kevinlms

The first year we had about 70 members and had a highly successful first exhibition and made lots (too much as it turned out) of money. The members who had organised the exhibition, went mad. Their idea was that future exhibitions would effectively be run by them, without any oversight by the club. The clubs role becoming one of supplying them with layouts and volunteers to man their exhibition. They were adamant that the club should remain unincorporated, thus no legal oversight of their actions. Of course a significant portion of the membership, weren't the least bit interested in this (there was talk of some members taking out 2nd mortgages on their homes, to pay for hiring a large commercial venue, capable of holding many 1000s at a time). To cut a long story short, they were told no, which split the club and lost lots of members. They did try hosting a private venture (held by members of our club - but not officially by our club, to use their terminology). The main reason for dissent, was the very short notice given and the fact that they had made a decision, signed and paid a deposit, BEFORE asking our members. No results were ever provided, but judging by the very poor attendance and few exhibits, they must have lost heaps. For the next couple of years, we had to assure exhibitors & traders, that the mess was nothing to do with us!

The reference regarding the manual was a general one, for any organisation that provides a 'back' product.

Why would anyone want to paint such lovely locomotives anything but black? The LMS had determined that black was the correct colour for them. :-)

Agree 100% I was Treasurer for a small model railway club, (usually between 30 -40 members). To be honest we have always struggled with the bills, mostly because we were in rather expensive private rental. Despite our efforts we were unsuccessful in more suitable & even slightly cheaper accommodation. One year, as Treasurer I made the recommendation to have a modest increase in members fee. The aim being to reduce our loss of income vs. expenses (mostly the rent). I got voted down on that, because one member stated that the way to increase membership was to reduce the membership fee, not increase. So he proposed a decrease instead. I pointed out, that such a decrease would mean that 3 new memberships, would need to be found just to stay even. That decrease actually got put and approved, to my dismay. We did actually get 4 new members that year, so a minuscule increase in members income. We actually need a big rise in income to make any worthwhile difference. The following year, I put an identical motion forward to have the small increase. The vote was to keep it the same. Time for me, not to be Treasurer! That was the reward I received for being Treasurer for 11 years! OK, they did make me a Life Member too, but I would have stayed on if they wanted me to, but clearly they weren't listening. Like most Treasurers, I took the flak of members about needing to twist my arm to get funding for their pet project. My answer was always the same. The club members determine how the club funds get spent. My job is to keep track of the income & expenses and to present a monthly report to the Committee and an Annual Report to the members. If the members voted to spend too much on layouts etc, so be it. Actually usually they didn't, because they couldn't agree whether they wanted to spend it on N gauge or HO! Club is about to fold, as we had to vacate our clubroom (lack of funds to pay for it) and we made a decision last year, to wind up in 12 months, if no alternative can be found - it hasn't!

Best way to have memberships, is to have a joining fee which covers the manual (if there is such a thing). Then a pro-rata for the next year & a bit. Say the month you join is March and the club membership ends in June, then bill them for 15 months worth. Adjust quarterly, so you have 12, 15, 18, or 21 month memberships. A uniform date for renewal is easiest, for a volunteer organisation. Different sorry, if paid staff are doing it, where you'd want to spread the load.

The one place she had heard of. Yes, I do know it isn't in Wales!

We used get regular scammers, that claimed that they were calling from a suburb near Melbourne's CBD. Now having previously researched their business, I knew it was one of many. In fact the total registered businesses at that address and in the same industry, was estimated at 50! So it seems they used a different business name each week - I'm guessing that the idea was that, they would be below the threshold for each one, thus avoiding tax! They used to call up saying that they were a local business and located in this suburb. I used to say, 'well that's interesting, what about it?' They used to ramble on about saving money on phone calls. Then I'd ask what the weather was like. Although about 40 km from me, they had no idea, whether it was day or night, hot or cold, dry or wet! Anyway, they'd eventually figure out that I was having them on, they would say something rude and hang up. I only bothered, because they claimed to be down the road.

The 5th member has always been Timothy, the dog.

It's a mistaken belief that you will get your money back and a bit for your time. They forget to subtract the hours of presumed pleasure, they got from building it.

