News

These are just small snippets of info that I post here on an irregular basis.

Saturday 28th August

Workday was quiet today, quite a few non-starters.
We had the fire extinguisher guy making the place a bit safer for us.
The pest exterminator will be in on Wednesday to remove some ants that are causing a problem.
Don't forget that Wednesday is also a work day to catch up on a few tasks.

Thought of the day
Survival Tip
2. When someone tells you that what he's about to say is "for your own good," expect the worst.

Sunday 22nd August

The weather was perfect for today's Running Day. Everyone had a great time although we lost two locos early in the morning which lead to a few delays but we soon got on top of it. Last ride was at 2:45.

I have put up some photos so goto August 2010 Public Running Day.

Greg Coleman is organising a TimeTable Run/POETS weekend for the 4th and 5th of September. Looks very well organised and should be a great weekend. Come down evenif you don't have a loco because there are heaps of things to do.

Don't forget the Woolworths Charity Run on the 12th September. This is for a very good cause and well worth supporting.

Thought of the day

Monday 9th August

Ross sent me the minutes of the August General Meeting and the 2010 Annual General Meeting.

Warwick sent me the minutes of the Post Hot Pot Run meeting held last month.

All minutes are on the Members Page. Please take the time to read them.

Thought of the day

Sunday 8th August

Another perfect day in paradise. We had a Family Day at the track, organised by Warwick. There were around 80+ visitors and 5 locos.

The day wasn't without incident, which was a good thing because it showed up a few problems with the locos. Woody had problems with the cowcatcher fowling the check rails and causing a minor derailment and a broken cow catcher. Ray was off for a short time with a broken/loose pipe. Max had to come in when a carriage started binding. I don't think Carl, Herb (on Ugly) and Simon had any problems thankfully.

Thought of the day
Survival Tip
1. Don't try to live with anyone who insists on alphabetizing your spice rack.

Saturday 7th August

We had our AGM today.
Rob Robertson was returned as President.
Unfortunately, Ross Edmondson declined to continue as secretary and the position is unfilled until the board approach a member to take on the job. David Bunker is the Assistant Secretary.
John Wilson, who did a great job as Treasurer last year, agreed to continue for another 12 months.
Greg Coleman was elevated from Assistant Track Superintendant to Track Superintendant and Col Jackson eased his work load by dropping from Track Superintendant to Assistant Track Superintendant.
All other positions remained the same as last year.

Just a reminder about the POETS/Timetable run on the 4th and 5th September. Unfortunately, I won't be here, so make sure you have enough fun to make me sorry I missed it.

We have a Charity Run on the 12th September, with the main beneficiary being sick children. More details late.

Thought of the day
Survival Tip
15. If you humiliate yourself, be consoled with the thought that you probably made someone else's day ... maybe even their week. Think of your humiliation as an act of charity.

Sunday 1th August

Yesterday's workday was relatively short on numbers. A few members went to the Blue Mountains Club for their Invitation Run and others took a sickie.

Progress is being made on improving our track with a bad section near the western gantry fixed and the spare points are being cleaned up so we can easily move from The Main to the Outer Main near North Box.

I received the following interesting You Tube link from Brian Jones.
Here’s a strange loco that I have never seen before.
Check the last scene’s where they connect the pantograph up! Do you think they are raising steam in the strange boiler with electricity? Or is it just for carriage lighting? There isn’t much smoke coming from the funnel.

Thought of the day
I've still got 'IT', but no one wants to see it!

Sunday 25th July

Public Running Day was looking a bit grim to start with as the weather looked threatening and the crowd was very slow to build up. However, it fined up and we had a great time, running till after 2:30.

A couple of members commented about the lack of tables and the new concrete pads we have installed. Wait till next month when the 15 new aluminium tables appear and there will be room for everyone.

A pleasant surprise for Greg, one of our members, when we all wished him happy 21st. Actually, I think we'd all like to be 21 again instead of the 70+ that most of us are.

I have posted about 200 pictures. Goto the web site or The Picture Page

Thought of the day
Too many freaks, not enough circuses.

Sunday 18th July

Yesterday was work day and as expected, we had half the number who were there on Wednesday's OFD. Maybe we should change the work day to Wednesday.

Today was the Family Day and a great time was had by the dozens of kids who were there. There were also a heap of locos. Simon was running around again and had no problems, which was good to see. John S had the 48 class on trial. Ross had his magnificent creation under trial too. New member Ken was like a kid with a new toy when Max let him drive Matilda. Col was giving the "P" Class a shake down run. Woody was going well till a loose nut (no, not the driver) pulled him to a stop. There were others there too. All in all, a very successful day.

Thought of the day
Women and cats do as they please
Men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

Wednesday 14th July

Perfect weather again for the OFD. There were over 40 of us there and 9 locos. Would be great if we had that number of members at the work days!!!

Denis M had the refurbished Deltek and it was running well. Just the lettering to go on and it will be pulling passengers.

John S had his new 48 class. Beautiful looking job that should pull 6 carriages on the running day.

Simon bought a loco and was there playing around with it. Small problem with the clacks, but they will soon be fixed.

Carl was there with a new spark arrestor. If it works as well as it looks a lot of drivers should add one to prevent the public complaining about burns from the sparks.

The concreter was laying the bases for the new picnic tables. Unfortunatley they won't be ready for this PRD, but should be in for next month.

Thought of the day
The 12-step chocoholics program: Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!

Saturday 10th July

Don't forget Sunday 18 is a family day with John W, Carl, Max R and Woody. Come down and have a picnic with us.

We are progressing with the government grants. Simon has dug out the dirt for the tables, and an estimator was measuring up for the alteration to the carriage shed. Should be mostly finished next month, and then we only have the new storage shed. It'll take us a few months to fill the new shed with rubbish, but I am confident we can do it.

Workday wasn't too productive as a dozen members were involved in the post HPR meeting. I hope to have the minutes later this week.

Since there wasn't much time between the end of the meeting and lunch, I bludged and took soome photos.

Most important is the AGM next month. Make sure you are there to cast your vote.

Thought of the day
Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs.