in the kitchen. We had the usual raffle and thanks to all members who donated prizes. It would have been nice if a few more of our members could have run loco’s but that being said the weather was not really ideal for sitting behind a steam engine.

 

 

Once again this year Ian Spencer and I debated whether or not to make the journey to the Midlands Exhibition bearing in mind the 450 mile / 8 hour drive. At the end of the day however we decided to give it our support and when yours truly arrived at Ian’s home at 7am on Monday 17 October we immediately headed south to Warwickshire.

 

The exhibition followed the usual format of having both trade and club stands and in addition there were numerous traction engines in steam outside the exhibition hall together with a portable track on which the public could have rides. There was certainly plenty to see with some beautiful models being displayed on the club stands. We saw a photograph on one of the stands (I think it was Nottingham Engineering Society) of 10 Duchesses in the steaming bay area. This was certainly a sight for sore eyes and it would have been even better to see them all in steam.

There weren’t as many entries in the competition classes as one might have liked to see but the winning locomotive was a beautifully made 5" gauge West Country Pacific. This was an immaculate model and certainly deserved 1^st prize. We spent 6 hours at the exhibition and while there is certainly not as much room for models to be displayed as there is at Harrogate, it was a very good day out and I for one would certainly consider going again. Here’s an idea, what about the club arranging for a party of members to go and see the exhibition! Perhaps something to think about for next year.

 

 

Two of our long standing members, Brian Nicholls and Ian Spencer, reached their 65^th birthdays in October and certain people, who shall remain nameless, arranged a surprise ‘tea party’ for them on Sunday 23 October. There were several “underhand” phone calls which preceded this event and neither of the gentlemen concerned had any knowledge of the proceedings until the day of the party. A birthday cake with Brian and Ian’s names on it was donated and the society gave them two mementoes.  Knowing of Brian’s liking for whiskey he was given a white stick with a whiskey bottle and cycle bell attached to it together with the sign ‘Blind Drunk’.  Ian on the other hand was presented with something different – knowing of his love of LNER locomotives he was presented with a Great Western copper capped chimney to try and improve his education! Needless to say there was some good hearted banter at this event and members wished the two of them all the best for the future.

 

 

We are still trying to raise as much money as possible bearing in mind the fact that one day we will have to consider either renewing or repairing our clubhouse. With this in mind we are still on the lookout for any scrap materials the sale of which will put more money into the club’s bank account. If you have any materials which you are prepared to donate then it will always be welcome (copper, brass etc)

 

This was held on Wednesday 2 November and we had a good sized bonfire together with a guy on top of it. The guy was made from one of Ian Spencer’s old boiler suits which had seen better days – he had to be “persuaded” to part with it as he had been very attached to it for many years. There were one or two engines running and soup was served during the course of the evening. Once again we were pleased to see Lindsay and Nicola Oliver over from Carlisle. There was the usual raffle and thanks must go to everyone who donated prizes. Thanks also to Jim for providing the soup and to Gordon for tea and coffee.

 

Reg West’s Maisie is being sold by sealed bid (minimum offer £500) so if you are interested send your offer to Ian or Linda.  Whilst it is in running order the platework and paint need some attention to give the loco a bit of a facelift.

 

The boiler has just had hydraulic and steam tests so all the paperwork is up to date. This would be an ideal project for anyone wanting to get a loco on the track fairly quickly.

 

The loco can be inspected by contacting Ian tel 01912843438. Closing date for offers is 31 January 2012.

 

Many members will know Jim Lennox and Gordon Cheap of the Strathaven Society, who have been regular visitors to our open weekends for many years. Jim is the owner of the 7 ¼" Black Five which is featured on the TSMEE calendar. Similarly, the Johnson family and I have been attending open weekends at Strathaven for some time.

 

The Strathaven site is located in a public park and has a ground level track for 5" and 7¼" gauges. It is of all welded construction on a gravel base and is an unusual arrangement of two concentric ovals. Trains leaving the station can go round the outer oval only, or alternatively go round the inner oval then the outer oval sequentially. The total distance round both circuits is about 1000ft. Within the ground level track there is a raised track of all steel construction of about 400 feet in length which caters for 3½" and 5" gauges.

