The weekend at Hassocks 7 - 9 January, 1977. MM7
For the benefit of those not already familiar with this course, the first weekend in January each year (except when, as on this occasion this weekend includes New Year's Day) is spent by many Model Railway enthusiasts at Stafford House, Keymer, Hassocks, Sussex, where a series of lectures on Model Railway subjects is held under the genial auspices of the Warden, Mr. W.B. Shaw, a good friend to all modellers and an old friend of this Society. Now read on.
These courses have been held every year since and including 1970, so that this year's course is the 8th in the series. It is not a specifically Merioneth occasion but we can take a great deal of the credit for its existence since, when the idea was fist mooted, Mr. Shaw, at the suggestion of a member of the local club, contacted Roy Dock of "Model Railways" who put him in touch with Colin Binnie and me. Between us we suggested speakers for the first two or three courses, after which the Warden was sufficiently "in" with the hobby not to need our advice although he still consults us occasionally. What we can be really proud of is the number of speakers we have furnished over the years. For a small society which until recently has never had more than about a dozen members we have certainly pulled our weight with lectures from such people as Colin Binnie, Ray Wyborn, Frank Norrington, Adrian Garner, Dick Relph (of whom more in a moment) and myself.
I should explain that these courses are designed for modellers generally and 16mm scale modellers are not all that plentiful on the ground, so there are a lot of lectures on various aspects of the smaller, or "flea" gauges. This is not to say, however, that our contributions are not listened to - lectures on workshop practice by Colin Binnie, for example, are intently followed; but there is one 16mm scale practical running demonstration which always attracts the very closest attention - you can gather how interested people are by the fact that the usual cheerful interruptions rarely occur. I refer, of course, to Dick Relph's lectures on the electrical control of steam locomotives.
In case you do not yet know Dick, I will put you in the picture. He is one of the very best of 16mm modellers, if not the best, and I am glad to be able to tell you that he has now decided to join the Society, thus adding greatly to our lustre, although not necessarily to his! Anyway, he gave one of his lectures this year, his third. He has for many years been experimenting with this subject and has now refined his technique to a fine art. Briefly, a steam loco is reversed by means of an electric motor in the cab, so that the machine is 3-rail ???? as well as steam. This is no place to go into details about lubricators, pumps, gauges, fuel feed and the ingenious method by which the electrical control cannot override itself and get stuck - all this has been fully recorded (with photos) by Dick in an article in "Model and Miniature railways" but the general effect is quite overwhelming. To see a steam-driven locomotive run along a track, making steam-like noises, then stop, start, pick up or put down rolling-stock (this last effect is worked in the usual way, by means of a ramp) without anyone going near it and without making the track oily - this is something which has to be seen to be believed and even then belief comes hard!
Dick has recently built a new locomotive which incorporates the findings of his long experience. It was not quite complete at the time of the demonstration but by borrowing some of the fitments from the first loco he was able to demonstrate the second.
I myself will never get anywhere to that standard but there are plenty of good engineers who can and will and I commend this fascinating branch of the hobby to them.
Dicks's fame has spread as far afield as Japan, for on the last occasion when I visited him at his home in Cornwall he showed me an article about the line, published in the Japanese model railway press. As it was in Japanese it did not convey a great deal of meaning to me (had it been in Tibetan that might have been another story - perhaps !) but the article was copiously illustrated with excellent photos in colour so the Japs had obviously gone to town on it in a big way - and no wonder.
These courses have been held every year since and including 1970, so that this year's course is the 8th in the series. It is not a specifically Merioneth occasion but we can take a great deal of the credit for its existence since, when the idea was fist mooted, Mr. Shaw, at the suggestion of a member of the local club, contacted Roy Dock of "Model Railways" who put him in touch with Colin Binnie and me. Between us we suggested speakers for the first two or three courses, after which the Warden was sufficiently "in" with the hobby not to need our advice although he still consults us occasionally. What we can be really proud of is the number of speakers we have furnished over the years. For a small society which until recently has never had more than about a dozen members we have certainly pulled our weight with lectures from such people as Colin Binnie, Ray Wyborn, Frank Norrington, Adrian Garner, Dick Relph (of whom more in a moment) and myself.
I should explain that these courses are designed for modellers generally and 16mm scale modellers are not all that plentiful on the ground, so there are a lot of lectures on various aspects of the smaller, or "flea" gauges. This is not to say, however, that our contributions are not listened to - lectures on workshop practice by Colin Binnie, for example, are intently followed; but there is one 16mm scale practical running demonstration which always attracts the very closest attention - you can gather how interested people are by the fact that the usual cheerful interruptions rarely occur. I refer, of course, to Dick Relph's lectures on the electrical control of steam locomotives.
In case you do not yet know Dick, I will put you in the picture. He is one of the very best of 16mm modellers, if not the best, and I am glad to be able to tell you that he has now decided to join the Society, thus adding greatly to our lustre, although not necessarily to his! Anyway, he gave one of his lectures this year, his third. He has for many years been experimenting with this subject and has now refined his technique to a fine art. Briefly, a steam loco is reversed by means of an electric motor in the cab, so that the machine is 3-rail ???? as well as steam. This is no place to go into details about lubricators, pumps, gauges, fuel feed and the ingenious method by which the electrical control cannot override itself and get stuck - all this has been fully recorded (with photos) by Dick in an article in "Model and Miniature railways" but the general effect is quite overwhelming. To see a steam-driven locomotive run along a track, making steam-like noises, then stop, start, pick up or put down rolling-stock (this last effect is worked in the usual way, by means of a ramp) without anyone going near it and without making the track oily - this is something which has to be seen to be believed and even then belief comes hard!
Dick has recently built a new locomotive which incorporates the findings of his long experience. It was not quite complete at the time of the demonstration but by borrowing some of the fitments from the first loco he was able to demonstrate the second.
I myself will never get anywhere to that standard but there are plenty of good engineers who can and will and I commend this fascinating branch of the hobby to them.
Dicks's fame has spread as far afield as Japan, for on the last occasion when I visited him at his home in Cornwall he showed me an article about the line, published in the Japanese model railway press. As it was in Japanese it did not convey a great deal of meaning to me (had it been in Tibetan that might have been another story - perhaps !) but the article was copiously illustrated with excellent photos in colour so the Japs had obviously gone to town on it in a big way - and no wonder.