picture 1 picture 2 picture 3 picture 4 picture 5 picture 6 picture 7 picture 8 picture 9 picture 10

Monthly Club News

December 2022: We have gone back to making the buildings for our Norgrove layout. On Saturday 10th December we held our Club Member Christmas lunch event which was hosted by Club Member John Tisi. As well as the lunch members had the opportunity to run John's permanent layout and his new exhibition layout Temple Bridge. A great day was had by all and we plan to repeat this event again in 2023 perhaps in one of the warmer months of the year.

November 2022: We are continuing to prepare our Smallwood layout for the Warley Show at the end of the Month. Latest work includes upgrading the layout lighting and modifying the fiddle yard to make to operate far more reliably. We had an enjoyable weekend at the Warley Model Railway Exhibition over the weekend of the 26th & 27th November with our display stand and our Smallwood layout. This year we  once again incorporated our Barrie Island into the display which was very well received by the visitors.  

October 2022 : We started the month with another enjoyable weekend on the 8th and 9th October exhibiting our Oakenshaw layout at the Great Electric Train Show organized once again by Hornby Magazine. As always the layout was well received by the visitors. We took our Smallwood layout to the Wombourne Model Railway Show on the 15th October. The layout was well received by the visitors. We however came away with a list of improvements needed in readiness for its display at the Warley Show at the NEC in November.

September 2022 : Work has continued on the building for our new Norgrove layout together with preparing for our annual model railway show including pricing up items for our club second hand stall that will be at the show. The Club staged a successful 55th Anniversary Model Railway Exhibition over the weekend of the 17th & 18th September 2022.

August 2022 : Work has continued on the building for our new Norgrove layout. We are also starting to prepare for out exhibition in September. On Saturday 6th Augusty a group of club members had a private visit to the Avonvale Model Engineers site at Hillers farm shop at Dunnington. We were given a behind the scenes tour of the miniature railway as well as a number of rides around their track hauled by various locomotives.

July 2022 : Work has continued on the building for our new Norgrove layout. Much of the layout wiring has been installed and construction of a number of building continue. The Club's Annual General Meeting took place Tuesday 19th July once again provided few surprises and the Committee where re-elected without change for a further twelve months.

June 2022: Wednesday 1st June 2022 marked the 55th anniversary of the formation of the Redditch Model Railway Club. On the evening of Thursday 1st June 1967 a meeting was held at the White Hart Public House in Headless Cross in Redditch which resulted in the Redditch Model Railway Club being formed. Our new test track has seen us on most Club nights this month with various members testing their locomotives on it. Work has continued on the building for our new Norgrove layout.

May 2022: At the beginning of the month we completed the track laying on the new Barrie Island test track layout. Work is continuing on the buildings for our Norgrove layout. We had a great weekend in the company of former Redditch branch locomotive 46443 and 600 Gordon amongst other things at the Engine House at Highley at the Severn Valley Railway exhibiting our Oakenshaw layout on the 7th and 8th May. Thursday 12th May marked a milestone in the construction of Barrie Island mark 3 when we ran the first train marking the completion of the project.

April 2022: Work this month has centered on the construction of the new baseboard for the new club test track Barrie Island III and work to iron out a number of track joint issues on Arrowmouth as well, as still continuing to scratch build buildings for our Norgrove layout.  We have also completed the wiring upgrades on the Auch Ae layout which were tested on 21st April. It has now become customary  club nights on Thursdays to eat cake. We get a different cake made for us every week !

March 2022: We started the month by taking our Arrowmouth layout to the Wombourne Model Railway Show on Saturday 5th March where the layout both ran well and as usual as well received by the visitors. The Wombourne show confirmed we still needed to relay the track over one of the baseboard joints between the scenic section and fiddle yard on Arrowmouth. We started work on this project as soon as we returned from the show. It has involved removal of some of scenery to get at the baseboard joint. The timber has been purchased for the new Barrie Island III test track and work started on assembling the layout on Tuesday 29th March.

February 2022: We are continuing with the completion of the improvements to our Arrowmouth's fiddle yard in ready for its planned exhibition commitments in 2022. By the middle of the month the fiddle yard was ready for testing. Work is continuing on the buildings for our new Norgrove layout. Planning has started for the construction of a mark III of the club test track, Barrie Island, which will mean us constructing a new lighter weight board using the same techniques we have perfected when making our recent new baseboards for other layouts.

January 2022: We start our 55th Anniversary year still making improvements to Arrowmouth's fiddle yard and construction of buildings for our new Norgrove layout. Work on the fiddle yard has progress well with only some of the rewiring to complete and the fitting of new support legs to the baseboards. We have also seen two new members join us in recent weeks and we still have space for more !