Blog 2020

Tuesday 7th January '20. The first meeting of the New Year was well attended. Work on cutting the Thomas Themed layout baseboards into quarter sections continued and the first half was cut through. O&ULR had some of its new control panel wiring undertaken, while OSP&WL saw the continuation of fitting terminal blocks adjacent to the point motors to aid wiring and fault finding. The Junior layouts station building construction continued and on BWJ the copper clad sleepers on one board were cut through to remove the rail to rail short that the copper introduces and then rail feed continuity was checked on the new track sections.

Tuesday 14th January '20. Work on the installing terminal blocks for point motor wiring continued on OSP&WL. BWJ had the remaining copper clad sleepers at baseboard joints copper track cut through and then the raisl were wired back to the existing connectiosn and the track ballasted. Thomas themed layout had the new multipin wiring connected which links across one of the recently cut baseboards and the second baseboard had its fixing plate installed in preparation of it being divided into two halves. Both the Junior and O&ULR layouts were not present.

Tuesday 21st January '20. Work continued on the Thomas themed layout to separate the remaining 6 foot long section into two. Over on OSP&WL work to install terminal block connectors on all the Cobalt motor feed wires continued. Servos used for point operation on O&ULR were set up using a laptop. No work on BWj was undertaken and the Junior layout wasn't present.

Tuesday 28th January '20. As it was the end of the month, it was a running evening. The clubs committee have made a decision to scrap Bysing Wood Junction layout, mainly due to the delamination of its plywood baseboards which caused continual track misalignment at cross board joints, it was therefore BWJs last ever working appearance. Several members ran their OO items and said farewell to BWJ in its current form. The Thomas themed layout had the last baseboard cut in half and will be worked on at home by one of the club members to ensure it is ready for its outing to Tenterden over the weekend 22nd and 23rd February '20. No other layouts were used as BWJ and Thomas layout took up most of the room.

Tuesday 4th February '20. A well attended meeting with plenty happening! On the club OO BWJ layout, hammers, screwdrivers and chisels were the tools of choice as layout deconstruction began. Three baseboards had all their scenic and electrical items removed and carefully stored and then the baseboards were prepared for the scrap heap! On the Thomas Themed layout the newly cut into four sections of layout were assembled and track and wiring tested. A few minor track alinement issues were corrected and the new pieces of track are now to be ballasted. OSP&WL continued to have local terminal block connectors fitted adjacent to the Cobalt point motors. O&ULR was present and the control panel to layout was checked for correct operation.
The clubs 'Junior layout' was not present.

Tuesday 11th February '20. Another busy club meeting with deconstruction of Bysing Wood Junction layouts baseboards now completed. Four of the boards were removed from club storage tonight for onward disposal. A lot of the scenic details were saved for later reuse, but much of the track and point work could not be salvaged. New baseboards are the next item. Over on the Thomas Themed layout ballast was laid in the new track areas and this was glued in place then the layout tested with a couple of locos. O&ULR was also tested and checked for operation prior to its and Thomas layouts vist to Tenterden in just over a weeks time. OSP&WL N gauge layout had its lower level control panel tested to the layout after it was repaired. One minor fault was quickly rectified and the layout then checked. Notes were taken of the amount of illuminated street lamps needing to be purchased at the Tonbridge exhibition this coming weekend. The Junior layout was again absent.

Tuesday 18th February '20. Another well attended meeting. Two layouts were prepared for this coming weekends Tenterden exhibition - our Thomas Themed and Oare & Uplees Light Railway. These were then later removed from the club room and placed in cars ready for the weekend. OSP&WL N gauge layout was surveyed for fitting of the newly purchased working street lights. Painting of these lampposts was undertaken too. No junior layout was present, though two Juniors were at club!

Tuesday 25th February '20. A well attended meeting with OSP&WL N gauge layout used for a running evening where several members locos and trains were seen running. Thomas Themed layout was returned and worked on to rectify a problem noted at the weekend. The storage crates were sorted and castors and leg joining plates removed from the former BWJ layout. The Junior layout was again absent.

Tuesday 3rd March ‘20. It was the clubs Annual General Meeting (AGM). Club Secretary Colin opened the meeting and the minutes of the 2019 AGM were agreed as being correct. Then Chairman Brian Lambert gave his report on the club operations for the last twelve months followed by Treasurer Kelvin Inge presenting firstly exhibition then general financial reports. Then after a short coffee/Tea break the evening continued with election of club officers and committee members. There were no new nominations for officers or the committee and all those currently in office were re elected. Officers:- Brian Lambert - Chairperson. Colin Hudson - Secretary. Kelvin Inge - Treasurer. With committee members:- Bob Bushell, Graham Church, Peter Newman and Doug Attwood. After this, a period of discussion followed re the clubs proposed new OO layout and finally a session of Any other business had several suggestions from the club membership which the committee will discuss in depth at their next meeting.

Tuesday 10th March '20. A well attended meeting but only a small amount of work was undertaken. With BWJ scrapped there is little work for many club members to undertake until the new ready made baseboards arrive hopefully at the end of the month or early in April. What work was carried out included cutting access holes in the underside ply cover on the Thomas layout to allow access to the multipin plugs and sockets. While on OSP&WL a platform canopy was fitted to the lower levels station, the canopy contains LED lighting which will be wired later. The store room was emptied to allow O&ULR layout to be stored at club rather than out stored. The Junior layout was again not present.

Tuesday 17th march '20. A small number of club members appeared tonight and some worked on a defective Cobalt point motor on the N gauge OSP&WL. After the motor problem was fixed the store cupboard was sorted and the layout put away. Meeting closed early.