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The Official Newsletter of The Bedford Model Engineering Society
Coupling The
Volume 14 Issue 6 November/December 2011
The ―Guardian‖
Gnomes will be
on duty during
Santa‘s visit.
Members hard
at work
Photos by Nikk Smith
Alan Beard
David Combes
2
OFFICERS and COMMITTEE
of the Bedford Model Engineering Society
President: Jim Bassett Vice Presidents: John Saunders Michael Maskell
Chairman: Dick Billington Vice Chairman: Alan Gildersleve
29 Ampthill Road, Maulden, 20 Walton Road, Caldecotte
Bedford, MK45 2DA Milton Keynes, MK7 8AE
Tel: 01525 750914; Tel: 01908 646711
email: [email protected] email: [email protected]
Secretary and Membership Secretary: Alan Beard Treasurer: David Boyde
2 Brambles, Wilstead, 21 Arun Close, Bedford,
Bedford, MK45 3ED MK41 7AD
Tel: 01234-743062; Tel: 01234-406757
email: [email protected] email: [email protected]
Committee: Vikki Dodd Nigel Morrell Shaun O‘Hare Andrew Warren Terry White
Coupling Editor: Tony Bullock Boiler Testers: Richard Bennett
67 Coates Lane, 7 Winchester Gardens,
High Wycombe, HP13 5ET Luton, Beds, LU3 3UD
Tel: 01494 439098; Tel: 01582-260314
e-mail [email protected] Dick Billington, Les Aylott, Nigel Freestone
All appointments for boiler testing to be made only via
Richard Bennett.
Traction Engines and Road Steam: Steve Lee Webmaster Nik Smith
145 Wingfield, Orton Goldhay, email: [email protected]
Peterborough, PE2 5UY
Tel: 07952-529460;
email: [email protected]
RAILWAY SUB-COMMITTEE John Lawson (Chairman), Tony Bullock, Alan Gildersleve and Phil Wright
The Coupling is printed and distributed/posted by Alan Beard (01234-743062). Readers are reminded that any views expressed in The Coupling are
solely those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or of the BMES committee. They should there-
fore not be regarded as being part of Society policy.
© Bedford Model Engineering Society
Bedford Model Engineering Society is a company limited by guarantee and having no share capital; Company Reg. No. 4087828, Registered
Office: 2 Brambles, Wilstead, Bedford, MK45 3ED
EDITORIAL
It only seems like yesterday that I was sitting here compiling the September edition of your newsletter just after our
Visitor Rally. Now our Public Running Season has finished and the nights are drawing in. Where does the time go?
However, there is plenty happening for us all to enjoy in the coming months as evidenced later in this issue.
By the time you receive this our ‗Santa Specials‘ will be about to start and we look forward to a successful event. If
you want cheering up just pop along during this event and see the happy smiling faces of the children as they open
their gifts. You may even be able to wangle a ‗cuppa‘ from the ladies in the buffet.
We also look forward to the Christmas Quiz as this starts the festive season on a happy social note. It is great to spend
an evening in good company with plenty of fun and to enjoy a chat over a selection of refreshments. An ideal opportu-
nity for our ladies to join us.
My plan to include a supplement with this issue of photographs taken at our Exhibition and Visitor Rally has not mate-
rialised. I apologise for this but time has rather run away from me. I will send the photo CDs that I have received to
our webmaster so that they can be added to our website for you to view.
My thanks to those of you that have sent photos and articles for placing in The Coupling.
Best wishes to you all for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Tony Bullock
Peter Osborne Deceased
Peter joined us in June 2009. and was in poor health, needing oxygen regularly.
He visited the club occasionally in the company of Bob Ambridge.
He had a heart attack on Friday 4th November and died the following day.
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CHAIRMAN’S CHAT
Not long after you read this I will be stuffing the Christmas turkey for real, rather than practising inside the bowels of
a 7¼‖ gauge smoke box. A small layer of sage and onion stuffing with a couple of large onions to make its eyes water
and the job will be done. I am still stuffing the smoke box; there is one pipe joint at the back that requires three foot
long fingers with fourteen joints!!!!
