Tuesday 9th January '24. It was our first club meeting of the new year and the meeting was exceptionally well attended. Work on rectifying faults on Ospringe St Peter N gauge layout continued while fault finding on Oare and Uplees was also undertaken. Godinton had two baseboards wiring worked on for Boards 4 and 5.
Tuesday 16th January '24. Another well attended meeting and plenty of work was undertaken. On our N gauge Ospringe St Peter layout further fault finding continued to discover the reason for the failure of three Cobalt point motors. OO Swaleford had the first of its storage crates assembled and damaged track lifted in readiness for a final repair. OO Godinton had base board number 4 back scene board permanently fixed to the rear of the layout and then the fixing brackets for the front control panel were installed and wiring of electrofrog points switching on board 5 was undertaken.
Tuesday 23rd January '24. Another well attended meeting with work on all layouts except Thomas We were given access to the adjacent room, so we gained valuable space for tonight's meeting and all future meetings. Swaleford saw plywood sheets cut up for layout storage crating along with track replacement work. Ospringe St Peter continued with work tracing the failed Cobalt motors problem, while Oare and Uplees had wiring checked. Godinton had two MERG modules fitted and track feeds wired from the main control panel installed.
Tuesday 30th January '24. A very good meeting which was also a running night, using our N gauge OSP and OO Thomas layouts. A vast assortment of members rolling stock was seen running on both layouts. Along side the running evening we saw work on Swaleford undertaken while on Godinton wiring of track feeds and through circuits began on board 4 and the fitting of a back scene break separator board was carried out.
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Tuesday 6th February '24. Godinton, work continued with wiring the station areas board 4 and preparation work to install backboards on boards 5/6. Oare and Uplees had repairs to the Control Panel completed and tested. Ospringe St Peter's, all 3 boards were erected and testing of the wiring was carried out to rectify faults in preparation for Tonbridge on Feb. 17th. Swaleford, work continued on Board C to make its crate. The control panel faults have been rectified. Work also continued to make hinged backboards.
As we were packing away the centres fire alarm was activated and the clubs Health & Safety evacuation policy was evoked. This was proved to work correctly and all assembled were checked against the register. The incident was found to be a false alarm with a sensor activating under the main halls stage.
Friday 9th February '24. A small group of club members meet at the WFCC where a six hour hire of the meeting room had been arranged from 10:00. The plan was to fault find and correct issues with Ospringe St Peter N gauge layouts wiring re the failure of several point motors and before the layout is taken to Tonbridge exhibition. Several broken wires were discovered and repaired. The layout was then erected and tested, but one motor is still failing, which hopefully can be resolved on Tuesday evening. At the same time the opportunity was taken to complete all the wiring on the clubs OO Godinton layouts board 4. This was successfully completed.
Tuesday 13th February '24. Shrove Tuesday and Pancakes all eaten come club time! The clubroom was busy with various activities. Peter Newman gave an attentive group a demonstration of track laying which was enjoyed by all watching. Work on the crating of Swaleford layout continued. Ospringe St Peter had the failed point motor problem resolved and was found to be a broken wire inside a crimped 25 way D connector. Once repaired the layout was tested and is now ready for the Tonbridge show this Saturday 17th. Godinton had the last boards track wiring installed on board 7.
Friday 16th & Saturday 17th February '24. Friday afternoon saw two of our members extract layout ‘Ospringe (St Peter’s) and Water Lane’ from the our store cupboard located at the West Faversham Community Centre ready for display at the Tonbridge Model Railway Club’s one day exhibition.
The next day an early start saw four members arrive at The Angel Centre, Tonbridge and erect the layout. Although the layout had been checked on the previous club night a couple of issues in operation were dealt with expediently. The rest of the day saw over 1200 people attend the show and our layout received many plaudits from the public, some declaring it the best in show. Unfortunately no such competition was being held. A fun time was had conversing with the public and plenty of children were enthralled. Another club’s exhibition manager expressed an interest to have the layout at their forthcoming show and he took away our prepared blurb. Eventually the show came to an end and all were pretty glad (and tired) to pack up and make tracks home. Another successful advertisement for the club completed. Tonbridge’s chairman thanked us for coming. We were originally invited in 2019 but with covid etc were only able to make it this year.