Yes, you would be wrong! This section is a busy commuter line and has off peak services of 15 minutes or so each way and much better than that in peaks. Trains are single deck, 6 car electrics, on 1500 Volts DC overhead. There is no freight service. Here is one half of the timetable for this section. https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/timetable/9/lilydale/ There are currently service restrictions (Covid-19). There is also the Belgrave line, that also uses this section of track, running an equivalent service - so twice as many trains.

Don't dismiss out of hand the reversible centre track. Here in Melbourne Australia, we have an example with a significant length of run between multiple stations. https://www.victorianrailways.net/signaling/completedia/erauburn2005.html The centre track is reversible and is used for express trains (strictly speaking, limited stop as the trains run no faster) in peak hour. During off peak, generally the centre track and the northernmost line is used for normal services. https://www.victorianrailways.net/signaling/completedia/erecam1981.html Note how the 4 track main line becomes 3 at Burnley. For good measure, here is an example of a junction station (Ringwood), where double track used to split to two single tracks. It also has a reversible centre line for you. Goods trains used to wait in the centre for a clear path. https://www.victorianrailways.net/signaling/completedia/blackring.html https://www.victorianrailways.net/signaling/completedia/blaringdia.html Note catch points shown in the 1973 plan, but not the earlier one. This station has recently been rebuilt and the signal box, is currently almost where it was in the earlier plan. But it is not used for railway purposes, but a cafe.

I didn't know that Notts County's ground, didn't meet the minimum standard! :-)

No, but does that stop wishful thinking?

You don't HAVE TO do any modifications at all! You'll find plenty of arguments for both sides of the discussion, some going to the trouble to modify points, others not doing so. There is a 3rd option. That is to just use them as they come out the box. Then you can join the chorus later of 'why do my trains stall on points'? There are many questions on this topic. It's easy to prepare the points for modification, while they are still in your hand. It's much easier then, rather than finding out after you have ballasted the track and weathered/painted it. But the hobby of model railways have no 'rules' on these matters, the choice is 100% yours and perhaps learn to live with the consequences!

On 31/07/2020 at 20:54, kevinlms said: As recent events have shown, all these clubs tend to vote for what is best for them individually rather than for what is best for the game in Scotland. Not me, your honour! I don't disagree with you. No club is ever going to vote against their own interest. Who wouldn't? Fact is Scottish football has been in strife almost since it started. With total domination by Celtic & Rangers, for which there is no easy answer. The only thing that comes up from time to time, is Rangers & Celtic joining the Premier League, but of course England isn't interested in the least.

Melbourne, Australia is supposed to be the end of the world! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Beach_(1959_film) Although with Coronavirus numbers rising, maybe not!

Just in case you ever need this information! https://www.wired.com/story/how-outrun-dinosaur/

Why would they question a seller with good feedback? There is also the issue of what knowledge would the eBay people, have to determine whether a 'kit built' item is or is not. None would be that answer. Just don't buy from someone that you don't agree with, is the best solution.

Partick still agreed to the legal action. I suppose a win would have been very useful to them, but the penalty for losing was always going to be very risky. Look what happened to Rangers for instance.

Almost certainly a total scam. They randomly call people (using a robot) and by asking people if they've had an accident. If you say yes (what percentage of people have had recent accident?), they're well on their way!

Was that the joke of the day?

Of course it's successful, otherwise it would stop very quickly. The amount of losses goes up every year. So lots of victims.

But as per the earlier post, it's a successful business model. Otherwise the results would be different. Obviously eBay don't care, as long as they collect their fees.

My younger brother had it too. No idea what happened to it.

Harold Elliot featured in the 1959 February Railway Modeller in the 'Personality Parade' series, as number 84. My index notes say this. Harold Elliot is the owner of a large O gauge display layout at Scarborough. Famed for having 2 models (1 spare) of 'Sammy the Shunter'. Hero of an Ian Allan book series The 1959 September issue (incorporating August, due to printers strike) Junior Modeller - Holiday Jaunts 1 Railwayland My notes again. A look at the commercial layout in Scarborough. It is in O gauge and it has a model of 'Sammy the Shunter', from the Ian Allan series