Margaret came over the club site with me last Sunday morning to do some gardening, something that I hate, being a
mainly chainsaw gardener. We walked a little with Tess, our Collie dog, and she was impressed with the general site
cleanliness and summarised my feelings for the year when she commented that even though much work is in progress,
how neat and tidy the site looks. She said you must be pleased with all that has happened this year. Yes, I am both
pleased and proud of our track site and this position is down to you, our members. Some can work and others help
and support in many other ways. The new fence around the steaming bay that colour matches the station fence was made possible by some members sponsoring individual panels, whilst others made them. I have heard via a
roundabout route that members of the Whitbread family think that our efforts are impressive. This is very pleasing as
next year we will have our new clubroom and will be negotiating for a fifteen year lease.
A fifteen year lease will give us a more stable future and enable us to plan and have a slightly easier life. Many details
of the lease will be different from similar details in our existing one and because of the duration we will perhaps have
to be more careful over these details than we previously have been.
Franklins Art Galleries took over the lease of the main barn from Second Hand Alley Ken earlier this year and they
have worked wonders with the old buildings, turning them from a haven for spiders into an impressive art gallery.
The interface between the artists and ourselves has generally been good and we have endeavoured to combine events
wherever possible. However their operations have overloaded the gentleman`s agreement we had with our landlords
over the maintenance of the toilets. There is now a seven day a week usage rather than our intermittent usage and
whilst we have a new arrangement for the maintenance with one of our members looking after the toilets, we are not
able to provide toiletry services on the daily basis that is now required. This has resulted in a slight deterioration in
standards that will require review of our operations for next year. Over this past year we have succeeded in negotiating a grant to enable us to build the new clubhouse. We start work on the new building immediately after the
Santa Specials in early December. I bet that our Santa never expected to find several tons of special timber for our
new clubhouse in his sack. Details of the clubhouse are given elsewhere in this issue. We are planning to dismantle
the old buffet and lay the concrete base for the new building before Christmas. If you feel like some exercise come
over to the club site in the week immediately following the Santa specials.
The Railway Sub Committee is hoping that finances can be found to fund the erection of a canopy at Haynes End
station to keep the drivers and guards dry when it is raining, good idea for the station staff, but it will not be mobile.
One area of concern is the maintenance of our rolling stock. Now that Paul has left we need someone(s) to take over
the maintenance and repair of the rolling stock together with the maintenance records. This is an important task for
the Society; however it is a task that can be carried out over a period.
There has been the odd disappointment during the year. The main one for me was where insurance restrictions
stopped a member from developing radio control for his locomotive. This is common in some railways and from
reports appears to take place without difficulties on the continent. I suppose as with stainless steel boilers the
continentals are way ahead of us again.
There will be a change to our February Monday evening meeting when one of our junior members will give a talk on
the Duchess of Hamilton in place of the planned talk on underwater photography. My ears will flap on this one.
It is a trifle early but on behalf of myself and the committee I will take this opportunity of wishing you all a very good
Christmas and a successful New Year.
Dick Billington
NEW WEBMASTER
I would like to thank you all for a good running season and a warm welcome, Most members probably won‘t know my
name, Nik Smith, (somehow this appears to change every time I type an email). I joined the society in May and have
been given a warm welcome by all. I have been working as a guard and in the Haynes End signal box for the last half of the running season. I am now being welcomed into the art of 'webmastership'. That's running the website in plain
English. If anybody would like an item placed on the site, pictures, words or maybe even a video I will be grateful for
any material. Just drop me an email, [email protected]
4
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Please note that subscriptions for 2012 become due on January 1st. I will be pleased to accept renewals from today‘s
date onward.
The rates are unchanged from last year
Full members £32 Senior £25 Family & Junior £7
Cheques will not be presented for payment until after January 1st.
Cheque payments should go to the Membership Secretary, Alan Beard and not to the Treasurer. An SAE to send your
membership card will be appreciated.
Payment may also be made by direct transfer from your account to B.M.E.S, account number 50157058, sort code
20-05-74. If you use this method please tell me by emailing to [email protected] so that I know to send you your
membership card.
Alan Beard
COMMITTEE MEETING NEWS
Copies of the minutes are placed in the crew room and at Winterfield while a copy is normally available at each Mon-
day meeting.
September Meeting
The new leaflet has been well received by the public with many favourable comments.
Letters of support for the funding application have been received from BTG, Shortstown L S and Mencap; unfortu-
nately most too late for submission.
Guards are still failing to make appropriate announcements on arrival at Winterfield station. A suitable statement is to
be written as guidance.
The Franklin‘s Art Gallery event was cancelled. David reported that the bank balance is holding up well in spite of some poor weather and bookings for the Santa Spe-
cials are ahead of 2010.
