News
This is where all the recent news items and important information is displayed. Anything important that members need to know can be found here. As this page will be updated as and when information reaches us, reports could be like busses; wait ages for one and two come along at once!
| 7th June 2008 |
It is with deep regret that I have to report that Brian Fawkes passed away last night. He was one of the original members of the group and had often been described as being larger than life. He was also an active member of his local community, serving on the local council and working hard for the community centre. He loved his trains and the respect that our group held for Brian was demonstrated by the number who helped him rebuild his railway recently. He would often tour with Rowlands Lodge, but regrettably his recent poor health had meant that he could do this less and less frequently. He was in many ways a driving force behind the group. He organised the Friday Night running order as well as the Annual Group dinner, Group membership, the Rocket Awards, On Track (our Group magazine) and played an important role in the renovation of Rowlands Lodge. He only recently won the 2008 Rocket Award, being credited with reinventing the English language. He will be very sorely missed by our group and the 16mm community as a whole. All our thoughts and condolences go out to his family. |
| January 2008 | Talk is afoot of formalising our little group into some sort formally organised group. Discussions were held at the New Year Friday run at the Cwmtudu Tramway about whether or not group membership should be a more formal affair, with members having individual numbers and being guaranteed something along the lines of perks. All this arose from another discussion into whether or not a person can a) vote for themselves in the Rocket Awards and b) vote for the person they nominated for the Rocket Award. As I understood it, (which was on a very basic level), I am no longer a member of the group & can vote for anybody. I think. Don't really know. Sounded more interesting in my head... It's been so long since we had any interesting news I felt obliged to put something up so there you go. I think brain rot is setting in... |
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30-July-07
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A TV crew from S4C (Wales' answer to Channel 4) visited two of the group's lines today. They were filming a segment about 16mm garden railways for the 'Wedi Tri' magazine show. They started out at the Hope Mountain Railway with a cameraman, director and presenter (who is apparently a star on the 'Pobol y Cwm' soap) and filmed the 'remarkably tidy building site' and an interview with owner Gareth. They were then brought to the Cwmtudu Tramway where general shots and another interview with Gareth were filmed. Look out for the show on S4C soon (due to be shown w/b 13/8/07). |
| 28-Jul-06 |
STOPPAGE NOTICE The Lee Valley Light Railway will be closed completely to all traffic until Spring 2007. This is to allow vital improvements to trackwork to be carried out and new facilities for visitors to the line to be created. |
| 24-Jul-06 | The 2006 Group Day Out has been announced. This year we will be hopefully going to the Severn Valley Railway which runs between Kidderminster and Bridgenorth. Any member interested in going should contact Rod ASAP. Prices are still to be confirmed. |
| 24-Jul-06 | Work is continuing at the Cwmtudu Tramway on their new access road. Regular visitors will be well aware of how dicey access could sometimes be, especially in the depths of winter. The new works are intended to rectify this and will eventually also include improved access to the site of the bonfire & fireworks ready for November. |
| 23-Jul-06 | A one-off special is now available for download; a guide to installing R/C equipment in an Accucraft Superior. This has been written by Neil Hunt who, as far as we know, has absolutely nothing to do with Accucraft. However, his engine looks great and seems to run flawlessly each time I see it. To view the guide simply click HERE. |
| 22-Jul-06 | The Midsummer Night's Steam event at the Argoed Light Railway was very well received today. Around 20 CM&EC members & spouses turned out in glorious sunshine (for the most part) to enjoy good company and a well-stocked free bar! Trains ran as well, mostly without any mishap or incident. As is usual, Brian F took advantage of the knowledge of some of these members and some repairs were made to both the track and to the safety system installed on his lift bridge. |
| 20-Jul-06 |
STOPPAGE
NOTICE The Brynhyfryd Light Railway will be closed until further notice for essential maintenance work. Work will be carried out on the track formation and on the track bed to improve the running of trains. Work is expected to last for four weeks. |
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2-Apr-05
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The 2006 Rocket Awards were presented today. A total of 9 votes were cast (including one spoilt paper), a significant improvement on last year. The very deserved winner was Mrs Janet Fawkes for her saintly qualities in putting up so bravely and patiently with TWO 16millers in the house - to say nothing of the constant flow of enthusiasts, the routine destruction of her garden and the endless confusion and clutter. The award was presented to her husband in her absence. Congratulations!!! |
| 3-Mar-06 | Nominations are now in for the Rocket Awards 2006 and voting started. There are two nominations this year; Janet F for exceptional patience and Pete B for superb photography. Voting closes this Sunday (12th March) and the winner will be announced at the Blackbrook Lt Rly open day on Sunday 2nd April by the incumbent. |
| 25-Feb-06 | The first nomination for this year's Rocket Awards has been very gratefully received. This single vote already represents a 100% improvement on the nominations received last year!!! |
| 25-Feb-06 |
Rowlands Lodge left for Lincoln on
Friday morning but not without a little incident. Loading was
completed in amongst the snow showers but the van refused to
start when it was time to leave. Flat battery was decided upon.
Jump leads required to connect to my car which was parked
outside on the path. Could I find them? No, so I've blown my
chances of being nominated again for the Rocket Award.
Rod rang our van suppliers and
twenty minutes later a young lad arrived with jump leads. He
connected these to somewhere under the bonnet, but not to the
battery, Steve was in the cab trying the ignition switch but
there was a lot of ticking and clicking but no sign of the
engine starting. Steve exited the cab, the young lad decided
that another van would have to be provided and we would have to
unload the layout from the van and reload it into the
replacement van when it arrived. We could unload while we
awaited the new van except that we could not operate the
electric tailgate to gain access, could the said same young lad
re-connect the jump leads to provide power while we operated the
tailgate ? Yes he could and connected the jump leads again,
there was another click and the cab doors locked themselves.
