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Not all of our members can get to the club on a Friday, so our beloved Chairman suggested a new page on the website to keep everyone abreast of what's happening on the layouts - cheers Mr Chairman - if you'd like to join in the chaos there's a list of contacts on our last page.
5/02/2010
We start this week, more or less, where we left off last week. The youth section was still finding out how many anatomical differences he had to the rest of us and self harming all in one evening - nice one Steve!
Ready, steady...altogether...owwwww! 
Still wiring up bless 'im!
As you can see Steve is in full flow and we are extremely grateful to him for taking this responsibility. The club spark...Nobby No Keys, hasn't been seen for weeks! On a more interesting note, the youth section is about to start his twenty first 7 mil engine, a truly stunning stat considering the small time he's been building these engines. At this rate we'll have every engine the Southern built by the end of the year!
Elsewhere things were equally as hectic. Dave had succumbed to the 'four mil' side for the evening, as I tempted him with my new jig to get a chassis up and running for his GWR Hall. As I have one of these to build as well, I joined in as well. With these Avonside works jigs it pays to give attention to the DVD in the red box...as we found out the hard way. At one point I thought Dave was going to do a 'Scale4um', anyway, he battled on and delivered a perfect example of what this jig can deliver - a perfectly square chassis!
Can't wait to have a go...
In the layout room, Widger and Son were busy at it again...putting down the basis for the scenic board. I've also found a picture that I should have used last week, that of Paul's 'cut back building'.
Not in the right place on the layout...but it is big!
We had a West Wales interloper this week, as our good friend Bernie Baker paid us a visit from Swansea. Bernie is not one to let the grass grow under his feet and got stuck into putting crossing V's together for our new P4 layout. This combined with some of the other lads from NAGNAG making half track we are already 1 year to the good in starting this new project.
Bernie busy filing as Rod and Tony enjoy a natter.
As I said earlier in my 'editorial' I started the chassis for my Hall as well. Completed parts to date include the cylinders, coupling rods - already drilled as a pair, connecting rods and my favourite springing units from Gordan Ashton, all six of them. A busy week this, but it will only get busier as Bristol approaches.
That's it for this week, more fun next week.
FOR TONY AND ROE.
29/01/2010 Its good to get my fingers back at the keyboard, my thanks to Dave and Tony for covering for me, however the bad news is that they'll have to cover a lot more as I start a new job which calls for more of my time. So to this weeks adventures at the NMRS. First we had to welcome Uncle Don, broken collar bone and all. Great to see Don who had some good news that his Mum was making slow but good progress...excellent stuff! And we may now get a donation to the drinks cabinet.... Progress was being made on several fronts, Dave had pushed on with the concrete over bridge and was getting to grips with the types of concrete supports used. Unfortunately these are not provided in the kit so a bit of scratch building will have to be done.
With us for the first time in a good few weeks was Widger the Younger. Good to see Paul and the club relic - his Dad - set about the scenery in the far corner of the new scenic board. Paul has been developing a large building that cuts back against the road...looks very imposing and impressive.
Steve - the youth section - was having a bit of a forgetful night...first he forgot that there was another board that required servos to activate the points in the fiddle yard. If that wasn't bad enough he had found out why his errant C class would not run. All boils down to the fact that the screw holding in the gear wheel was in fact a 12ba size fit and not a 14ba size fit that Steve had been trying to screw in for the last couple of weeks!
TFC had acquired a new DCC chip for the G6 and this was subsequently fitted and tested, with some promising results.
I had a very quiet evening getting more of the Std class 5 ready. Folded up the cylinders and built the front bogie which has a nice compensation idea built into it. Dave has picked up my red box from Bristol O gauge show today, so I'll be busy with the chassis for the next couple of weeks. Sorry I forgot to take pictures of the progress to date.
That's it for this week, more fun next week.
22/01/2010
Well. Once again it’s your peripathetic correspondent putting finger to keyboard this week because Mike was absent. He did pop in for a few minutes but his real concern was riding shotgun on a teenage party taking place in his home. Happy days! I remember when my children………… Enough of that!
Bill popped in and then popped out, too. Spent even less time with us than Mike.
So what happened? On the layout front things of significance.
Ray was carrying on getting to grips with the scenic end and making the backings for the walls and supports for the bridges. Yes, I know that it looks as if the support that he’s working on is vertical, but the front to it will have the correct 1:80 batter. It’s also untrue that he’s only happy when he’s got a flogging hammer in his hand and is belting the daylights out of something totally inoffensive. He’s equally happy doing mischief with a rip saw or an electric drill.