David queried whether membership of the Voluntary & Community Action Group was cost effective. Nigel put the
case for having professional back-up if a problem arose. Membership will be retained but probably based in Bedford
rather than Leighton Buzzard.
The burger bar if left in its present position will restrict fire egress from the proposed clubhouse. To prepare for its
removal the garage, compound and crew room will need to be sorted and Dick hopes that work to this end will start
immediately. The possibility of a storage container in the compound will be considered.
Alan B was unable to find netting wide enough for the lake on the internet but most garden centres stock netting in
strips that if seamed together would be suitable. David asked if there was sufficient interest in the facility to justify its
existence. To be reviewed in the New Year.
A further approach from Kempston MRC was considered and while the possibility of renting the clubhouse for its meetings was acceptable no closer links are envisaged.
Nick Bone has offered to take charge of track maintenance and Paul has advised him regarding the equipment and its
location while Alan B will do weed killing on the track.
The pedestrian crossing at Winterfield needs to be relayed and Andy suggested the use of a bell at the crossing for
wheelchair users to obtain assistance.
Radio controlled locomotive. When driven from the rear of a train there is a restricted view of the track ahead and
incidents of near misses have been reported. Several members wanted an immediate ban but Alan B argued for re-
straint until a negotiated solution had been attempted and David had checked with insurers. Subsequent to the meeting
it was ascertained from the insurers that in the event of an accident the driver of the radio controlled locomotive would
be considered responsible for any damage(s) and no claim could be made to the insurers.
There is the possibility of some work being done towards the erection of the Haynes End canopy. Concerns were ex-pressed over strength of foundations and will be referred to John Lawson.
Geoff Brandon has donated a large number of books to the society and many were sold at the recent sale night.
A member has suggested selling Gift Vouchers for rides. Thought to be worth pursuing in the New Year.
The editor has a large number of photographs that could be published as a supplement to the December issue.
October Meeting
The foundations to the Haynes End canopy are being designed and managed by J. Lawson. The meeting confirmed
that he has overall control of railway projects and that he should be consulted before going ahead with work.
A special photo supplement will be published and posted with the December issue of The Coupling.
The Annual Return to Companies House has been completed online at a cost of £14.00. David reported that approval of the grant application is near to certain with agreement from the Greensand‘s panel and
5
the DEFRA representative. The meeting thanked him for his considerable efforts to obtain a satisfactory outcome.
ACE Security are aware of the impending build and have advised David of the necessary steps to maintain security
during the works.
Dick is concerned that the clubhouse should be available to members without the need for a ―keyholder‖ to be present
to unlock and close. Deferred pending discussion with ACE
The position of Railway Operations Manager remains vacant with no offers to take on the role. Nick is making good progress with checking the track. Members are to be reminded that Hi Vis jackets should be worn when working on
the track.
Tony Bullock reported that the weather has not helped over the last running days together with a poor response from
the public. Ice cream and canned drink stocks are being run down so that storage at season end should not be a prob-
lem. Limited supplies of coffee, tea, sugar, etc. will be maintained for use by members when using the buffet during
the autumn/winter. The donation of cakes etc. for sale in the buffet is greatly appreciated and thanks go to all those
who brought in supplies. Toy sales continue steadily and most items that remain unsold at season end can be used in
Santa presents.
Loch Treig‘s boiler has its backhead and the long stays are the next step.
With the assumption that the grant is obtained Dick made the points that:-
The Burger Bar must be cleared immediately after the Santa Specials, the Grotto must be removed and stored followed by demolition of the Buffet.
Alan B will produce an outline plan of the clubhouse so that design aspects can be agreed before placing a purchase
order.
When time and manpower are available the section of the steaming bays used as a trailer park will be paved. Likewise
the disabled crossing at Winterfield will be re-laid.
Vikki Dodd is willing to join the committee. It was agreed to co-opt her until the AGM when her position can be rati-
fied.
Dave Yardley has reported that the toilets are being left in a dirty condition. Dick will speak with Franklin‘s.
Alan G said that the requirement for carriages stored in the carriage shed to be coupled together is not being met.
Damage has been done to rolling stock by mice in both sheds. Mouse traps to be purchased.
Jim B will loan his generator for the Santa Specials weekend but safe storage has still to be organised.
Santa Specials bookings as at 17th October are for 66 adults and 42 children. This represents some 25% of available spaces and compares well with the same time last year. At this time we will use unsold toys currently in stock as an
element of the presents so that a fresh start can be made in the New Year.
