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1
THE MERIONETH MERCURY.
This is the first issue of a newsletter which, with any luck, will be published at exceedingly irregular intervals with (if the Editor has his way - unlikely), longer and longer gaps between issues until the project expires unnoticed by all, not many of whom will bother to read it, anyway.
You will, of course, be wondering why anyone in his senses would want to receive such a publication at all, or to read it when he has received it. Well, bear with me for a moment and I will try to explain why such a need exists
It really goes back to the gradually increasing consciousness of the interest in the attractiveness of narrow-gauge modelling, which is what led to the foundation of the Society in the first place; and like all other known societies, this was founded to promote interest in its own particular speciality, in this instance, narrow-gauge modelling, as well as to help modellers to find the information, support and materials they required to make the models which attracted them. It is, perhaps, a little presumptuous, though, to say that the Society was "founded". Like Topsy, the Merioneth Railway Society (which has built and operates the Merioneth Railway Company in its model form) "just growed". I think its point of departure must have been when David Newham decided to abandon small-scale railway modelling and go in for something more substantial, not to mention more reliable in operation, in his case the Glyn Valley Tramway which he modelled on 32mm track in 14mm scale. He was the pioneer, along with a few other hardy souls in different parts of the country - some of these will be mentioned later - and he was soon joined by another devoted narrow-gauge modeller, one Roger Marsh, who at that time lived nearby. Between them they produced the first large-scale narrow-gauge layout to be seen at any Model Railway Club Exhibition, the Abermarsham line, and imaginary location in North Wales on which ran a varied selection of mainly 2ft gauge rolling stock built to the scale of 16mm = 1ft. I was one of those privileged to take part in the operation of this line, and what struck me about it was its faithfulness to the prototypes, its excellent construction, its freedom from derailments, and its ease of operation. There was none of that pushing which you sometimes see in the smaller scales when, as all too frequently happens (to the detriment of public sympathy if it happens on an Exhibition line) the train refuses to move. Every time the current was switched on the trains started to move - and very slow running was a noticeable feature of the control.
All this happened in the early sixties - 1963 I think it was - and a third enthusiast was not long in joining the first two. This was Tony Jenkins, a Tal-y-Llyn enthusiast, a man who now, to the delight and amazement of all, has betaken himself to the fleshpots of South Africa (he will be getting a copy of this - greetings, Tony: we hope you are doing well). Shortly after this, the present writer, a narrow-gauge modeller since 1951, was conned by T.J. into joining in, having been so struck by the possibilities of this scale/gauge combination as to want to try his hand at it, producing a model of the Fiji Free Train (16mm scale, 32mm gauge, 2-rail and stud) in the process. The stud adaption was necessary because David's GVT and Tony's TR models were stud-worked at the time - much to the disgust of the present writer. However, both of these gentlemen have now seen the light and all their productions have been converted to 2-rail operation, as nature intended. This was no easy task when the models were not designed to be taken apart, once made.
Other modellers (some of whom are mentioned in a moment) then joined in, a layout was jointly made, and has been successfully exhibited at various Exhibitions. The latest was at the Hobby Show in August 1973 where, without our even realising that it had been entered, it won first prize in a layout competition. Its next showing is scheduled for March 1975 at the Greenwich Narrow-Gauge Society's Exhibition, and no doubt the next issue of this publication will carry an account of this function.
For some years we all met on Fridays at David's house, thanks to the hospitality both of himself and of his wife Olive. Then he moved from Wembley to Pinner and we continued to meet there for a time and occasionally still do; but as he has had to take on a good deal of extra work we now usually meet at Colin Binnie's, in Wembley, or occasionally at Rickmansworth, where John Kimber lives, or at my humble abode at Northolt. In other words we do not have a regular clubroom and this is the nub of the thing since a meeting in a private house means that of necessity the accommodation is somewhat restricted. On the other hand we want to encourage 16mm scale modelling, not discourage it, so that visitors to the Friday meeting are welcome.
This newsletter or Broadsheet is, therefore, designed to keep people in touch with each other, and so we hope to bring you not only news of our doings but - what is much more important - we hope to circulate among our membership any copies of narrow-gauge drawings acquired by us as well as articles written for publication in the Press and which our members will not necessarily see; and if anyone has anything of Society interest and would like to try his hand at writing it up, we should be delighted to hear from him.
This Society is a small band of friendly modellers devoted to the furtherance of that branch of modelling concentrating mainly on 16mm scale narrow-gauge modelling on 32mm track. We were, however, not the first in this field. David Newham and Roger Marsh have already been mentioned. Other pioneers were people such as Dr. Brian Rogers, then of Worcester, and Allan Pratt of Birmingham, both of whom had extensive 16mm scale layouts in their gardens.