Richard finally made it from the now melted snowy wastes of New Inn. The tundra in which he lives is well above the tree line and the ground is only suitable for growing lichens and mosses but it does allow him a good excuse to stay indoors and get on with his DJH Cl. 37. And to prove it he brought it with him and carried on working on it.
Making the bogie side frames fit!
There’s club history and pure nostalgia on the shelf in front of him. Back in the late 70’s our train set was “Over Wellmyn”, a 44’ x 12’, four track main line effort with diode matrix route setting (and a working slip coach). If you’ve ever went to the Bristol Show when it was a Cannon’s Marsh you may remember it. To cut a long story short amongst other things we bought a job lot of Ian Kirk wagon kits. Four of these are on the shelf. Compensated, fine scale 00 and part of the 100 wagon coal train that we ran. Most of these wagons were painted in authentic liveries, but a few, like these were not. Gavin and Claire were my own children and Bennett and Edmund bennetT were total guesses at the livery that my Grandfather had for the one or two wagons that he actually owned. Don’t ask me why he owned just a few wagons, but family tradition says it was so.
Dave was also busy converting the Kittle Hobby generic footbridge into something more concretey and Southernish. Not the most brilliant of photographs, but all of these were taken by flash, and I do so dislike flash.
This represents the earlier four panel design as opposed to the later three panel platform mounted design. The man himself is just off-shot working on the return galleries and footsteps.
Of interest, perhaps, is the sheet of paper with the wiring diagram on it. This is an integral part of the MERG bits which we use for the DCC control of servo operated turnouts. And this photo shows the result.
This photograph was taken early in the evening and so some of the wiring is missing. The Signal Input comes into the decoder A. This has the ability to switch eight “things” on or off. In our case the things are relays - B. There are servo driver modules C ( wiring diagram in previous photo). These can control 4 servos,
each “switched” by one of the relays. Another module is out of shot somewhere and together they take care of the eight switches possible on one side of the relays. The servo driver modules do the business (leads D) for the servos which throw the turnouts as fast as, and with whatever throw, you like because those are the bits that can be programmed. The contacts on the other side of the relay take care of frog polarity.
There we are. Clear as mud, but cheap mud!
I brought my G6 to the club and took it home again as the chip had become weary and had given up the ghost in a very peculiar fashion. Lenz Standard+ replacements, I think, They should be ok for Mashima 1833 motors.
Much better attendance this week, though some of us were only there in body. Your usual correspondent, Mike, was on a night shift so had to leave early and contented himself in that noble occupation of watching others do the work.
So for fans of Terry Pratchett, which member of The Night Watch does he most resemble? Fred Colon? Surely not Corporal Carrot? Sam Vimes himself?
Enough frivolity!!
Here's Tony back in action at last with a bit of heavy duty grinding
It's his G6 thats suffering.
Meanwhile, out on the layout, The Widger Furniture Emporium was taking shape but avoiding the camera.
But shots were taken of the embryo footbridge.
The bridge is a kit from Kittle Hobby. But it is originally a lattice girder, so has been clad in plasticard to represent the standard Southern concrete bridge. And its ground mounted so has to be reduced in heighht, which is being gauged here with the van. Quite a bit of butchery still to be done.
And The Youth Section did yet more wiring.
See you next week.
8/1/2010
Snow, snow and more snow...or some would have you believe! There were 4 brave souls who braved the elements and plodded on regardless. The youth section mustered the huskies and bounded in, Rod put on the snow boots and tottered over the hill, Dave and I put the ice tyres onto the Fiesta and drove over the frozen tundra that is Newport..well something like that anyway.
Steve continued with the wiring up process on the fiddle yard and judging by the number of times he swore/yelped in pain he's doing a sound job!
 Steve gets ready to receive another burn...
Dave was taking a very short break from 7mm duties when I took this photo, and had been working on the beginnings of a modified GWR Hall...which Rodney doesn't approve of...no Hall should be modified, according to Mr Hall. Dave is going for the compensated look with a sprinkling of suspension on the front bogie, a la Pendelton. The rods are complete as is the front bogie...all we need now is the magic red box!
 The far (far) away look of a completed model
Rod was getting in touch with his inner Dingham, or put another way getting on with these 'blasted' couplings! Finished by Christmas did I say...never mentioned which year though did I...
 And in the black magic box we have?
As I'd been at the club for a little while longer than anybody else I took the opportunity to push on a bit further with the Std class 5, adding more clever castings to the beast. Course the great fun will be to 'wire' them up so that they look like they are doing is correct!
