On arriving I turned on the stopcock and got a face full of water and discovered that the recent cold weather had resulted in leaks in the toilets and the kitchen. As we were the last people to use the hall it was just as well that we had turned the water off when we left before Christmas. Anyway Ian Earl, our go to man on hall matters, quickly arrived and quickly dealt with the leaks so that teas and coffees could get under way.
So, once we had taken on refreshments and made ourselves comfortable, we got on with the serious business of running trains on the circuit. Today’s theme was Christmas presents, and several members had obviously had a good Christmas as they showed off their new locomotives.
There was in fact a bit of duplication as a couple of Dapol 3MT’s appeared as well as three standard Class 3’s (all with the same number). Geoff ran a Class 14 Diesel (apparently known as a Teddy Bear) and also a condensing Pannier. Paul had a Class 122 railcar while Fred had his 3MT, a Pecket 0-4-0 saddle tank and also an ex LMS inspection saloon.
I gave my recently acquired SECR F1 its maiden outing anywhere and it acquitted itself very well hauling my SECR birdcage stock. Other delights included Rob’s ex-LSWR B4 0-4-0T, Bill’s GWR Class 517 0-4-2T, a GWR Mogul, and Cambrian Railways Brake Van.
Over lunch a lot of disappointment was expressed over the Christmas meal we had had at the Red Lion and consequently we will consider other venues for next year’s meal. On a happier note, there was a lot of cake in evidence today and this turned out to be from Bill in honour of his birthday although he was rather coy about his age.
We had spoken recently about a trip in the summer to the Spa Valley Railway and we will need to fix a date for this probably on a Saturday meeting in April, May or June.
Our Treasurer, Geoff, asked that when paying their annual subscriptions this year that members pay only by either cash or cheque direct to him and not by payment into the Group’s bank account as this will very likely upset the favourable banking charges arrangement that we currently have with HSBC.
As always and despite the tribulations of the earlier water leaks David Ho kept us all supplied with teas and coffees until it was time to head off home. Chris