Dick will be staffing/running the Grotto at Hammer Hill, David will be staffing/running the trains from Haynes End,
Judy B will run the Buffet and Tony B will be liaising with all parties. Reception and buffet staff have been arranged
as have both grotto and loco crews.
NEW CLUBROOM AND BUFFET
I have been asked to submit a report on the new Clubroom and Buffet.
To say the least this has been a very complex, but very worthwhile exercise, and I am now able to let you all know the
current situation. I also appreciate that those of you who regularly attend Summerfields or Monday meetings are
probably aware of the details. So here goes with a summary.
After about nine months of negotiating, completion of forms, meetings with our Grant Awardees, committee, and
many members, we have been awarded a grant that will enable us to demolish our existing Buffet and Burger Bar and
build a completely new Log Cabin which will replace our present unit.
So who are the Awardees? They are a company local to us, called Greensand Ridge based currently at Old Warden.
They have granted us sufficient funds for our needs to do as I said in the previous paragraph. This is a record award
for our Society of no less than £14,677. See below for more information regarding Greensand Ridge.
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural development (EAFRD): Europe investing in rural areas. The Greensand
Ridge Rural Development Programme, part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), is funded by
DEFRA (Dept. for Environment, Food and Rural Activities), and the EU. The funding is managed locally by Bed-
fordshire Rural Communities Charity.
They have been truly fantastic in helping me to secure this wonderful award. We have been backed up with amazing
support from many of our members with donations or loans for which may I say, once more, thank you to everyone
who has contributed to make this project come into fruition as we needed to match the award.
6
So what does this all mean?
1) A new Clubroom and Buffet for running days, measuring approximately 16.6m x 5.4m internally (for those still
using old money approximately 55 ft x 18 ft ).
2) Complete refitting of the catering facility at the opposite end to the present location.
3) The larger building can be used for all activities including meetings, invitation weekend dinner, or leasing to other external groups.
4) We were unable to cover in the award furniture and fittings. These decisions will be evaluated after the erec-
tion of the building.
Work will commence immediately after the Santa Specials weekend on Monday 4th December, and we have to be
ready for our first public running day on 25th March.
While work is in progress do not enter without permission inside the temporary barriers, which are there to satisfy H.
& S. requirements. Contractors will be carrying out the majority of the assembly work including foundations, the log
cabin, electrics and security equipment. The other buildings will be secured in the interim.
This is the biggest project that we have had the opportunity to undertake. Our Society is developing in a very big way
and the award will help us to secure our future plans. ―Many hands make light work‖ and we need your help and sup-port, required particularly with the demolition of the existing facilities and the final fitting out We will have the opportunity to gain new members, earn additional revenue from our patrons and become one of the
leading model engineering societies in the country. Many members have already stated that they will help with the
new project so if you wish to come along and contribute to the labour then you will be very welcome.
If you have any queries then telephone or email me. I shall keep you informed of progress in future ―Couplings‖
David Boyde
BMES SITE ACCESS.
Following last year‘s burglaries, we installed a security system covering a number of buildings. Unfortunately some
members have been upset because of the access restriction which this security system introduced. Regrettably, the system installed has refused to cope with more than ten access codes and some members are disappointed. This prob-
lem is under investigation and ultimately will be sorted out. However in the meantime will any member who does not
have security access and who wishes to come over the club and needs to access the secure areas please contact one of
the key holders and check that either someone will be there be on site who is a key holder, or someone is available to
come over and open up and more importantly close up after you. If you do not do this you may well have a wild
goose chase.
The key holders are:
Alan Beard 01234 743062, David Boyde 01234 406757. Please remember that these members do have private lives
and may not always be able to accommodate your wishes.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind members that if you do come over the site to do "something" our
insurers require that you have at least one active person with you in case of accident.
Members are also reminded that should they wish to run on the ground level tracks that unless the air systems are
switched on, the points are not locked and may creep under the passage of trains. Please therefore switch the air on
before you run and please switch it of when finished running.
Dick Billington
PRICELESS OBSERVATIONS
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending and to have the two as close together as possible.
George Burns
Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
Victor Borge
I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.
Groucho Marx
7
HAMMER HILL TRACK DEVELOPMENTS
Now that the summer running season is over, except for the Santa Specials, a start has been made on adding extra
trackage to the Springfield Line. This work has only become possible due to an anonymous donation to the Society
specifically for this purpose.