 

Their open weekend has always been held in October as they are committed to public running between April and September. The weather forecast this year was poor for both days but I set off on the Saturday morning complete with loco and sleeping bag intending to make a weekend of it. As usual there was a very warm welcome and excellent catering. There were also visiting locos from the Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth societies though numbers were down on last year due at least in part to the weather.

 

The rain, which had been light in the morning, got steadily heavier as the afternoon progressed. Normally running continues until dark but by 4.30pm everybody was cold and wet through, so with the prospect of nothing better forecast for the Sunday I decided with regret to come home. All being well however, I will certainly be back next year.

 

 

A number of volumes of the Model Engineer are missing from the shelves with no corresponding entry in the card system which should identify who has borrowed them. Will anyone having one or more of these volumes please return them or inform the Librarian, John Bolter that they have them. He can be contacted at the track, by telephone 0191 281 3068 or by e-mail, j.bolter989@btinternet.com.

 

The missing volumes are:- 71, 90, 93, 94, 96, 97, 100, 109, 118, 119, 120, 125, and 164.

 

The current card system makes it very laborious to check who has borrowed what from the library and it will be replaced by a book which will record borrowings in chronological order.

 

 

Please could all members adhere to the 5 mph speed limit when driving through the park.                  We do not have an automatic right to drive through and it is only by having permission from the Newcastle City Council that we can do this. As there are nearly always pedestrians in the park we don’t want any accidents as the results could be far reaching as far as the society is concerned!!!  

 

 

These are due to be paid on 1 January and the rates for next year are:-

 

Full members £30               Members over 65   £25                Family members   £40

 

Because of rising overhead costs the committee has felt it necessary to increase the over 65’s subscription rate and all being well this should keep our finances in a healthy state for the next twelve months. Sadly, we do not have control over increasing expense costs and when these start rising we have to ensure that there is enough income to balance the books.

 

 

We have about ninety members in the society and approximately sixty are sent their newsletters by email with the remaining thirty being sent by post. If anyone else wants to join the email brigade then please let either Linda or me have your address. Postal charges are always increasing so any savings will be appreciated. Those on email have the advantage of being updated on track activities in between newsletters.

 

 

This event involved us selling goods donated by members and friends. There were items ranging from books and cakes to workshop bits and pieces plus a raffle and a tombola. The catering consisted of soup, bacon and sausage sandwiches together with cakes plus the usual tea and coffee.

 

Over forty members attended and there were seven club locos in steam as follows:-

Two Wrens, Adams Tank, Hielan Lassie, Bassett Lowke Tank, 0 4 2 Tank, Rob Roy and an Invicta on display. It was good to see two locos which were new to the society and hopefully we will be seeing more of them in the future. The Wrens did a spot of double heading which was good fun and the two engines made light work of the passenger loads. In addition we were pleased to have Lindsay and Nicola with us once again. Bearing in mind that we were in the middle of November we were very lucky with the weather as there was clear blue sky and sunshine all day. Thanks to everyone who helped with this event – I am not mentioning any names as there were so many people involved but you will all be “mentioned in despatches” so to speak.

 

This will be held on Sunday 11 December and food will be served from 2pm onwards. We will have a raffle and weather permitting hopefully some members might like to run their engines. If any raffle prizes can be donated then this would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully the weather man will be good to us and we will not have any snow to spoil our activities.

 

We have recently installed two new steaming bays to give more “parking” facilities for locos and we are making another point for the ground level track which will connect to a siding for storing coaches and locos when there is heavy traffic. 

Sun 1 April – April fool’s day social event

Fri 11 May to Sun 13 May – Harrogate Exhibition (10^th set up)

June – club visit

Sat/Sun 21/22 July – Open Weekend

Wed 15 August – Social event

Wed 26 Sept – Social event

Wed 17 October – Social event

Wed 7 November – Bonfire night

Sun 16 December – Christmas Party

 

Please note these dates are provisional and are subject to confirmation by the Council. At this stage the committee has not decide what form the social events will take so if anyone has ideas for consideration then please let us know. We will keep you informed of developments.