The second Bank Holiday Weekend must be the busiest that we have ever had, to the extent
that our resources were stretched out to the limit! On the Sunday, we supported two
social events in parallel, the Families' Day run by the White Horse leisure park and also
the village fete at Steeple Ashton where we were in competition for giving rides with the
dray and shire horses from Wadworth's Brewery. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.*****
On the Monday we met at Nev's for the steam-up with the Teddy Bear theme, where anybody who turned
up holding a Teddy Bear got the first ride free; the oldest claimant being 92 years of age,
but now shamefacedly admitting to using someone else's Teddy Bear, after noticing that the blog had
originally classed him as being in his 80s!
*****Which reminds me of the old chestnut as to what is the difference between a Cavalry
Charger and a Brewer's Horse?
Well, apparently the former darts in the fray ...
Saturday 14th August saw us at what has been our major event for the past few years,
the Seend fete. A rainy day seemed to discourage the children from attending, but a
good turnout for club members, nevertheless.
Tom Buckland had brought along his 57XX but had to withdraw it from service after it
became apparent that the boiler wasn't being filled and once again we turned to Mike
Richardson with his Polly to provide the steam hauling after Nev's Class 20 got
the event moving for us
The rain kept off for most of the afternoon, apart from an occasional slight drizzle, but
at about 15:30 the skies opened. Mirabile dictu*****, the queue of those wanting a ride then grew!
***** "Quidquid Latine dictum sit, altum videtur", perhaps?
On Monday the new toilet building arrived and has been put up on the
base in the last couple of days. We had an old toilet it was called the
Hedge. We now have to fit it out. Will we get bogged down with all the work?
Saturday 17th July and a hot sunny afternoon after a dull morning saw a very successful visit
to Nev's Great Bulkington Railway, raising money for the Air Ambulance and the Dorothy House
Foundation. I've been at Nev's when there has been a huge public turnout, and I've been at
Nev's when there's been a lot of engines, but never both at the same time! I have to apologise
to young Ben for not letting him have his training session in the signal box, as had been promised,
and using his services all afternoon as a ticket seller!
We were very pleased to be host to a couple of visiting engines from our neighbouring club, the
North Wilts bods, whose Prairie Tank did sterling service all afternoon on passenger hauling.
Saturday 10th July and we did a successful fete at Bratton where the theme was pirates, although
this was unbeknown to us until we arrrived. It was another blistering hot sunny day.
This is the last of the weekend-in, weekend-out series of fetes that has kept us from our own lathes
and milling machines during the past 6 weeks. We now look forward to our regular venue at Seend on the 14th August
Friday 9th July and a surprise evening fete and barbeque at the primary school at Westbury Leigh
and an unscheduled outing for the portable track, supported by Dennis's battery 0-4-0 and Mike's
recently-completed Polly. Mike is giving us sterling service with his locomotive at many of our recent fete visits.
Your scribe knew nothing about this fete, and does not to this day, other than it took place and
was set up by the cognoscenti of the WWSME Mafia at very short notice!
26th June saw us at a new venue, the Church Fete at Great Cheverell.
An extremely hot sunny day, with no shade on offer, and an excellent cake stall,
(whose delights were denied to your scribe following an exercise-book-down-the-back-of-the-trousers
episode with the Diabetic Nurse at the 6-monthly check-up!),
but once again a very poor day for us for income as we barely covered our costs of attending.
We had just set up the station areas when the band (for want of a better word!) struck up
on the articulated lorry provided as the platform. So unpleasant did we find the music (again, for
want of a better word!) that we upped sticks and moved the station to the other end of the track.
John and Dennis had waited at Westbury for the passage of the King Edward I steam-hauled excursion
but on getting a message that it had failed at Newbury, then came on along to Great Cheverell.
Gareth, Mike and Derek were chewing grass stalks leaning on a farm gate at the fete site awaiting
this same steam-hauled special, which finally came through 3/4 of an hour late.
Your webmaster completed the main loop of his ground-level 16mm track and held an impromptu
garden meeting on the 24th June to test it. All ran well apart from Mike's 6-coupled steamer
which would not restart on the combined curve and gradient at Miser's Meander.
Miser's? Assumed because the gauge was too tight.***** Apun my word!