 Coming alive..I really must clean off the flux.
With more snow due in the next few hours, who will brave the elements to show that modellers do it on their feet!
We wish the grandchildren of TFC a good result, appears forecasting impending doom has done no good, so we may as well encourage those that can. Will Richard 'No keys' Price make it to the shops for more dog food, will Risca ever come out of the ice age..ever again, will a Widger ever grace our doorstep again. These and more exciting questions to be answered next week.
That's it for this week, more fun next week.
1/1/2010
A happy new year to all our readers!
Last nights news...bit like the Genesis album...'and then there were three'...except that there were in fact...only two of us who bothered to turn up. With the numbers dwindling on attendance, no sign of our members from Risca for months, sporadic attendance from others, we really have to ask ourselves are we pushing too hard to get this layout finished to a really good standard or are we going to over stretch ourselves again and make mistakes, which will detract from what is a good layout, which runs really nicely. We have a hard core of 2 or 3 people putting in a serious effort to complete this project. Serious questions need to be answered before we get ourselves into trouble with time and we all end up getting very frustrated...not good!
On the brighter side, Dave has been busy with buildings and landscaping.
These are the types of houses that we will try to put into this new scenic board, as you can see minor work has also begun on the bridges that will cover the exit to the fiddle yard. Dave then moved onto the over bridge, a fine plastic moulded affair.
 Trying to work out which piece goes were...
There is also another good reason why nothings happening...
 Hot water and a straight edge please Doctor!
I fear that I shall have to put my charge forward with the Std class5 onto hold in order to get more progress on Hazelhurst - which is only right and proper. But, as I have not done anything for a while I forged on last night. You may remember the horrible photo with the bent footplate...well no more.
18/12/2009
Once again, better late than never. I apologise that no update appeared before Christmas Day, but I'm actually writing this on Boxing Day. Sad, or what? The reason being that once more the grandchildren have struck and I've been laid up - yet again. I even had to forego Christmas Dinner, and those who know me will recognise what a disaster that was. Even today's lunch may be a non-starter: but enough of my woes.
At any rate I was able to drag myself off to the club on the 18th and eventually the club was crowded with members. Well, not really crowded. Three of us to be exact (me, TYS and Wagon Man), later joined by a fourth (young Widger). The club is having its usual end of year "do" on the 30th and we are going to be running the 7mm test track. Those of you who have had the stamina to read these offerings will realise that this object of worth and desire has been added to, altered and generally abused so it has to be put right. Twelve of the fourteen baseboards were "fixed" with the remaining two left to be dealt with on on Wednesday 23rd. Hah! They are now to be done on Monday 28th. Do I hold my breath?
So the next report will be an exciting account of the festive bash, more than probably written by Mike, profusely photographically illustrated and full of detail about the magnificent vehicles on display. He's good at exaggerating! It'll probably be the usual rubbish slung together with a soldering iron that you have to heat up over the gas stove and the joints wiped off with a bit of moleskin. Surprising what a good, thick coat of Dulux Gloss put on with a 2" brush will hide.
But the latest weather forecast says that the cold, snowy weather is going to make a come back. Will the Newport Model Railway Society hold it's jolly evening? Will we run trains? Will people come? Will they be able to come? Bah, Humbug!
Have a Good New Year!
11/12/2009
Well better late than never...so, for those of you who read our pages, this is what happened this week.
TFC was in a right mood having survived another attack on his life from the killer grandchildren and Walt Disney - Paris, he's a cheap skate - mind you he did recount one funny incident in 'gay' Paris, but I'm sure retribution would be sufficiently swift from his wife should this story ever leak out!
Alistair has been a very busy lad with his modelling. Having finished the build on the BR brake van, he's now finished the paint job and its off to the weatherers' for some toning down. He also completed the build on the GWR wagon and in the back ground you can see the start of the next project, a shunters wagon. The youth section named him 'wagon man', well spotted Steve!
 Nicely done! Splendid build!
For those of you who do regularly read this, you'll know that some time ago I built the youth section a JLTRT Mk1 coach...and it did'nt go according to plan. Well that master of the miracle recovery has come up with the goods again. The side of this picture is were the glue splilt, frankly I thought this was a lost cause!
 Well done the youth section! and I'm still sorry!!!
Else where things were speeding up with the new scenic board as Widger and son took control and started to force the pace of the build. Now all we need is the patterns for the buildings and we'll be away with it.