In the Grand Plan the only remaining ground level track planned for the Springfield Line at Hammer Hill involves the
laying of some 550 feet of new track on the track base that was dug out some years ago. This will involve the con-
struction of a number of dual gauge points as well as the 50 odd track panels. This plan is a bit ambitious for one win-
ter‘s effort so it is being broken into three stages, which will be completed as and when they can be done.
For this coming winter we shall be starting on Stage One, but even this is in two parts. The first part involves laying a
line from the Springfield Platform 2 of Hammer Hill station to join into the existing station passing track approaching
the right hand curve before the existing point is reached near the carriage shed. This requires two new points and a
new diamond and about 30 feet of track. John Lawson has built the two new points and I, since I built the existing
diamond in this area , have built the new diamond. Work started on this section at the end of October and is already
completed. It turned out that the track removed to install the points and the diamond was adequate to complete the
plan without using new track. This new track will allow the Springfield drivers to choose to follow the old exit rout
from platform 2 or to drive straight out onto the inner loop thereby keeping away from the Haynes End trains coming
out of Platform 1.
The second part of Stage One has also been started and this involved lifting the point where the station passing line
joined the middle track just beyond the carriage shed. This point will be relocated in the same track some 100 feet
further on, just beyond the existing point where the middle track turns left to the outer loop. Only ten track panels,
and no new points, are needed for this to be completed, and these have already been made and laid in place. Over the
next few Wednesdays these will be aligned and ballasted. Although the point is available, and ready to lay, we have
been asked not to install it until after the Santa Specials are over.
This would complete Stage One. With this in place a new ‗modus operandi‘ for public running is possible. With our
current operation the Springfield trains share the same tracks as the Summerfield trains. There are a number of loca-
tions where there have been some traffic conflicts and possible collisions, Wiltons Wiggle being a case in point. The
exit from both station platforms onto the same exit road is another.
The new layout will allow the Springfield trains to do two circuits going from the platform, back through the passing
loop and back round to the station again WITHOUT using any track used by the Haynes End Trains.
To ensure safety only two points need to be operational. The Haynes End trains on the outer loop only need to operate
the point at Robbers Roost crossing to select the station approach or the Haynes End return track. This assumes that
all trains returning to Haynes End will leave the station and after passing the carriage shed will cross over to the outer
loop again.
The Springfield trains will only need to operate the point switch at Robbers Roost on the inner loop to choose the sta-
tion road or the by-pass loop.
In isolating the two circuits it does also make it possible for the Springfield trains to run in the reverse direction occa-
sionally, but that concept seems to inspire apoplexy in those who hear about it.
As for Stages Two and Three… Stage two could be in operation in time for Easter running given a fair wind and a
warm spring.
Changes to track construction methods.
Until now the rail on the ground level track has been fixed to the sleepers by woodscrews with a ‗pozidrive‘ flange
headed screw. In practice these have been found to have a few disadvantages. The screws are only 3/4‖ long and had
heads of fairly small diameter and have often been found to miss the rail flange completely, allowing the rail to move.
8
In putting these screws in it was usual to use a power driver/drill. This was quick and efficient but often the driver
would damage the cross in the screw head making it difficult to remove them again. The sleepers were pre-drilled for
the screw holes and these drilled holes were done on a pillar drill and were vertical. If the screw followed the drilled
hole it would only make a point contact on the rail flange. This does not provide much grip. Using a power driver the
screw would be forced further and would tend to lean out from the rail in order to achieve a flat face contact on the sloping flange. Apart from elongating the slot the screw was in, it often meant that the head ran off the flange com-
pletely. In building the panels for the Springfield line it was felt that a better method of rail fixing was required.
When we first started building track in the days before we moved to Summerfields we used slotted round headed
‗japanned‘ woodscrews and a steel washer to hold the rail in place. The sleepers were pre-drilled at a slight angle and
the washer provided a large adjustable area of contact with the rail flange. The slotted screws do not lend themselves
to power tool insertion so it wasn‘t long before the cross head screw replaced them. The black japanning only lasted
a couple of months before rust took over and after a period of time the slot corroded away and it became difficult to
undo them. The washers went rusty overnight but this was not a big problem. The rusty fixings looked like rusty rail
chairs on the full size railways. Stainless steel soon replaced the carbon steel and the flange headed screw followed
soon after. The separate washer had disappeared altogether. Many of our track problems can be traced back to inade-
quate rail fixing allowing the gauge to change.
