Another somewhat belated news entry. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a few extra hours in the day? Even now, I'm afraid, this is going to have to be fairly brief.
In any event, this has been a very busy period. Obviously the biggest event for the Club was helping to run Bognor Regis MRC Ltd's Exhibition in mid-January at Felpham and, of course, running several of the layouts that attended. All in all this was another successful show with a wide range of very different high quality layouts and good trade support. Certainly the visitor's seemed to enjoy themselves.
I am looking forward to receiving our Exhibition Manager's report to publish here for you, but in the meantime, we have just implemented a new video gallery which you can see here and which includes video of the exhibition and of some of the recent exhibitions run by BRMRC.
On the premises front, work has continued apace on the Barn, thanks to the indefatigable efforts of our Chairman, Adrian and his small band of workers. Similarly work has progressed on the Signal Box despite problems with erecting the external stairs due to the extremely wet weather.
Slowly but surely, both are taking shape, and it is now becoming really apparent how fortunate we are going to be with our new premises.
On the layout front, Page Mountain made its debut at the Felpham exhibition albeit as a work in progress. The degree of completion was such that visitors could see what the "bare-bones" could become and this proved to be of interest. The completion of this layout is our current highest modelling priority. There are very few large HO USA layouts around at present (they seem to have been usurped by On30) so this, with its spectacular scenery will be well worth watching out for at exhibitions in the not too distant future.
We have had a number of new members join over the last few weeks, both junior and adult. I would like to welcome them on behalf of the Committee and the Club members as a whole. We hope that we can provide the friendship and modelling opportunities you want and look forward to the contributions you can make. I am sure that there is a lot we can learn from each other.
Finally, a reminder that it is time to start thinking about our AGM and who you would like to see on the Committee, steering the Club and looking after your interests over the following year. As ever, all the Committee posts are up for grabs, but we KNOW that we will need a new Club Secretary - could this be you?
Chris
Webmaster
Friday, 1 March 2013
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Chairman's New Year Message
Dear All,
I trust you and your families had a lovely Christmas and may I be one of the first to wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.
2013 promises to be a very exciting year for our club and your continued help and support will go a very long way to making that so.
We start the year with our own Annual show at Felpham over the weekend of 11th, 12th and 13th of January and I urge you and any family help you can gather to play a big part in this by fully supporting our Exhibition Manager and his assistant (Paul & John). There is a saying that many hands make light work and this is very true. The show is our chance to not only show off our own club exhibits, but to build on an excellent reputation in the South of putting on an excellent weekend exhibition. It is also our best opportunity to raise much needed funds for the club, our new premises and to ensure we continue to grow by attracting new members.
As I said, 2013 will be a very exciting year for the club. Once the excitement of our show is over we then start to look forward towards new premises in the shape of both the Signal Box and The Barn. I have copied Mike Burton in on this email as I would like to formally thank him, his fellow trustees and volunteers for the massive effort they have put in these last 3 years to get the Signal Box looking wonderful and now the subject of much plaudits from the passing public. I would encourage all members to do give any help they can to Mike and his team so that this project is complete in 2013 and we as a club can start to benefit from such wonderful premises.
As your elected Chairman I have tried to lead from the front and have devoted much of my short time in post to obtaining and developing further facilities that will allow us as a club to expand and develop our love of modelling. My desire is to have a club that we can all be proud of and we can all, whatever our leaning and favour, enjoy. The Barn together with the Signal Box will meet that aim. There will be space to sit and chat, read & research, play and learn to operate a model railway and finally a proper space to build, repair and store our wonderful exhibits. These facilities will be open to all, young & old (that's most of us then!) and I hope we can expand our club to pull in more junior members from the village and locality as well as further encouraging the participation of those with disability. In respect of the latter I think we have done more than any other user group on the site to attract a varied membership.
I for one wont miss our old building (I'm sure others 5' 10 and above will share my sentiments!) and I look forward to enjoying our new premises in 2013. Both Mike and myself need any help you can give on both buildings to achive this so we can anticipate a completion/moving in date in Summer 2013. There is still the little matter of formal leases for both buildings, but Mike and Myself are working with the Trustees of the site to obtain these at the earliest opportunity.
To celebrate our move I plan on holding a Summer show, inviting all the local and National press/railway magazines etc, the local community and hope to have someone of note in attendance to cut the ribbon(s). Early days yet as I will need the approval for such a function from the ACSC Trustees, but I hope to gain this as working with other user groups we could use the show as a springboard to promote not only our own new fascilities, but all the other fascilities on site.
