Dear Members,
Well, it has been very busy time since I last provided an update.
Firstly, welcome to all our new members including our youngest member, Caspian. The Club welcomes Lenore as our Club Treasurer and many thanks to Paul to will act as the Assistant Treasurer. I hope you enjoy our Club and I look forward to having a chat when you are in next.
The new club house is well under construction and we will now need to focus on the re-invigoration of the working groups so we can start planning and, where possible, prebuild the new club room layouts.
The recent Brisbane Model Railway Show was a great success. I extend my thanks to everyone who assisted in the lead up and the two days of the show. I am thankful that we are a great working team as it made it so easy. Sadly, another club suffered damage to their layout during the pack up as a vehicle ran over a section of their display. I was very impressed with our members who provided observation of our layouts and equipment as it was waiting to be loaded.
We lowered Midlands for the show and this was received well by members and the general public. It was great to see the little ones pointing out the detail of the workshops and being able to see the paddocks. As I, and others walked around to observe other clubs’ layouts, it became apparent to me that we now should put some time into our exhibition layouts.
One of the things we all have made comment on is the connections between each section. I have taken away a few ideas and will make use of two of the small sections of the Midland Inserts to demonstrate a possible fix. I also think it is timely that we make a plan for the replacement of the track with new track and a good old fashioned clean up. Of note, other Clubs have no points on the section of the layout on display. This provided smooth running of the layout with all the work and points going on behind the scenes in the fiddle yards. I will be sending an email to members with some ideas for feedback before we start any works.
The Cilo layout has not been forgotten. I have listened to some feedback and agree that there are a few possibilities for an introduction of some “point to point” shunting operations and a similar ability for a tram service in the adjoining corner section. This would provide six different running operations in the layout with two being automated and requiring no actions of an operator.
As I have the ability to tow the Club trailer, I would like to offer that we as a Club start to display our layouts at more shows. I have been asked if the Club would like to exhibit at the Gold Coast in September and at Redlands in the near future. More information to follow.
New name tags are being produced and will be given to members once they arrive.
Don’t forget our first table sale for the year will be held Sunday 30 July 23 at Belmont Rifle Range. Check the flyers for more details.
Dust off your best Club shirt and book the hair cut as we will be able to soon advise timings for the Channel Seven Flashback segment.
There is still time to send in photos of your home layout for the 2024 calendar.
I look forward to the months ahead as we draw closer to our New Club House.
Regards.
Dicko, President
All Gauge Model Railway Club 