August 2016 meeting

Alisdair's report with Andy's pictures: The August Forth and Clyde meeting took place on the 13^th, with five of the Group attending a secret location in Glasgow, the Doyen of the West. This included Martin, the new boy, who after the usual humiliating initiation rites (used up all our permanent markers, treacle and feathers, so it did, yet he never apologised), joined the workers at the kitchen table while Jim used some unusual words when trying to get his patent ground signal operating mechanisms to work on the layout. Jim has since made further progress (see his RMWeb description). Here's how they look in situ on Sauchenford: first Jim putting the "big signal" (a Stevens lower-quadrant with co-acting arms, representing Sauchenford's Down home) into its socket on the layout:

The driver's-eye view through the bridge.

 And the view from the other side:

We look forward to seeing the end result at the Aln Valley Railway Model Railway Exhibition on 3^rd and 4^th September which the Group will be attending with the 2mm Scale Association Roadshow.

As well as the tea, coffee and strange brew imbibing, the Kitchen Table Workers were busy with Martin creating some pointwork using his own ingenious system for constructing flatbottom rail turnouts, Alistair creating buildings for a model of a model in planning. Andy was beavering away at the end of the Kitchen Table detailing his LNER brake van when not assisting in the signal installation.

Some point servos were being constructed by Alisdair ... 

... using Martin’s design of laser cut servo holders – an excellent and useful invention.

Jim had brought along some completed Caledonian Railway wagons created from his own etches which looked extremely good.

The tea bag tarpaulin looked particularly effective:

as did the horse-drawn lorry.

See his catalogue here! (usual fiver Jim, thanks ...)

A good meeting with progress for everybody. Next event will be an invasion of the NEAG meeting on 27^th August, with the next FnC regular meeting being on the 17^th September, again in the Glasgow area.

Postscript: Graham was absent in the frozen north on a family holiday, but he still found time to visit a few ex-Highland Railway station he hadn't seen for many years. Dornoch station building still survives in remarkably good order, some 60 years after closure: it's now a chiropractic clinic.

The small museum in Dunrobin station building was open:

Thurso and Wick station buildings looked very spick and span, although very much now "basic railway", but the track is run down in places. The weedkilling train has obviously not been to Georgemas Junction for a while - this is the Down (well, nowadays the only) platform, looking to Inverness with the Thurso branch curving off to the right). The line to Wick was even more of a jungle.

And at Wick itself, the run-round loop has a sleeper which is more air than timber. (To be fair, all regular services are units, so no need to use the loop).

Try modelling that in 2mm scale!