Finally I would like to thank all the officers of the club for their hard work and support given this last year. We need to remember that without their support and voluntary time given that we could not continue as a club. Thank you; John, Paul, Dave, Philip, Chris and Stephen. A big thank you also to Jock, Cliff & Bob for carrying out refreshment duties throughout the year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Adrian
CHAIRMAN
I trust you and your families had a lovely Christmas and may I be one of the first to wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.
2013 promises to be a very exciting year for our club and your continued help and support will go a very long way to making that so.
We start the year with our own Annual show at Felpham over the weekend of 11th, 12th and 13th of January and I urge you and any family help you can gather to play a big part in this by fully supporting our Exhibition Manager and his assistant (Paul & John). There is a saying that many hands make light work and this is very true. The show is our chance to not only show off our own club exhibits, but to build on an excellent reputation in the South of putting on an excellent weekend exhibition. It is also our best opportunity to raise much needed funds for the club, our new premises and to ensure we continue to grow by attracting new members.
As I said, 2013 will be a very exciting year for the club. Once the excitement of our show is over we then start to look forward towards new premises in the shape of both the Signal Box and The Barn. I have copied Mike Burton in on this email as I would like to formally thank him, his fellow trustees and volunteers for the massive effort they have put in these last 3 years to get the Signal Box looking wonderful and now the subject of much plaudits from the passing public. I would encourage all members to do give any help they can to Mike and his team so that this project is complete in 2013 and we as a club can start to benefit from such wonderful premises.
As your elected Chairman I have tried to lead from the front and have devoted much of my short time in post to obtaining and developing further facilities that will allow us as a club to expand and develop our love of modelling. My desire is to have a club that we can all be proud of and we can all, whatever our leaning and favour, enjoy. The Barn together with the Signal Box will meet that aim. There will be space to sit and chat, read & research, play and learn to operate a model railway and finally a proper space to build, repair and store our wonderful exhibits. These facilities will be open to all, young & old (that's most of us then!) and I hope we can expand our club to pull in more junior members from the village and locality as well as further encouraging the participation of those with disability. In respect of the latter I think we have done more than any other user group on the site to attract a varied membership.
I for one wont miss our old building (I'm sure others 5' 10 and above will share my sentiments!) and I look forward to enjoying our new premises in 2013. Both Mike and myself need any help you can give on both buildings to achive this so we can anticipate a completion/moving in date in Summer 2013. There is still the little matter of formal leases for both buildings, but Mike and Myself are working with the Trustees of the site to obtain these at the earliest opportunity.
To celebrate our move I plan on holding a Summer show, inviting all the local and National press/railway magazines etc, the local community and hope to have someone of note in attendance to cut the ribbon(s). Early days yet as I will need the approval for such a function from the ACSC Trustees, but I hope to gain this as working with other user groups we could use the show as a springboard to promote not only our own new fascilities, but all the other fascilities on site.
Finally I would like to thank all the officers of the club for their hard work and support given this last year. We need to remember that without their support and voluntary time given that we could not continue as a club. Thank you; John, Paul, Dave, Philip, Chris and Stephen. A big thank you also to Jock, Cliff & Bob for carrying out refreshment duties throughout the year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Adrian
CHAIRMAN
BRMRC & BOGNOR REGIS MRC LIMITED
01243 544351
Thursday, 20 December 2012
November and December 2012
Well, I am long overdue to write here but that's not my fault! At long last, BT have restored a proper Internet service for me so that I can actually do something - and, of course, catch up with the backlog of work that arose!
So, a brief summary of what has been happening.
Planning permission for the improvements to the exterior of the Barn has been granted. Work continues on the interior and it is slowly but surely taking shape.
Work has proceeded apace on both Page Mountain and the Raffle layout ready for our exhibition.
On the Show front, Aldingbourne Central has been giving sterling service on its regular trip to Manor Nurseries and in November Paul Hopkins took one of his layouts to Portsmouth. He received some very positive feedback from visitors with particular comment about the reliable running but also, and this is very relevant to our members, about the wide age range of those operating it "properly". Since this included some of our members both Junior and Senior this was very pleasing. As for the running quality, we would expect nothing less from Paul but this still remains the standard we should look for on all our layouts.
With Christmas close upon us and, indeed, both Christmas Day and New Year's Day falling on a Tuesday, this week's meeting (18th) was the last of the year - and, indeed, we all had a good time with ample refreshments. But, this does mean there are three very important messages.
