Beckenham Exhbition 19 October 2019

The Saturday following our October meeting found us exhibiting at the Beckenham and West Wickenham Model Railway Club's one day show.

The exhibition is held in what is normally the church with the pews set aside, a dauntingly high roof and very few visible signs of Sunday's use.

The space is very large and very easily catered for several large layouts. Two other spaces held trade stands and smaller layouts a club shop.

Lightermans Yard was in the main church on a raised stage near the hidden alter. There was a large array of organ pipes in the wall behind our stand.

Pete KIng and Keith Gloster had set up the layout and checked the running on Friday evening. The day crew consisted of Pete K, Keith, Alan S and Richard, roughly working on two on two off throughout the day.

Thanks to early track cleaning and 'stay-alive' now fitted in the operating locomotives, running the trains was very smooth. 

The vast space made the large number of visitors look small, but the numbers grew throughout the whole day. The organisers were very pleased by the turnout.

Behind the scene, we were enjoying trouble free running (even the uncoupling magnets were mostly behaving!). Just one occasion of an enthusiastic audience helping to make the day!

The Mayor doing the rounds. Clearly an enthusiast, he spent some time with Lightermans Yard and made some very well informed comments, and his knowledge of London in the fifties and sixties pointed to some helpful historical facts.

Some other layouts; Three Gates (N) a folding box: Portsea (3mm) a Southern electric display of Portsmouth and the harbour station: The Bridge at Remagen (N) loosely based on the film of the same name.

Vintage Trains (0 gauge) tinplate 3 rail collectors club - ran frantically all day!

October 2019 Meeting

The meeting began with a discussion over a Templot template for a 3-way point that Pete K had made for Evercreech Junction. Pete said he had learned a lot more about Templot with this task. The discussion centred on adjustments to the exit tracks and the positioning of the check rails, and how the revised template fitted the overall track plan for the layout.















Alan S showed a prototype in progress for an Easitrac milled and pegged base for crossover kit.

The main task for the meeting was to prepare Lightermans Yard for the Beckenham exhibition on the following Saturday, 19 October. Although this is a fairly local one-day show, we still need to ensure the Yard is in running order. All the components were made ready for transportation, and the track boards were assembled for track cleaning and an opportunity to test the locomotives fitted with 'stay alive'.

Track cleaning above and cleaning and checking 'stay alive' below

There was a short discussion about the progress on 3D printing of Association steam locomotive driving wheels.

As work advances on 'Evercreech Junction' by Alan and Keith, there was a comparison of details on different sets of drawings showing some of the station buildings.

All the layout boxes were assembled for transportation and moved to Pete k' and Keith's cars for the Beckenham exhibition.