Apologies to those members of the 16mm group whom I did not invite because I did not have contact details for you.
*****Ed's note :- Subsequently found to be a slope of 1 in 20, as against the rest of the garden with 1 in 80
19th June saw us at a new venue, the Strawberry Fayre at Fitzmaurice Primary School in Bradford-on-Avon
A pleasant sunny day with some cold winds, and a tremendous variety of stalls provided by the school,
but a very poor day for us for income as we barely covered our costs of attending.
The village social in Bratton had as its theme this year Steam Engines, and the 16mm portable track was
taken there as part of the entertainments. By all accounts, our club members were wined and dined
in excelsis by the grateful villagers.
Monkton Farleigh fete on the 12th June gave us mixed feelings. The weather was good and the physical
geography was good, with the portable track being almost level and laid along the entrance road into
the Manor House, but with the car park being in the Orchard immediately as you came through the main
gate, most of the visitors did not pass the railway, and could not see it from the fete, because
the drive is hidden behind a row of bushes, so the day's takings did not reflect the densely packed
front lawn of the Manor House that was the very successful village fete.
We ran pushme-pullyou with Des Clarke's Sweet Pea at one end, and Mike Richardson's Polly at t'other. Des
had steaming problems with a clinkering grate, requiring the occasional intervention of Dennis Hurn's
battery electric whilst the Sweet Pea's marine boiler was shaken out and re-fired.
FRUSTRATION IS .....
Pulling a nail from a spare piece of wood. Despite your vice-like grip,
the pliers slip off, your elbow travels back at high speed and bruises
into the bench vice. You drop the piece of wood which lands on your
favourite scribing tool***** which just happened to be half on and half off
the bench. The scriber is launched into a roly-poly base-over-apex flight
across to the nether regions of the workshop where it takes 3 hours of
moving the scrap about to recover it.
It would have been quicker all-told to have gone down to B&Q and
purchased a new piece of wood to suit the job in hand, which time and
inconvenience you were trying to avoid in the first place!
***** Even though you've got 3 other scribers that would do any job
that comes along, it doesn't feel "right" unless you're using your favourite.
The Gala Day on the 5th June was a great success, with blisteringly hot sunny weather
Talk about Flaming June!
It is hard to believe that it is already one year since our Grand Opening last year!
Had a good day on 31st May at the Lions Fun Day in Bradford-on-Avon. Mostly overcast with
only a couple of drops of rain. Sterling service given by Mike Richardson's new Polly
steam engine and with Peter Whisstock's Dad's 0-4-0 Steam Dock Shunter
This year we were better sited up the bowling green end, right by the classic car
collection. We only had to give one free ride to calm the tantrum of a young lass
who did not want to get off!
... but more importantly, no damage to the engine!
The 16mm group have completed the 45mm third rail around the outside of the 16mm portable track, so any of you with LGB stock that (in theory!) belongs to your children or grandchildren can now run this at the meetings.
On the (first!) May Bank Holiday Monday, we took the other (5" & 3 1/2") portable track along to Christ Church School in Bradford-on-Avon and had a very good day out, despite a JCB being parked across the access to the portable track. This caused a delay of 1 1/2 hours and a lot of phoning around of a Saturday morning to sort out, and by the time that we got to the school grounds, all the stakes and orange plastic fencing that had been provided had been purloined by other stands. A quick recourse to our red-and-white plastic tape and we soon had our reserved area protected.
We did very well out of the day, and perhaps in the future we should try to get a pitch that is in the middle of all the other stalls in the same way. That is now two successful fetes at the start of the season and John Drewett is to be congratulated on taking up the reins as fete organiser after the sad loss last year Of Graham Myatt.
After some discussion with the new owners of the Westbury Leisure Park (who quite understandably wish to maximise their revenue from their new investment), it has been resolved that there will not now be any changes to the club's 5" and 3 1/2" fixed track.
... And did you know that the thickness of metal used to create the 3 1/2" track had been cunningly chosen such that (brave?) owners of coarse scale O gauge trains can run them in the remaining gap? This, of course, includes aficionados of the 16mm narrow gauge pursuit. But, talking of pursuit, you'd better ensure that there isn't a 5" gauge Simplex coming up behind you!