Where are the ignition keys? You've guessed it - still in the
ignition !
Young lad returned to the garage, we
returned to the kitchen for yet another cup of tea, the third,
at which point the milk supply ran out. Young lad eventually
returned with a spare set of keys and a new battery. This was
connected, the van started and they finally left at 12.10pm
about 90 minutes later than planned.
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| 24-Feb-06 | Our new-look website was launched today. We have had a website for a year and to celebrate it has been given a spring clean!!! |
| 8-Jan-06 | The rumours are true! I have today be informed that I have been volunteered as Joint Editor of the new OnTrack OnLine (seems I foolishly said that I might be willing during a period of temporary insanity). The first edition of this new rag will hopefully be issued in February and will be available by email to registered members and on this very website to the great unwashed, all in PDF format. So, watch this space! |
| 27-Dec-05 | A select few were today invited to the grand opening of the Pear Tree Light Railway. The reason for so few invitees quickly became apparent upon our arrival; the line is certainly on the small side! Temperatures were below freezing and we had some difficulties with gas firing. However, a warm welcome and hot soup made up for this. The line sports an impressive wooden trestle viaduct. |
| 21-Dec-05 | Brian F has asked me to pass on his warmest thanks to all those who attended his Christmas Charity run last night. The target of £100 was reached and this will now be passed on to Hope House Hospice on behalf of the group. Well Done! |
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16-Dec-05 |
Some recent Friday night runs have been dedicated to maintenance of Rowlands Lodge. Much work has been done on the scenic modules which create the landforms around the mine area and the road overbridges. These are the most bulky pieces of the layout other than the baseboards and are usually the first to be damaged. Because of the large size of the layout we are not able to put it up in its entirety between shows, instead working on just two or three baseboards at a time. |
| 11-Dec-05 | It turns out that the old adage 'It's a small World' is surprisingly true. During preparations for our Christmas production here in my small Gloucestershire school, I discovered that the local railway club was in fact an independent 16mm group! They have a large oval 'portable' layout (about as easy to move as Rowlands Lodge!) which they set up in the Village Hall on the second Sunday of every month. Unlike us, this is the only layout they have and (presumably for insurance purposes) attendance is by invitation only. Hopefully more soon. |
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11-Sept-05 |
Rowlands Lodge tonight returned from its outing at Crewe Works Open Day where it represented the 16mm Association. The operators who attended did the group proud and showed off the layout to its best. Stay tuned for a report of the event. |
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04-Sep-05 |
The Phantom Fidgeter reared his ugly head once more today. Several figures on Brian F's ALR were found in places that were not their intended positions. PC Plod who is heading the investigation said that some of the figures were found in poses that were 'morally dubious'. It is believed that the Phantom Fidgeter photographs his victims before abandoning them, although PC Plod refused to confirm this. Today's incident follows reports of animals being found in 'rude positions' and on the track at the Weal Barrow Light Railway just a few weeks ago. When asked whether the incidents were related, PC Plod said, "We are investigating reports from a number of local Railways of similar incidents. We currently believe that they are related and are being perpetrated by a person or persons currently unknown." If You have any information about this, please contact us at the link below immediately! |
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30-Aug-05 |
The Argoed Light Railway claims to have set a new world record for the number of baseboard supports 'planted' in one day. GOFs (Geriatric Old Farts) managed to erect nine today. This is the first step towards an extension of the new raised-level line, adding a further twenty feet to its length. |
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21-Aug-05 |
We regret to announce that the long-standing and well-loved editor of On Track, Mr Brian Spring, has decided to resign from the post. Regular members will be well aware of Brian's reasons for this decision and are of the opinion that we will be loosing an excellent editor as the result of a disagreement. We will hate to loose him and out of respect no one is willing to take up the reins. We hope to be able to convince him into reconsidering, but until this happens, production of both On Track and OnTrack OnLine are on hold indefinitely. |
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10-Aug-05 |
Please note the change of event for the Event on Sunday 4th September. For technical reasons this has moved location, from the Hawarden & Aston Hall Lt Rly to the Argoed Lt Rly. See the Events page for further details. |
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16-Jul-05 |
The Upper level of the new and improved Argoed Light Railway was opened in spectacular style today with a diesel driven through a paper banner by the owner's grandson. Phase one of the refurbishment was declared complete and work can now begin on the reinstatement of the lower level line. |
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20-Jun-05 |
Work on the Argoed Light Railway is progressing well. The line has been completely ripped out by the press-ganged... sorry, volunteer workforce and is being replaced with a raised line. Baseboards are now reaching about halfway around the garden but a lot still needs to be done before the opening on the MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S STEAM event next month! Will it be finished in time? Keep an eye out for updates. |
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3-Apr-05 |
The inaugural Rocket Award was presented to John Murray by Brian Spring at an open day on Dave's BL Railway today. Mr Spring commented upon the lack of nominations for the award but stated that this year he was presenting it to John for Exceptional Services Rendered to Rowlands Lodge, Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. The award will be presented to a member each year for whatever they have been nominated for by their fellow members. |
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20-Mar-05 |
9 members of our group hired a train on the Bala Lake Railway and spent today driving and firing it and shunting wagons in the station yard. All had great fun and left with plenty of inspiration. |