Tuesday 20th February '24. A good meeting attendance and lots of work undertaken. On OSP N gauge layout the failed point motor was found to be due to a broken wire which was repaired. Ore & Uplees OO/OO9 had its servo point operating system fine tuned to drive the servos correctly and wiring checked for point frog polarity switching. OO Swaleford had a crate constructed to contain one of its baseboards. OO Godinton had rear board 8 additional point indication wiring installed and front board 5 track feeds plus the 12volt main layout feeds installed.
Tuesday 27th February '24. It was the last Tuesday of the month and so it was a Running Evening using our OO Swaleford and N gauge OSP layouts. The meeting was exceptionally well attended and there was a vast selection of locos run on the layouts. Work on Godinton scenic backboard 4 and all board wiring checks was also undertaken along with minor additional wiring on the rear fiddle yard end board.
Tuesday 5th March '24. Yet again a very well attended meeting with plenty of work undertaken on various layouts. On OSP N gauge the last of the street/building lights on board B (No.2) was completed and tested. Godinton had track missing sleepers fitted on board 5, plus servo cables installed and wiring commenced for the 3 way point indications. Swaleford and Thomas both had scenic work carried out.
Tuesday 12th March '24. It was the club Annual General Meeting (AGM) evening and it was well attended. Club Secretary Colin Hudson opened the meeting by welcoming all present and took note of the apologies of absence of which there were two. Chairman Bob Bushell presented his report on the past years activities. Club Treasurer Kelvin Inge gave two reports to the membership, one showing the 2023 Exhibition costs and income and then a general club financial report for the 2023 year. After a coffee/tea break the meeting then moved on to elect the new 2024/25 officers and committee members.There were no new offers for any committee positions from the assembled group. It was agreed by the proposers and seconders that all existing committee should be re-elected. These are: Chairman: Bob Bushell. Vice Chairman: Brian Lambert. Secretary: Colin Hudson. Treasurer: Kelvin Inge. Committee members are Peter Newman, Graham Church and Derek Waldron. During the AOB section, three questions were asked, one by Carole that could the AGM minutes be distributed once they had been ratified by the committee. It was agreed that this would take place and the minutes would be emailed to all members and they will be marked 'Draft' as they have not been agreed at that stage by an AGM gathering. Another question asked by Anthony was, Would it be possible for the club to notify members of those who leave the club? It was stated that this would not be possible, as it may offend someone who has left and could possibly breach GDPR. The third was from Peter M asking if there was any progress towards obtaining a free standing storage cupboard and also if two more 'tripod style' LED floodlights could be purchased to add to the two we already own, as the lighting in the two rooms we use is poor at best. It was agreed that the lighting levels would be checked at the next meeting where a decision on whether one or two floodlights are to be purchased.
Tuesday 19th March '24. Plenty of work undertaken tonight. On OSP N gauge layout additional street lights were installed but are still to be wired to the lighting supply. Swaleford had a defective CDU replaced in the control panel and also a backscene upstand fitted to one baseboard. Oare & Uplees continued to have wiring corrected while on Godinton the last of the CBUS modules and a six way relay board were installed and the relays wired to the appropriate rails for isolating sections, one servo on another board was repositioned.
Saturday 23rd March '24. A small group of club members arrived at the WFCC fairly early and moved Godinton layout from the store cupboard into the Youth Room where it was set up. The idea was to start programming the electronic CBUS modules on each of the front boards to the control panel. The work went well but a few issues was discovered and these will need to be resolved at club meeting evenings. Additionally, the opportunity was taken to adjust across baseboard rail joints and add sleepers to the track where needed. It was considered that the time spent was well worth the effort.
Tuesday 26th March '24. A well attended meeting which was a running evening and we saw our N gauge Ospringe St Peters layout in operation and two OO layouts were also available - Thomas and Swaleford. All saw a good assortment of members stock running on the layouts. Swaleford has suffered issues with solenoid point motor operation and this needs further investigation. While trains were running the defects discovered on Godinton board 4 were investigated and all issues were corrected and tested back to the control panel. Scenic work preparation also began on Godinton.