Firstly, I hope that all our readers who are not members will come to join us at our exhibition on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th January. We have a good number of great layouts with strong trade support and you will be made very welcome. See http://brmrc.co.uk/exhibition.php for more information.
Secondly, an important message for our members. Our exhibition is very close to us. So, remember, the exhibition is both for us and by us so, please, every member try to come and help on at least one of the three days (including preparation on Friday evening) and preferably all of them. Paul Hopkins will be contacting every member over the next few days and setting up a rota based on what people can do. Bring friends and relatives to help! It's a big exhibition that needs a lot of work - so come along and help. Don't forget, Friday evening 11th January through to Sunday 13th January.
Finally, on behalf of the Committee, and, indeed, the entire membership, may I wish all of our readers a
So, a brief summary of what has been happening.
Planning permission for the improvements to the exterior of the Barn has been granted. Work continues on the interior and it is slowly but surely taking shape.
Work has proceeded apace on both Page Mountain and the Raffle layout ready for our exhibition.
On the Show front, Aldingbourne Central has been giving sterling service on its regular trip to Manor Nurseries and in November Paul Hopkins took one of his layouts to Portsmouth. He received some very positive feedback from visitors with particular comment about the reliable running but also, and this is very relevant to our members, about the wide age range of those operating it "properly". Since this included some of our members both Junior and Senior this was very pleasing. As for the running quality, we would expect nothing less from Paul but this still remains the standard we should look for on all our layouts.
With Christmas close upon us and, indeed, both Christmas Day and New Year's Day falling on a Tuesday, this week's meeting (18th) was the last of the year - and, indeed, we all had a good time with ample refreshments. But, this does mean there are three very important messages.
Firstly, I hope that all our readers who are not members will come to join us at our exhibition on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th January. We have a good number of great layouts with strong trade support and you will be made very welcome. See http://brmrc.co.uk/exhibition.php for more information.
Secondly, an important message for our members. Our exhibition is very close to us. So, remember, the exhibition is both for us and by us so, please, every member try to come and help on at least one of the three days (including preparation on Friday evening) and preferably all of them. Paul Hopkins will be contacting every member over the next few days and setting up a rota based on what people can do. Bring friends and relatives to help! It's a big exhibition that needs a lot of work - so come along and help. Don't forget, Friday evening 11th January through to Sunday 13th January.
Finally, on behalf of the Committee, and, indeed, the entire membership, may I wish all of our readers a
Very Merry Christmas
and a
Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Warley - National Model Railway Exhibition 2012
Well, it's not time for our normal monthly newsletter yet, but here's an interim snippet.
The above exhibition at the NEC is the largest in the UK, and this year, to celebrate its 20th anniversary it was larger than ever. One of the highlights for many people was an area of the Hall devoted to the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway - long gone but never forgotten. There were several layouts in a variety of scales together with the new build replica L & B 2-6-2 locomotive "Lyd". Although the club was not exhibiting this year, we certainly didn't forget our obligations to the modelling community, with some of the members of our Narrow Gauge Group helping with the operation of a brace of L & B 009 layouts belonging to Tony Peart, a local modeller of longstanding and L & B supporter.
The above exhibition at the NEC is the largest in the UK, and this year, to celebrate its 20th anniversary it was larger than ever. One of the highlights for many people was an area of the Hall devoted to the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway - long gone but never forgotten. There were several layouts in a variety of scales together with the new build replica L & B 2-6-2 locomotive "Lyd". Although the club was not exhibiting this year, we certainly didn't forget our obligations to the modelling community, with some of the members of our Narrow Gauge Group helping with the operation of a brace of L & B 009 layouts belonging to Tony Peart, a local modeller of longstanding and L & B supporter.
Friday, 2 November 2012
October 2012
Well, it hardly seems commenting on how busy the month has been - recently they have all been! Future comments may well be restricted to when we have a quiet month!
So, what has been going on? On the exhibition front the main event was, of course, the Chichester Lions Annual Exhibition to which we took several layouts. One of those was Little Bognor, which could well have been handicapped by almost the entire narrow gauge group of the club being at ExpoNG in Swanley. As ever, though, thanks to the usual club stalwarts it was able to put on its usual display. Aldingbourne Central was there as usual and the donation box produced another £17 towards club funds. Unfortunately, there was a minor accident with one of the boards - but at least this should cost less to repair than the amount of donations! Perhaps this is a good time to mention that accidents WILL happen and we are, perhaps, more blessed than other clubs so far as how few and far between they are.
