Page 9 - NMRA Roundhouse March-April 2018

The place was buzzing. I’m not sure how many people were there but some were upstairs running Derek’s layout, others were watching videos while yet more were just socialising. Most of the attendees were members of the NMRA Cyder Belt Division, of which Derek was chairman. Late in the evening, Derek’s wife, Glenys, produced a huge buffet for the attendees. Overall the hospitality was amazing and a fabulous introduction to the NMRA. This was a long established event and continued every month for many years. For me, it was definitely worth that monthly 150 mile trip and I really appreciated the efforts of Derek and Glenys.
Apart from providing this monthly hospitality and coordinating the Cyder Belt, Derek was a long time contributor to the British Region. Long before I met him he had been Region President.
He was also Contest Chairman and he continued this into the nineties. He was in this role when I was President and ran the contests very efficiently and al- ways with good humour. I knew that the annual contest was something I never needed to have any concerns about.
In later years Anne and I only used to meet Derek at the annual convention. He was always friendly and polite to everyone, always with that little smile and a twinkle in his eye that made you suspect he knew something you didn’t. The description of “gentleman and a gentle man” fitted him exactly.
Derek was a long time servant of Brit- ish Region and will be sadly missed by his many friends. Anne and I would like to pass on our sympathy to his chil- dren, Tina and Darin.
Tom Winlow, Past President
Derek was NMRA Life Member number 3137 registered on New Year’s Day 1974. I met him as he was organising the convention at Bath.
Preparation, thoroughness, patience and, above all, reasoning and logic are the attributes and virtues he will be
remembered by. If Derek was involved then you were in good hands and successful outcomes were usually the result. Enjoyment and variety were not limited to model railroads.
The Bath event had a grand hotel on the riverside adjacent to the famous bridge. Quilting exhibitions at the Amer- ican Museum, the Roman Baths, sub- terranean stone excavations, mineral water bottling plants, tea room visits
to Sally Lunn’s: Derek always sought variety without excluding the model- ling aspects. Maxim: keep everyone involved in something.
In those early days we were extending our contacts with the contact group in the Netherlands and they organised a weekend for British Region members in an Amsterdam hotel in the appro- priately named James Watt Stratt. Unfortunately, Derek’s personal travel arrangements went astray and he arrived late and without a confirmed booking and was found wandering in the streets by the local constabulary. Patient, logical explanations in English followed. ‘No problem, Sir! Come with me, please mind your head as you
get into the car.’ Desk clerk operates as travel agent, police driver drops
him at a nearby B&B and carries his bags. A relieved Derek creates another goodwill moment and members from the Netherlands still visit us regularly.
Remember Derek as the ‘Man who opened up the South West.’ There was a significant grouping of modellers in the Bath/Bristol area enjoying planned meetings and running sessions in nearby Claverton. Derek had studied the NMRA rules and regulations. There was no limitation of the numbers who could join and after some of the op- position subsided, the Cyder Belt was formed and became our No. 1 Division. Just look at the popularity of Division activity now in the southern counties. Large oaks from little acorns grow.
Derek’s own model railroading involved three layouts in addition to the Claver- ton layout. He had a linear layout on
top of the bookcase. He was a great man for books as a learning tool. His love of the Milwaukee Road was the inspiration for Avery, Idaho, which is
a division point on the Milwaukee line heading to the West Coast. Avery was a change over place where bipolar electrics were exchanged for diesels. Finally, there was a convoluted lay-
out in the spare bedroom where his regular operating group met. Derek’s ingenuity was exceptional. He took a layout from the magazine which suited him – based on three levels of trackage and changed all the elevations. The highest planned level in the magazine plan became his level lowest level and vice versa.
At Regional level he was for many years our Contest Chairman with
all the attendant work required. The paperwork and judging he handled with finesse, in days with many more models, and also large numbers of photographs to display. Additionally, he introduced the ‘Trains on Stamps’ category and created the ‘Photo Match’ category for scratchbuilt mod- els for comparison with photographs of their prototypes.
The Frows were a very friendly family and 1 and 2 Tyning Place was a very accommodating home for friends when in the area. Sadly, Glenys predeceased Derek by some years and Tina and Darin helped their father get through his final illness with much love and ten- der caring. His funeral was in Bath on 20 December 2017 where his fami-
ly, VW and model rail friends attend- ed. Over one third of the congregation were from the model railway fraternity, many from the NMRA. Derek was known in life for chiefly drinking only orange juice but we then celebrated Derek’s life pleasantly with food and a little alcohol reminiscing at the Boat- house hostelry. He really was a good man to know and will be missed by many.
Steve Park, Past President
April 2018 - ROUNDHOUSE 9