Tuesday 2nd April '24. Work continued on some of the layouts on Godinton no work was carried out on the boards, however a club member started building the goods shed from a Kit. Ospringe St Peter work continued fitting the street lights. Swaleford testing of circuits from the Control Panel to the point work was completed and now continuity testing between the boards is being carried out, also the folding backboards are being made to fit. No work was carried out on Oare and Uplees or Thomas Themed layouts.
Our Summer trip to Didcot... The list was on the Control Table for members to add their names to.
Many thanks to Chairman Bob for this weeks Blog text.
Tuesday 9th April '24. On OSP wiring was installed for the new street lights. Swaleford saw scenic buildings and retaining walls assembled along with tracing the defects with the solenoid point motors. The problem has been identified and work is in progress to correct. O&ULR had its operation checked and needs a few minor items correcting to bring it to full working condition. Godinton had a 8 way plug and its cable replaced and two gaps cut into the siding rails for isolating sections.
Tuesday 16th April '24. Swaleford saw work continue on investigating and alterations to the point wiring, others club members continued to work on the elevated road back scene. Ospringe St Peter, work continued of the layout lighting with installation of lighting in the builders yard, next week we hope to install arc welding kit. Godinton had all the front boards erected to ensure all the track was aligned one section was replaced to ensure a smooth curvature. Oare and Uplees had no work carried out.
Many thanks to club chairman Bob for the Blog text this week.
Tuesday 23rd April '24. A little less happening tonight with just two layouts being worked on. Swaleford saw work continue on the rear back scene and the rear wall. While Godinton had boards 2 through to 5 erected and the control panel fitted. The cross-over points on Board 2 were set up along with the isolating section on Bd 2. Cross baseboard rail joints were aligned.
Tuesday 30th April '24. It was the last Tuesday of the month and a running evening using both our N and OO layouts - OSP and Thomas, a variety of members stock was run on both layouts during the evening. Also work on Swaleford electric point problem was on going and also scenic items continued to be constructed. While on Godinton it had boards 2 to 5 erected and the control panel fitted to board 4 and then the three way point set up to the panel switch.
It was announced that due to a low take up, the proposed club visit on 29th June to the Didcot preservation railway would be cancelled. It was also stated that Whitstable club have offered us a limited number of seats on a coach to the Bluebell Railway and model railway exhibition on the following day - 30th June '24. Cost is £20 for the coach plus entrance fee to the railway. Anyone interested should book a seat on the coach (Pick up and return is to be Faversham Railway Station) via the form on the notice board or speaking to Peter Newman.
Tuesday 7th May '24. Another good meeting with plenty of work on all the layouts. On O&ULR a damaged point was discovered and this will now need replacing. Thomas saw commencement of rewiring the track feeds using different wiring colours for the inner and outer loops to avoid errors. Swaleford had backscene low relief buildings added. While on OSP a damaged multipin D connector was replaced. Godinton had the last of the modules connected and programmed, while platform construction also took place.
Tuesday 14th May '24. Plenty of work carried out this evening in the club room. Swaleford had its motorised turntable installed and powered, the over bridge was repositioned slightly to allow the bridge and its approach ramp to fit onto one base board. Thomas continued to have its track feed wiring replaced. OSP had lighting installed in the engine shed. Godinton had some of its platforms constructed, while the rear fiddle yard points and LED point position indications were set up on the control panel. Further work on the right hand end points is still required.
Tuesday 21st May '24. A good meeting which saw scenic work on Swaleford undertaken. Godinton rear boards point indications back to the panel was completed, along with work on the new platforms. Thomas layout continued to have the track feed wiring replaced.
Tuesday 28th May '24. As it was the last Tuesday of the month it was a club running evening. Two layouts were in use - our OO Thomas themed and N gauge Ospringe St Peter. They both saw a variety of members stock being run on them. While trains were running, some members undertook tasks on other layouts. On Godinton one of the rear fiddle yard baseboard hinged legs had a Turnbuckle fitted to retain the leg in its folded up position and a newly run wire from the previous week was cable tied into the wiring loom. On Swaleford crating alterations were undertaken along with scenic work on making a retaining wall. Over on OSP and while it was used for running it had the beginnings of LED lighting installed into the engine shed.