On the new panels and the new diamond we have used woodscrews with a 7mm hexagon head instead of the cross
head. This allows the use of hexagon sockets on the power driver and thereby more control over the insertion opera-
tion. We also opted for 1‖ (25mm) long screws of a fatter diameter. This also meant that in this size we could not get
them with a flange under the head. The decision was taken to re-introduce the separate washer. A standard diameter
M6 washer would fit the screw but it was decided to try an oversize M6 washer to give more contact area. Both items
were again in stainless steel.
The sleepers were jig drilled with the same jig (with enlarged holes) on a drill table set over at about 5 degrees. 3 holes drilled one way, rotate the jig and drill the other three. This required the small pedestal drill from Hammer Hill
station to be moved down to the main workshop so that we didn‘t upset the square-ness of the big workshop
drill.Despite a few (!!!) moans and mumbles about the separate washers it was soon found that the ten panels required
were assembled very quickly.
The hoped for benefits that this method is expected to produce have yet to be proven, but experience so far on the ten
track panels and the new diamond seems to be showing that they are there.
A similar problem with the fishplate screws has also been resolved. These were button head M4 machine screws with
a hexagon hole in the top for an Allen key. This Allen key requirement made the job of fitting the fishplate screws
long and fiddly which often resulted in some fishplates not having the full complement of four screws per rail joint.
After the screws had been in place for some time it was often impossible to undo them as the hexagon hole was often
deformed during the original fixing of them.
The use of M4 hexagon headed screws was looked at and found to have advantages in the assembly phase, power
tools could be used, and should be beneficial when it comes to undoing them in the future. We have for some time
used stainless steel for the fishplates, the bolts and the ‗nyloc‘ nuts as we found that rusty M4 nuts were impossible to
move.
A close eye will be kept by us, and no doubt others, to see if these changes will bring the anticipated benefits.
David Combes
CHRISTMAS QUIZ
When? Monday 12th December 2011
Where? Wilstead Village Hall
Time? 19:30
Interval? Tea, Coffee, Cakes, etc.
Who? Members, Wives and Friends
9
December
Saturday 3rd. CS Santa Specials
Sunday 4th. CS Santa Specials
Monday 12th. WVH Christmas Quiz
2012
January
Monday 9th. WVH Battle of Britain Class
Locos—Barry Wood.
Monday 16th FS Committee
February
Monday 13th. WVH The Duchess of Hamilton—
Nik Smith
Monday 20th FS or CS Committee
March
Sunday 4th. CS Locomotive Boiler Testing
Monday 12th. WVH AGM
Sunday 11th. CS Traction Engine Boiler Testing
Monday 19th CS Committee
Sunday 25th. CS Public Running
April
Sunday 8th. CS Public Running—Easter
Monday 9th. CS Public Running—Easter
No Meeting
Monday 16th CS Committee
Sunday 22nd. CS Public Running
May
Sunday 6th. CS Public Running—May Bank
Holiday
Monday 7th. CS Public Running—May Bank
Holiday Sunday 13th. CS Club Running Day
Monday 14th. CS Bring & Buy Sale
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
CLUB EVENTS 2011
WVH Wilstead village hall FS Fire Station CS Club Site
FOR SALE
Sale items advised by David Dean.
Due to bereavement.
ML Super 7 Lathe with Gear Box and Stand. With all tooling :- Change Wheels, 3 and 4 Jaw Chucks, Vertical Slide, Drills, End Mills, Reamers, Face Plates,
Measuring Equipment and lots more.
7¼‖ Loco 4-4-2 Under Construction with Piston Valve.
Contact : Tim Fletcher 01767 627426 David Lowe 01767 627144
Model Engineer Magazines
Magazines from1997 to 2008 available Free but must be collected from Leighton Buzzard
Phone John on 01525 375197
Lathe
My name is Simon Denchfield and I live at Biggleswade.
I have a smallish lathe that was my grandfather‘s which hasn't been used for about 25 years, but has been kept in my
dry garage. I have had the lathe for about 35 years.
I am wondering if any of your members would be interested in the lathe as, to be quite honest, I am unlikely to be us-
ing it in the future.
It is in quite good condition and has a variety of machine cutters / tools with it. Not sure about the single phase elec-
tric motor as this also has been stored for the last 25 years. The motor runs from a normal 13amp socket/outlet.