4/12/2009
Sorry for the delay in getting these words to our readers but, I was out playing James Bond to my wife's Ana Rockmabottmov. TFC being laid up by another attack of the killer grandchildren and Dave looking after a poorly Mum ... and we all wish her a speedy recovery. So this weeks guest writer is none other than NMRS's Youth Section, thanks for making the notes Steve...apologies as there are no photos this week either.
We weren't expecting a large turnout (various excuses had been tendered the previous week) so the Youth Section (me) and the Relic were a little surprised to find themselves alone for the first half of the evening. Generally it's probably not a good idea to leave us alone together down the club, but luckily we couldn't find the lump hammer. Widger the younger and Wagon Man (aka Alistair) joined us and there was modest progress. TFC had the usual "caught a cold from my grand children sir" excuse, the Chairman by contrast has some more important things to deal with than toy trains.
The fiddle yard final pieces were cut and fettled into place (still need securing) and lots of boxes to mimic buildings were placed on the Scneic board whilst Wagon Man started the shunters truck for Hazelhurst.
Later on in the evening Wagon Man was suggesting we resurrect the old buildings from the end piece of Hazelhurst. So it was with stunned surprise that the Youth Section came back into the work room to witness the three amigos (Relic, Widger the Younger and Wagon Man) discussing ways to remove the buildings by means of precise and delicate operations. This is not the NMRS way!! Anyway Youth Section simply hit the relevant bits of the old scenic section very hard until it was in pieces. It's also suprising that this approach works, as the building they wanted is intact and undamaged.
Evening adjourned early as we'd run out of people to insult and a trip to Reading O Gauge Trade show (seriously delpleted numbers) was the next day.
Thats's it for this week, more next week...hopefully!
27/11/2009
Not so many of us again this week. No Nobby nor his amazing class 37, no one from Risca, no Widger the younger. Two notable absences, TFC - on holiday with the grandchildren in Euro Disney...ohhh bless and Lazy Bones Hall swanning of to Maspalomas - how could you when Wales are playing !
We have had a death in the club tool room - the De Woolf electric drill has finally given up the ghost. It's always been in the club and even the club relic can't remember how long we've had it! So this week Ray resorted to physical violence and a 5lb hammer to knock nails in with!
Ray gets stuck in.
Alistair has started a new 7mm project. A GWR Fish van from a WIP kit. Chassis is already complete and looks really good, the body is coming along a treat, and we are expecting another fine looking model. Alistair also parted with the 'hard earned' up at Warley last weekend and bought one of the R-T-R Lionheart 64xx Panniers...has to be renumbered and weathered. Really looking forward to seeing this!
 Chassis in the foreground..
In the layout room the 'boys' were hard at it laying even more track and more point work and even more ballasting as they found even more dips in the baseboard. So much for the 'it'll pull square' approach!
Keep going lads, only another couple of boards to do!
Me, I ploughed on as best I could with the Std class5 and actually mounted the body to the foot plate. For those of a nervous disposition and those of us who are squeamish over dodgy footplates...look away now!
Yes, the dip was pointed out and ohh so cruelly!!! To be rectified...
So there we have it, just rumbling on. For those who can make it we are meeting on Thursday evening as well. Dave will be there early. I shan't be at the club next week as the works dinner and dance has taken precedence for once and my wife says it'll do my ailing career good to go...yeah right!
That's it for this week, more fun next week!
20/11/2009
We start the week with some bad news, TFC is hallucinating...he thinks he has imaginary friends...that come to the club...or rather don't. So, if you're reading this Mr Jelf, please call at the club to confirm our friends mental welfare.
No Risca rascals this week - again - but good to see the Widgers and Nobby 'No keys' Price. Speaking of Nobby, he brought out a model class 37 DJH body - flippin heavy - and started the long road for the build. First step get rid of the horrible casting pips and mould lines on the body...but the silly boy has not found himself an engine to base the model on...asking for trouble, you really DO need a photo to base your engine on.
The desk bows under the weight of this mighty casting.
Alistair has finished his BR brake van and this is now ready to go to the paint shop, really nicely put together.
 Nice one Alistair!
Widger the Younger has been busy in the senior scale, as mentioned in previous posts and here's the proof. Paul brought down the tender for the Ivatt 2-6-0. He's done a cracking job, so far, I'm just not sure about the white coal. What we really need now are some wheels and a chassis to match!
 Coming along...
In the layout room there was a frenzy of activity as the youth section/Seamus and the Chairman battled on with the track laying on the fiddle yard. This was not as straight forward as hoped as we found a dip in one of the boards so we had to resort to packing and ballasting the offending area - letting the ballast do what it does on the prototype - support the rail.