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Tuesday 4th June '24. Plenty of work undertaken this evening where Swaleford saw track ballasting being undertaken, Thomas continued to have its track feeds rewired, while on Godinton all the points frog polarity micro switches were set up and a relay board reconfigure, testing on the rear fiddle yard boards showed a defect which will require further investigation and correction. On OSP the Engine Shed has had LED internal lighting and outside wall lights fitted along with a Welding simulator inside the shed.
Tuesday 11th June '24. A good meeting with plenty of layout work undertaken. On our Thomas layout the last of the track feed wiring was completed and then the layout was tested to the handheld and main controllers. Oare & Uplees had the replacement OO9 point fitted and checked. Swaleford continued with the track ballasting. Godinton had a six way relay board replaced and checked that all relay sections operated plus construction commencement of a card workshop building. OSP had the engine shed fitted to the layout and its internal lighting and welding simulator checked.
Tuesday 18th June '24. Godinton work continued on on track realignment across board ends on boards 3,4,& 5 ensuring a smooth transition of passenger and freight stock. Ospringe St Peter due to some movement of the fulcrum on some of the points allowing a few points not to work properly these have now been glued in place. Oare and Uplees the set of 009 points coming out of the tunnel have been replaced ensuring they are level then rewired and now awaiting testing. Swaleford members continued to ballast both boards.
Some members took delivery of new zip up fleeces with the club logo on them plus other logo clothing ordered.
Thanks to Chairman Bob for this weeks Blog text.
Tuesday 25th June '24. A very warm summers evening may have kept a few members away from tonight's meeting or was it the England Euros football match? But never the less two layouts were used for the running evening and a variety of rolling stock was seen on each. Godinton had several baseboards erected and track alinement corrected at cross board joints. The lifting access flap needs further attention to prevent sideways movement when down.
Tuesday 2nd July '24. A reasonably well attended meeting saw work on Swaleford's scenic detailing continued to be undertaken and a platform section was glued in place. Godinton had the rear control panels Gaugemaster Model UD controller replaced which was tested on the layout and proved to be correctly working. Thomas was set up with scenery and photos taken for one to be selected for the forthcoming exhibition programme guide front cover. Oare & Uplees had its uncoupling ramps servos adjusted.
Tuesday 9th July '24. A reasonably well attended meeting which saw work on Swaleford's track ballasting and scenic detailing continue. Thomas had maintenance work carried out with a multi pin sockets fixing replaced and damaged baseboard edge glued back down. Godinton had the lifting flaps alinement hinges installed and then rails across the joint resoldered. There was no work on Oare & Uplees or springe St Peter carried out tonight.
Tuesday 16th July '24. A good meeting, but still a little low on attendance figurers. However, that didn't stop work on Swaleford continuing with track ballasting and installation of an LED lighting bus circuit under one of the baseboards. OSP had the new lower level fiddle yard board alignment checked and additional bracing was then installed ready for cabinet makers dowels to ensure true alignment. Godinton had new adjustable lifting flap latches fitted and the alinement hinges adjusted then the tracks across the joint were checked and adjusted for true alignment.
Tuesday 23rdJuly '24. Work on Swaleford scenic continued with experimental landscape moulding being installed and scatter applied to check its appearance also a new Turntable switch was fitted to the control panel and wired. Godinton had several colour light signals inspected and electrically tested ready for final signalling on the new layout. Oare & Uplees was checked electrically but an issue on the OO9 tracks causing a short circuit in one direction now needs to be resolved.
Next week at club; 30th July '24. As its the last Tuesday of the month we will be running at least two layouts - Our N gauge OSP and OO Thomas, so bring in your items to run on these layouts. It is expected that Swaleford will continue to have track ballasted and scenic work undertaken. Oare should have its OO9 short circuit problem investigated. E&OE.
We are now accepting donations for our 2024 exhibition Tombola prizes.
