There was a quiet start to the new week with understandable low attendance. Mr Chairman reassembled his 42xx with a replacement gearbox and it returned to running smoothly when pushed along with the coupling rods in place. However, shorting occured when power was applied. Some investigation is needed.
Rhobat has managed to improve the straightness of the support rods on the crane but they still need some tweaking.
Andrew and Paul worked on the platform supports and surface for Lyne Road whilst there was space to erect this layout.
Tuesday was a split evening with some at the club, others on Zoom. Those on-line started with a brief recap on how the show went on the weekend, then we viewed an idea from Andrew N for his own project. Going back to the 1840s and 50s at Newport Docks there were canals, a river, tram roads and railways all providing transport. With some pruning and condensation Andrew suggests a good representation can be produced with interesting stock, buildings and views. Despite being on holiday in New Zealand, we were joined by Rod for this session until the need for breakfast got the better of him. However, he did send the photo of some local exhibits.
Staying in the same time period Albyn reviewed a report on Parliamentary trains. The drawings of the ‘carriages’ used showed that the facilities were very basic. Glass in windows was a rarity, cushioned seats non-existent with the seating so close together you would have interlace your knees with the person opposite. The only good point was that it was better than outside on the top of a horse drawn stagecoach.
As usual Stephen produced some interesting pictures of single parcels cars with tail loads. Somehow we ended with a discussion on ‘Pacers, Good or Bad?’ !!!???