Apart from the big vote of thanks to all those who attended the show and helped operate the layouts a special mention should perhaps be made of Steve Shrubb who took his layout, Rooksbury Hollow TMD - as far as I know, its exhibition debut. It, like the other layouts, flew the club's flag well and demonstrated yet again that we have a huge pool of ability in our membership.
At the same weekend, Paul Hopkins took one of his 3mm layouts to Belgium where it was well received. Nevertheless, his main memory seems to be how much cheaper one can buy European products over there - Preiser figures being cited as prime example. "Rip-off Britain" indeed!
Work has continued unremittingly on the Page Mountain layout. Tracklaying is now complete and wiring well under way. A great deal of work is being done by the dedicated band under John Wakeman's project leadership on at least two nights a week and it is rapidly taking shape with a view to displaying it at Bognor Regis MRC Ltd's exhibition in January.
Club members continue to spend Saturday mornings working on the Signal Box. Progress is slow but sure, the current main job being painting the windows - or at least the window frames. With permissions to erect the balcony and external stairs in place we are approaching the final stages of restoring its external appearance to its former glory.
Work has continued on arguably our largest current project, the "Barn". In some respects we are currently limited in that we cannot take official possession until ACSC have drawn up the lease - they are happy that we carry out minor essential repairs and, of course, they are actually funding the refurbishment of the Referee's changing room which is well under way. As a by-product of that, the first secure storage area is now complete and we are able to carry out a limited amount of storage. Having said that, it sounds as though little work has been done, but even these few aspects have required considerable effort and have resulted in an internal transformation. I hope to update the Barn section of the website to reflect this soon.
During the month we have had at least one new member and in the last couple of weeks we have been joined by a couple of prospective members. Welcome to you all.
In these exceptionally busy periods, I must close with a vote of thanks to the many members who have given selflessly of their time, enthusiasm and abilities to these various projects. Your committee is deeply appreciative of this but would urge still more of you to do what you can. However small, every contribution is welcomed.
Last, but not least, forthcoming exhibitions and the like. Aldingbourne Central will be at Manor Nurseries on 1st and 8th December and help will be needed for those two days. I have already mentioned the Exhibition in January. Don't forget that the active participation of you all is essential to the success of that exhibition. Mark it in your diary, help will be needed on the preceding Friday evening and on both the Saturday and Sunday. Please do your utmost to come and help throughout as much of that period is possible.
Chris
2/11/2012
So, what has been going on? On the exhibition front the main event was, of course, the Chichester Lions Annual Exhibition to which we took several layouts. One of those was Little Bognor, which could well have been handicapped by almost the entire narrow gauge group of the club being at ExpoNG in Swanley. As ever, though, thanks to the usual club stalwarts it was able to put on its usual display. Aldingbourne Central was there as usual and the donation box produced another £17 towards club funds. Unfortunately, there was a minor accident with one of the boards - but at least this should cost less to repair than the amount of donations! Perhaps this is a good time to mention that accidents WILL happen and we are, perhaps, more blessed than other clubs so far as how few and far between they are.
Apart from the big vote of thanks to all those who attended the show and helped operate the layouts a special mention should perhaps be made of Steve Shrubb who took his layout, Rooksbury Hollow TMD - as far as I know, its exhibition debut. It, like the other layouts, flew the club's flag well and demonstrated yet again that we have a huge pool of ability in our membership.
At the same weekend, Paul Hopkins took one of his 3mm layouts to Belgium where it was well received. Nevertheless, his main memory seems to be how much cheaper one can buy European products over there - Preiser figures being cited as prime example. "Rip-off Britain" indeed!
Work has continued unremittingly on the Page Mountain layout. Tracklaying is now complete and wiring well under way. A great deal of work is being done by the dedicated band under John Wakeman's project leadership on at least two nights a week and it is rapidly taking shape with a view to displaying it at Bognor Regis MRC Ltd's exhibition in January.
Club members continue to spend Saturday mornings working on the Signal Box. Progress is slow but sure, the current main job being painting the windows - or at least the window frames. With permissions to erect the balcony and external stairs in place we are approaching the final stages of restoring its external appearance to its former glory.
Work has continued on arguably our largest current project, the "Barn". In some respects we are currently limited in that we cannot take official possession until ACSC have drawn up the lease - they are happy that we carry out minor essential repairs and, of course, they are actually funding the refurbishment of the Referee's changing room which is well under way. As a by-product of that, the first secure storage area is now complete and we are able to carry out a limited amount of storage. Having said that, it sounds as though little work has been done, but even these few aspects have required considerable effort and have resulted in an internal transformation. I hope to update the Barn section of the website to reflect this soon.