 Busy, busy, busy!
I've been busy with the Std class 5 cab, having actually remembered to clean the etching before adding more bits to it really helped. Some of the detailed etches supplied with this kit are really delightful. They are also painful on your fingers as you hold the bits in place for your 25 watt Antex to do the business! But so worth it when it all comes together.
 Starting to come together.
Lazy bones Hall was on the search for an end to producing even more Dingham couplings, no chance mate, Christmas finish at the earliest! I earlier mentioned TFC's delusional musings over imaginary friends, well the old boy isn't particularly well - the grand children have struck another blow for their inheritance - and we'd all like to say to Tony....GET WELL...because we all like the pate you make and the Christmas bash is just around the corner.
That's it for this week, more fun next week.
13/11/2009
My thanks to Dave for taking care of the shop for the last couple of weeks, but back to business this week.
Still loads of personnel away again this week, not a Widger in sight, no Risca rascals - either singularly or a pair, No Nobby either. Come on fellas, we need to get cracking on Hazelhurst if its going to have a chance of being completed by April!
So, with the finishing straight in sight, the youth section or as is known to some as Seamus, started the evening off with the small 5 minute task of building a series of shelves to show off his creations, and quiet right too as they are all stunning. Just wait till you see the award winning Jinty - breath taking! Having completed this Steve/Seamus then got on with the task of laying more track on the fiddle yard boards.
Both boards together to aid accuracy and speed of task.
The Chairman was laying ground work on the new scenic board and tweaking the laid track so that ant lumps or bumps were taken out of the equation.
Getting to grips with the basic shape, its rumoured that the new wood yard is to be called The Garw Wood Yard...news to me!
I'd just like to show you these couplings that Bill Bedford has produced as a trial etch. For the record there is no fore or aft movement the coaches move as one. As to the flexibility of the couplings through point work this next photo should put paid to any fears on that front! The only question left to ask is when will we see these couplings in full production and how much...over to you Bill and congrats on another successful product!
 Just brilliant, nice one Mr B!
Alistair - never one to let the grass grow - has been busy with another brake van and whilst letting the glue dry off set about building the bodies for another 4 coal wagons...what a player!
06/11/2009
So it's your substitute correspondent AGAIN this week, Mike missing 2 weeks on the trot. Apparently Ilfracombe in a caravan in the rain is the place to be.
No Nobby, no Widgers, nor Youth Section but Tall Tony T did his club duty at the Centre's committee meeting this week. Thanks Tony, can you do a Friday soon?
However, the other Risca Rascal was back with us, revived and into action.
Red Dog alignment being changed to accommodate the extra thick baseboard top - the second set.
Otherwise it was more drilling and fixing, aided by Alastair when he wasn't with his brake van. Rod started work on the 7mm Dingham couplings, though he swears he never volunteered for them.
I brought along a pair of Bachmann Mk1s with the close couplings fitted. These are etches from our own Bill Bedford based on an idea from Chris Pendlenton.
Brass bearing surface with bent wire coupling
You can see how they'll slide together and clip underneath.
The right hand wire was Mark1, the left is Mark2 and a better job. A jig needs to be made.
The finished effect. The curved wires need to be beefed up to represent vacuum and steam pipes.
They ran through an A6 turnout on the test track without problem, pushed and pulled. We now need a real, big layout to test them on!
N.B. Christmas Do is Weds 30th December, along with the Naggers. Tony has already made the pate.
See you next week.
16/11/2007
Well, I'm sorry to report that only two of the old codgers turned up this Friday. The Chairman and the Treasurer, the club relic handed in a note from his mum to say he was going on holiday, Bill B is up in the smoke for the Watford show, the youth section was on a flight back from Munich, tall Tony T was having an early night (?) and the poor old Secretary was having his hip replaced ... get well soon dear friend! So, no new pics this week, however, some of us have got time off for good behaviour and our wives are letting us go to Watford, so hopefully we'll have some nice photos of my favourite layout on the circuit - Maindee East - stunning!! Apparently there are other layouts there as well, I'll be the judge of that ...
So not a lot of movement on the 7mm layout then, never mind, always next week.
Saturday 17/11/2007
Off we toddled up to Watford ... what a great show - Stoke Summit and Maindee East, breathtaking trains and scenery, felt as though we were in the shed with the engines - great stuff - thanks Steffan for so much pleasure!
Photo, courtesy of the Chairman
 Good news is, TFC's on the mend after his recent operation, bad news is he's got to have the other hip done in six months time! Still, he'll be able to hop about the place on one leg ...
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