These were among the pioneers of our scale: now let me present a few of our more recent members, in no particular order, except for the first one:-
Colin BINNIE. Injection moulding king. Trained and professional engineer and ideas man. Very useful person to know. Drew up our standards sheet: every member should have one, like a girl-friend - as this ensures the compatibility of all stock except, regrettably, the Fiji Free Train, on the layout. Many meetings are held at his house. First class artist and draughtsman in addition to all his other attainments.
Stuart BAKER. Draughtsman and excellent model maker. Club Treasurer. Wit. Young, so has brilliant modelling career before him. Intends to commit matrimony later on this year in spite of warnings. However, intended bride is a member of the Nursing profession, so perhaps he knows a thing or two after all.
Ray WYBORN. Commercial artist, i.e. wizard with paint. Very good modeller who is now trying live steam.
Don BOREHAM. Pen pusher - hence this newsletter. Will continue until strength gives out or told to drop dead. Expects one or the other any minute now. Odd man out in some ways since his models include the Listowel & Ballybunion monorail, which he built in conjunction with :-
(1) Adrian GARNER. Another devoted narrow-gauger of whom we see less than before since he moved to West Wickham and grew a beard. Is shortly moving to Southfields where the Club will doubtless invited to visit him. Actuary. Wit. Another excellent modeller: and –
(2) Dr. Frank NORRINGTON. Analytical chemist. Made an excellent model of a Darjeeling Himalaya 0-4-0T which he then presented to the club as well as building (before meeting us) some excellent trams in 3/8" scale, most of which are due to go to the LT collection at Syon Park. Models American prototypes, especially Sandy River stock. ALL his models are labelled "Merioneth Railway" or "MRC". Lives in Beckenham where the club visited him on a Saturday in February 1975. This meeting lasted all day - he has a most charming and sympathetic wife. Yet another good artist.
David NEWHAM. Insurance expert and a very painstaking and good modeller. One of the Club's Founding Fathers. Mentioned above in conjunction with the Abermarsham line. Makes models in 14mm scale, or did until work began to claim most of his attention.
Tony JENKINS. Another of our Founding Fathers. Also models boats. As stated, is now in South Africa, having left the country in May 1974 before he was caught up with. Journalist, so were he back in the UK he would be expected to write this.
Peter HARRIS. Club Transport Officer. Has just finished an excellent model of the special railborne coach used by the President of France at the Paris Exhibition of 1889.
John KIMBER. Another long-time associate. Club Secretary. Has a garage full of photos, drawings, and general information. Is interested in canal cruising as well as railways. Lives and works in Rickmansworth. We meet occasionally in his flat.
Clive BAKER. No relation to Stuart of that ilk. Friend of John Kimber's. Working member of the Tal-y-Llyn Railway Preservation Society. At present modelling some of its more recent rolling-stock and co-operating with John Kimber on the production of a batch of wagons.
Dave BRADWELL. A young man from the North of England, which is why he is known as Northern Dave. Native of Newcastle, who, before coming south to join us, had already experimented with our scale and gauge. Another promising modeller.
Brandon EVANS. Medical practitioner and expert on the electrical side of model railways. Unfortunately we do not see as much of him as we would wish to owing to his habit of getting himself posted to Darkest Africa and other inaccessible places.
Charlie SPILMAN. Our senior member, unfortunately not in robust health so that we see him less often as we would like to. He has been modelling in our scale for a very long time and has a well-established garden line.
Well, now you know who some of us are. Now for the Society's rules. Firstly, I should explain that we have a lot in common with the Ancient Greeks in that policy decisions are taken by us all jointly, so that we have never felt the need to elect a Committee: any member may raise any topic at any time. We do have a few rules, however, to the first and
second of which we adhere strictly, the third and last being more of a recommendation than a rule; and with only three rules we think we have far less than any other Society. They are as follows:-
1. The object of this Society, the Merioneth Railway Society, is to operate the Merioneth Railway Company in its model form and to encourage railway modelling in 16mm and allied scales on 32mm track.
2. No one shall be admitted to the membership of this Society, the subscription to which is at present £1 per annum, until he has produced for the inspection, and to the approval, of the Society, a railway model other than a kit, which has been constructed by himself to an approved scale. (This rule has no exceptions whatever).
