Page 5 - May June 2007

can recognise Derek’s achievements is to see that he is awarded the AP Program’s ‘Association Volunteer’ award, and I hope to present this personally at the first opportunity. Derek – well done, many thanks and you have earned and deserve it.
In the April Roundhouse, the death was announced of Shoreham­by­Sea member John Knight. I did not know the gentleman, but he was certainly well known by others in that area and in particular Martin Boyask. Latterly, John had no family/ relations, and model railways and model aircraft were his passions. With no­one to leave his railway collection too, he spoke with Martin and effectively, in his will, requested that the NMRA should dispose of it and take some of the proceeds. Sadly (and here is a lesson for us all) he never signed the will and therefore died intestate. At first we thought that all his estate would go to the state. Luckily, however, the power to deal with the estate was passed to the local authority and they (with no knowl­ edge of model railways) asked Martin to
1 April Spring Meet Crewe Heritage Centre
Report by Nobby Clarke – Publicity/Meets Officer
We drove though Crewe town centre on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning, following the Penguin (Terry Page) from the hotel with Mike Arnold following close behind! It was a good job Rose was driving because I was happily looking around for signs of past and present railway activity, which for an old LNWR fan meant I was in heaven.
To say the Calder Northern’s new home at the Crewe Heritage centre is one of the best venues I have been to for a region meet is an understatement. As you drive into the site, which is right next to a Tesco’s store, you are greeted by the sight of an APT motor car and its rack of coaches sitting by the main line. Then as you turn the corner you are greeted by several more locos in different states of repair. I had to keep pinching myself to remem­ ber this was not an April Fool’s joke!
We parked right next to a Class 87 which is just outside the side entrances of the Heritage Centre. On entering you are aware of the faint smell of oil and grease, as part of the Centre is still used as machine shop for many of the items being restored, such as a 9F which looked to be getting ready for painting, to a beautifully restored LNWR TRO that Pete Waterman was going to inspect later that week. Most of the traders and layouts were already set up ready for the day ahead, so as we walked around the centre it was hard to know what to look at first – the layouts, the trade stands or the history on display.
To my surprise the best was yet to come! Terry Wynne asked if we had been down to the signal box, which is the new Calder Northern home. This is a short walk from the Heritage Centre, and along the way you pass, on one side, many historic railway items and on the other side the west coast main line. There is even a narrow gauge railroad, which was due to open to the public in time for Easter, so you can see the Centre has much to offer.
As we entered the signal box we were greeted by some of the CN ladies making refreshments ready for the day. John Hey was setting up his stand in one corner next to a door which leads upstairs to a working display of the switching panel of Crewe. Then through the next door you walk out on to the viewing platform which overlooks the main line. Lots of members took advantage of this spot later in the day to eat their lunches and just pass the time of day by watching the trains go by! I am told this is a great vantage point for photos when there is a steam trip
dispose of the model railway items, agree­ ing to a split of the proceeds. Martin has done a wonderful job and as a result a cheque for over £2500 has been presented totheRegion.
This is obviously a very significant boost for Region funds. We can only give thanks that John considered the NMRA in this way and that his wishes were fulfilled (even if in a slightly roundabout way).
As a point of general interest, if any member would like some help or advice about the disposal of their model railway collection following their death (whether or not they are leaving some of the pro­ ceeds to the Region), any Region Director would be pleased to confidentially assist. On a happier note, a big thank you to all those who have responded to my para­ graphs about Cliff Young. One thing has become clear – this gentleman was a major influence for US modelling and the NMRA from the late ’60s to the early ’80s. An article about him and his model railroad may well be appropriate and we certainly
have enough material to use. Watch this space.
Our organisation is now over 60 years old. It occurs to me that we are becoming a Historical Society in our own right. John Firth tells me that the history of the Division is well documented up until about 1960. The material is there for con­ tinuing it on beyond then. It is possibly a retirement job for a number of us. Much of what we have, though, is the written word. How nice it would be if we had a small archive of photographs etc, of layouts such as Cliff Young’s from those earlier years. Tony Dunbar tells me that he has had some early cine film of Cliff’s (and other layouts of the time) transferred onto VHS. We will look seriously at having this transferred onto DVD/digital. Has anybody else out there anything similar, including slides/prints, even models – could this be the start of a British Region archive or even Museum? This would also be a nice way to remember members as well.
For the moment – Happy Model Railroading.
leaving Crewe, as the locos come right beside the box. I bet they don’t need to ask for volunteers to man the layouts that day?
Downstairs you enter the back of the signal box which leads you to what must be one of the best kept secrets in the region, because along the back wall is a window, not any ordinary window but one that fills the whole back wall – it must be at least 12' × 10', with a row of chairs so you can sit down and look back at Crewe station and watch all that comes in and out of the station, at track level. How the lads get any work done on building the layouts is beyond me!
The meet opened before ten o’clock, as there was a steady flow of members and public waiting to come in. The CN lads had done a great job by getting a good mix of layouts, along with full trade support, mixed with bring & buy tables, all in these wonderful surroundings. With the Tesco’s store next door, many members used their parking area for the day when the Centre’s car park was full. Another handy thing about Tesco’s next door is that you can get lunch there.
One of the funniest things happened near the end of a great day. John Hey, in charge of calling the raffle, had clearly put his tickets in front so everyone could see he was not cheating. Rose pulled HIS number out of the bag as the first ticket drawn! Talk about bring the house down!
Considering the CN lads had only been in the venue since January they had done an incredible job getting the place ready, and all of us came away owing them our thanks, as I know everyone enjoyed themselves. I for one cannot wait to go back.
A personal view!
When I was President I knew of the plans of the CN group to move to the Heritage Centre and was excited by what I was hearing. Now that I have seen the place first­hand I believe everyone in the Region should give the CN group as much help as possible. Because the Heritage Centre and the signal box have so much potential, it could become the centre for all things NMRA in this country! Who knows, it could even become the Region’s HQ. What with a safe place to store the Region’s library and any other resources we have, this would assist members’ access to those resources. Also the lads have already been asked to have a permanent US prototype layout on display at the Centre, which is to be operated on public days, so getting the word out in a big way! If you have the chance to visit the centre please make sure you support the Calder Northern group by offering your help, no matter how small.
JUNE 2007