If any of your members are interested then they can contact me as detailed below - I have a couple of pictures that I
could send them.
Regards
Simon Denchfield
Mobile: 0797 3127289
Home e mail: - [email protected]
10
CLUB OPENING HOURS
During the winter the opening hours at our site at Haynes are as follows:
Wednesdays & Sundays 10:00 — 15.30
BMES WEB SITE
An addition to our website is a link to a weather forecast for our local area; to access the chart, just go to our website
and click on the link. The site may be accessed from any one of three addresses. They are:
www.bedfordmes.co.uk
www.summerfieldsmr.co.uk
www.summerfieldmr.co.uk
The reasoning behind the apparent duplication of the latter two is that many people incorrectly omit the final ‗s‘ in
Summerfields.
Nik Smith has taken over from Richard Brown and will welcome copy, compliments and even criticisms. At least
they will show that the site is being looked at by the membership. Please, if you haven‘t already done so, visit the site
and let us know what you think. This is our access to the much wider outside world. and we need it to be as perfect as
it can be made.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The general committee of the Society normally meets on the third Monday of each month. Meetings are at Kempston
Fire Station HQ conference room commencing at 19.00 but the new clubhouse will be the venue as soon as it is ready.
Any member is welcome to come along to these meetings as an observer. If you intend coming to one of these meet-
ings, may we ask that you first contact any committee member to ascertain its location.
MEETINGS
Regular meetings are held on the second Monday evening of each month throughout the year. These meetings are
held in the Wilstead Village Hall during the winter (October to March inclusive) and at the track site from April to
September. Details of meetings‘ content, times and venues will be given in preceding issues of The Coupling.
On Wednesdays a group assembles at around 10.00 at the track site, mainly to work on various projects. Any member
is welcome to come along and give a hand or just to enjoy a chat plus a cup of tea or coffee.
Wainwright‘s emporium is open but currently running at a low activity level until the final sorting of the dirty work-
shop is complete.
Sunday mornings, other than public running days, are another time for routine maintenance work. We meet at the
track around 9.30 and there is always plenty to do.
‘The COUPLING’ PUBLICATION DATES
The newsletter is published bi-monthly with issues in January, March, May, July, September and November. In each
case the publication day is the third Thursday of the month, which will normally be three days after the respective
monthly Committee Meeting. This is to allow for any ‗stop press‘ information derived from these meetings to be
included as a flyer. Copy deadlines for contributions, Letters to the Editor, etc, will be set at eight days prior to
publication, usually following the meeting on the second Monday.
Next copy deadline is 11th. January 2012 , please!
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SOCIETY SALES
Sweat and polo shirts can be made up for individuals according to size and logo required. They can be embroidered
with the owner's name if so wished and the logo can be either the club badge with Summerfield Miniature Railway
around the outside, i.e. the one we are all familiar with, or just the Society badge as depicted on the front of this
issue.
Our contact for these is Tony Bullock (Tel: 01494 439098) . The polo shirts are ideal on a nice still summer's day,
while the sweatshirts are excellent to keep out the wind and make smart casual wear for other occasions.
Single and double-sided fleeces are available to order. Also available are showerproof jackets and these can be
overprinted with logo and name as required. If you wish to place an order for yourself or your partner, then please
contact Tony direct; he is often at club meetings when he will be happy to oblige. Cash with order please.
The fridge magnets in the form of a BR totem station sign and depicting Haynes End , Hammer Hill or Badgers Holt may be obtained from the Station Buffet. The Totems are finished in BMES Blue.
We have the useful little handbooks Still Steaming, Little Puffers and Tiny Trains, dealing respectively with standard
gauge, narrow gauge and miniature railways – the latter including our own Summerfields Miniature Railways. These
guides are priced at £7.99 each, or all three for £20; with proceeds going towards the new clubhouse.
NEW LINE
Polo Shirts are now available with a pocket which is most useful for those of us who wear glasses and want some-
where to put them when not perched on the nose. The badge and name can be embroidered as now but on the right
hand side with the pocket on the left. Cost per shirt inclusive of embroidery is £13.50 .
Law of Gravity -
Any tool, nut, bolt, screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.
Law of the Result
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.
Law of Biomechanics -
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.
B M E S
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Sunday 20th. CS Public Running
Monday 21st CS Committee
Station Buffet & Burger Bar November 2011
Photos Ed Inside the Station Buffet - November 2011