3. Anyone purchasing a car should acquire an estate model.
I think that that just about brings you up to date. We will try to keep in touch with you from time to time via this newsletter, the Merioneth Mercury, and, don't forget, items of interest will be most acceptable.
You will, of course, be wondering why anyone in his senses would want to receive such a publication at all, or to read it when he has received it. Well, bear with me for a moment and I will try to explain why such a need exists
It really goes back to the gradually increasing consciousness of the interest in the attractiveness of narrow-gauge modelling, which is what led to the foundation of the Society in the first place; and like all other known societies, this was founded to promote interest in its own particular speciality, in this instance, narrow-gauge modelling, as well as to help modellers to find the information, support and materials they required to make the models which attracted them. It is, perhaps, a little presumptuous, though, to say that the Society was "founded". Like Topsy, the Merioneth Railway Society (which has built and operates the Merioneth Railway Company in its model form) "just growed". I think its point of departure must have been when David Newham decided to abandon small-scale railway modelling and go in for something more substantial, not to mention more reliable in operation, in his case the Glyn Valley Tramway which he modelled on 32mm track in 14mm scale. He was the pioneer, along with a few other hardy souls in different parts of the country - some of these will be mentioned later - and he was soon joined by another devoted narrow-gauge modeller, one Roger Marsh, who at that time lived nearby. Between them they produced the first large-scale narrow-gauge layout to be seen at any Model Railway Club Exhibition, the Abermarsham line, and imaginary location in North Wales on which ran a varied selection of mainly 2ft gauge rolling stock built to the scale of 16mm = 1ft. I was one of those privileged to take part in the operation of this line, and what struck me about it was its faithfulness to the prototypes, its excellent construction, its freedom from derailments, and its ease of operation. There was none of that pushing which you sometimes see in the smaller scales when, as all too frequently happens (to the detriment of public sympathy if it happens on an Exhibition line) the train refuses to move. Every time the current was switched on the trains started to move - and very slow running was a noticeable feature of the control.
All this happened in the early sixties - 1963 I think it was - and a third enthusiast was not long in joining the first two. This was Tony Jenkins, a Tal-y-Llyn enthusiast, a man who now, to the delight and amazement of all, has betaken himself to the fleshpots of South Africa (he will be getting a copy of this - greetings, Tony: we hope you are doing well). Shortly after this, the present writer, a narrow-gauge modeller since 1951, was conned by T.J. into joining in, having been so struck by the possibilities of this scale/gauge combination as to want to try his hand at it, producing a model of the Fiji Free Train (16mm scale, 32mm gauge, 2-rail and stud) in the process. The stud adaption was necessary because David's GVT and Tony's TR models were stud-worked at the time - much to the disgust of the present writer. However, both of these gentlemen have now seen the light and all their productions have been converted to 2-rail operation, as nature intended. This was no easy task when the models were not designed to be taken apart, once made.
Other modellers (some of whom are mentioned in a moment) then joined in, a layout was jointly made, and has been successfully exhibited at various Exhibitions. The latest was at the Hobby Show in August 1973 where, without our even realising that it had been entered, it won first prize in a layout competition. Its next showing is scheduled for March 1975 at the Greenwich Narrow-Gauge Society's Exhibition, and no doubt the next issue of this publication will carry an account of this function.
For some years we all met on Fridays at David's house, thanks to the hospitality both of himself and of his wife Olive. Then he moved from Wembley to Pinner and we continued to meet there for a time and occasionally still do; but as he has had to take on a good deal of extra work we now usually meet at Colin Binnie's, in Wembley, or occasionally at Rickmansworth, where John Kimber lives, or at my humble abode at Northolt. In other words we do not have a regular clubroom and this is the nub of the thing since a meeting in a private house means that of necessity the accommodation is somewhat restricted. On the other hand we want to encourage 16mm scale modelling, not discourage it, so that visitors to the Friday meeting are welcome.
This newsletter or Broadsheet is, therefore, designed to keep people in touch with each other, and so we hope to bring you not only news of our doings but - what is much more important - we hope to circulate among our membership any copies of narrow-gauge drawings acquired by us as well as articles written for publication in the Press and which our members will not necessarily see; and if anyone has anything of Society interest and would like to try his hand at writing it up, we should be delighted to hear from him.
This Society is a small band of friendly modellers devoted to the furtherance of that branch of modelling concentrating mainly on 16mm scale narrow-gauge modelling on 32mm track. We were, however, not the first in this field. David Newham and Roger Marsh have already been mentioned. Other pioneers were people such as Dr. Brian Rogers, then of Worcester, and Allan Pratt of Birmingham, both of whom had extensive 16mm scale layouts in their gardens.