During the month we have had at least one new member and in the last couple of weeks we have been joined by a couple of prospective members. Welcome to you all.
In these exceptionally busy periods, I must close with a vote of thanks to the many members who have given selflessly of their time, enthusiasm and abilities to these various projects. Your committee is deeply appreciative of this but would urge still more of you to do what you can. However small, every contribution is welcomed.
Last, but not least, forthcoming exhibitions and the like. Aldingbourne Central will be at Manor Nurseries on 1st and 8th December and help will be needed for those two days. I have already mentioned the Exhibition in January. Don't forget that the active participation of you all is essential to the success of that exhibition. Mark it in your diary, help will be needed on the preceding Friday evening and on both the Saturday and Sunday. Please do your utmost to come and help throughout as much of that period is possible.
Chris
2/11/2012
Monday, 1 October 2012
September 2012
Another busy month - do we have any other kind?
Amongst the exhbitions attended, members of the Club's Narrow Gauge Group with the local 7mmNGA Area Group took the group's layout Hurlestone to the excellent Woking Exhbition where it was well received. Aldingbourne Central had an outing to the Cranleigh Show which proved to be most enjoyable. And as if that wasn't enough, two layouts, Madeley Road and Redford Junction went to the Worthing Show. As ever, thanks are due to the members who came to the shows and helped with the running of the layouts.
A number of members, led by our indefatigable chairman, have been working on the barn and have made significant progress. It has now been largely cleared and tidied and some of the essential works are well underway, including a cupboard for the electrics and the stripping of the changing room and WC etc ready for refurbishment. Even this is well in hand with most of the plumbing replaced. In the meantime, planning and building regs applications are in hand for the remaining refurbishments which should ensure its usability for a long time together with an enhanced appearance which should blend in better with its surroundings.
Club members have continued to assist with the Barnham Signal Box restoration on Saturdays, frequently fuelled by Cliff's excellent bacon butties! Progress remains farily slow, but nevertheless sure.
Amongst the exhbitions attended, members of the Club's Narrow Gauge Group with the local 7mmNGA Area Group took the group's layout Hurlestone to the excellent Woking Exhbition where it was well received. Aldingbourne Central had an outing to the Cranleigh Show which proved to be most enjoyable. And as if that wasn't enough, two layouts, Madeley Road and Redford Junction went to the Worthing Show. As ever, thanks are due to the members who came to the shows and helped with the running of the layouts.
A number of members, led by our indefatigable chairman, have been working on the barn and have made significant progress. It has now been largely cleared and tidied and some of the essential works are well underway, including a cupboard for the electrics and the stripping of the changing room and WC etc ready for refurbishment. Even this is well in hand with most of the plumbing replaced. In the meantime, planning and building regs applications are in hand for the remaining refurbishments which should ensure its usability for a long time together with an enhanced appearance which should blend in better with its surroundings.
Club members have continued to assist with the Barnham Signal Box restoration on Saturdays, frequently fuelled by Cliff's excellent bacon butties! Progress remains farily slow, but nevertheless sure.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
August 2012
Your webmaster is a trifle premature with the August news but this reflects the fact that he will be 200 miles away at the end of the month. Anyway, August has been another busy and successful month.
On the exhibition front Aldingbourne Central had a successful outing to Tinkers Park early in the month and again last weekend when it was joined by Madeley Road and Little Bognor together with part of Troutbeck Bridge as a static display at the Weald and Downland Steam Gala. We thus had layouts present in three different scales and gauges. Paul Hopkins took one of his layouts to the Bursledon Brickworks although this event proved to be somewhat disappointing.
In the meantime, our members continue to devote considerable time and effort on Saturday mornings to the refurbishment of the Barnham Signal Box - our new home once completed.
Our chairman has also agreed a lease with the Aldingbourne Sports and Community Centre Trustees for us to take over the Barn. This is excellent news as it means that we will have both meeting facilities in the Signal Box and secure storage for layouts etc in the barn together with toilet facilities immediately adjacent to the signal box.
Alhtough the barn is solidly built there is a great deal of work to be done to make it ready for use and members have already made great strides towards this over the last few Tuesday evenings. You can see more about this at http://brmrc.co.uk/the_barn.php.
Despite the time and effort going into the barn and the signal box, a small dedicated band is making substantial progress on our current layout building project - this now has its own page at http://brmrc.co.uk/page_mountain.php.
So, another eventful month, but one which is truly laying the foundations for the club's future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)