These were among the pioneers of our scale: now let me present a few of our more recent members, in no particular order, except for the first one:-
Colin BINNIE. Injection moulding king. Trained and professional engineer and ideas man. Very useful person to know. Drew up our standards sheet: every member should have one, like a girl-friend - as this ensures the compatibility of all stock except, regrettably, the Fiji Free Train, on the layout. Many meetings are held at his house. First class artist and draughtsman in addition to all his other attainments.
Stuart BAKER. Draughtsman and excellent model maker. Club Treasurer. Wit. Young, so has brilliant modelling career before him. Intends to commit matrimony later on this year in spite of warnings. However, intended bride is a member of the Nursing profession, so perhaps he knows a thing or two after all.
Ray WYBORN. Commercial artist, i.e. wizard with paint. Very good modeller who is now trying live steam.
Don BOREHAM. Pen pusher - hence this newsletter. Will continue until strength gives out or told to drop dead. Expects one or the other any minute now. Odd man out in some ways since his models include the Listowel & Ballybunion monorail, which he built in conjunction with :-
(1) Adrian GARNER. Another devoted narrow-gauger of whom we see less than before since he moved to West Wickham and grew a beard. Is shortly moving to Southfields where the Club will doubtless invited to visit him. Actuary. Wit. Another excellent modeller: and –
(2) Dr. Frank NORRINGTON. Analytical chemist. Made an excellent model of a Darjeeling Himalaya 0-4-0T which he then presented to the club as well as building (before meeting us) some excellent trams in 3/8" scale, most of which are due to go to the LT collection at Syon Park. Models American prototypes, especially Sandy River stock. ALL his models are labelled "Merioneth Railway" or "MRC". Lives in Beckenham where the club visited him on a Saturday in February 1975. This meeting lasted all day - he has a most charming and sympathetic wife. Yet another good artist.
David NEWHAM. Insurance expert and a very painstaking and good modeller. One of the Club's Founding Fathers. Mentioned above in conjunction with the Abermarsham line. Makes models in 14mm scale, or did until work began to claim most of his attention.
Tony JENKINS. Another of our Founding Fathers. Also models boats. As stated, is now in South Africa, having left the country in May 1974 before he was caught up with. Journalist, so were he back in the UK he would be expected to write this.
Peter HARRIS. Club Transport Officer. Has just finished an excellent model of the special railborne coach used by the President of France at the Paris Exhibition of 1889.
John KIMBER. Another long-time associate. Club Secretary. Has a garage full of photos, drawings, and general information. Is interested in canal cruising as well as railways. Lives and works in Rickmansworth. We meet occasionally in his flat.
Clive BAKER. No relation to Stuart of that ilk. Friend of John Kimber's. Working member of the Tal-y-Llyn Railway Preservation Society. At present modelling some of its more recent rolling-stock and co-operating with John Kimber on the production of a batch of wagons.
Dave BRADWELL. A young man from the North of England, which is why he is known as Northern Dave. Native of Newcastle, who, before coming south to join us, had already experimented with our scale and gauge. Another promising modeller.
Brandon EVANS. Medical practitioner and expert on the electrical side of model railways. Unfortunately we do not see as much of him as we would wish to owing to his habit of getting himself posted to Darkest Africa and other inaccessible places.
Charlie SPILMAN. Our senior member, unfortunately not in robust health so that we see him less often as we would like to. He has been modelling in our scale for a very long time and has a well-established garden line.
Well, now you know who some of us are. Now for the Society's rules. Firstly, I should explain that we have a lot in common with the Ancient Greeks in that policy decisions are taken by us all jointly, so that we have never felt the need to elect a Committee: any member may raise any topic at any time. We do have a few rules, however, to the first and
second of which we adhere strictly, the third and last being more of a recommendation than a rule; and with only three rules we think we have far less than any other Society. They are as follows:-
1. The object of this Society, the Merioneth Railway Society, is to operate the Merioneth Railway Company in its model form and to encourage railway modelling in 16mm and allied scales on 32mm track.
2. No one shall be admitted to the membership of this Society, the subscription to which is at present £1 per annum, until he has produced for the inspection, and to the approval, of the Society, a railway model other than a kit, which has been constructed by himself to an approved scale. (This rule has no exceptions whatever).
3. Anyone purchasing a car should acquire an estate model.
I think that that just about brings you up to date. We will try to keep in touch with you from time to time via this newsletter, the Merioneth Mercury, and, don't forget, items of interest will be most acceptable.