Felixstowe Area “N” Gauge Group
JUNE 2023 NEWSLETTER


CLUB SECONDHAND STALL by Chris
It would be most helpful if people can add a sticker "UNDERNEATH the item or on the box of the item you wish to sell" with their initials and price they wish to sell, or a tie on tag with the details which is less likely to mark any items not boxed as some stickers can mark things.

If you are selling a LOCO, please indicate if it is DC OR DCC and if it runs OK in both directions.  If something is in need of some TLC, please state this and the item will be sold as seen and the buyer politely made aware at the time of purchase. Let's be fair to people and not get the club a bad name......

I will also require a neatly written or typed list of items showing the sellers name and contact number please with any instructions as to what their lowest price will be if people want to haggle (aim a little high and expect to get what you want by letting me or the stall helper haggle down to your limit).

Please either bring items to the club rooms on the Thursday before the show, or at least half an hour BEFORE the club show is thrown open to the heaving hordes of visitors.
I will be taking SOME loose change with me but if you want to register a loan in the form of a few pounds in loose change, it will be appreciated.  I will happily give you a receipt.

A few tips on pricing things up.
OO gauge is selling quite cheap at the moment and N gauge is going the opposite way, so as a guide, have a look on eBay and Facebook market place to help give you an idea of the latest realistic prices for whatever you are selling.  If you are struggling to put a value on something and are prepared to let the club sell your items at whatever we can get for them, then please let me know.

The club are hopeful that you will be decent enough to allow a 10% percent donation of your item sold to go towards club funds.  This can be (with your prior permission) taken from the money taken or if you are feeling very generous you are most welcome to donate the whole of the sale made to the club.  Please confirm either way so that we can record peoples generosity in the club minutes.

Other than that, enjoy the show, spend only what you can afford, and fingers crossed for what you are selling !!!  Good luck, see you soon !


EXHIBITION UPDATE by Trevor

There have been some changes to the layouts since the last newsletter. We now have the following layouts; club layouts Woodbridge, Sutherland, Stowley Loop and modules. Other layouts; Beach Junction, Aurora Yard, Assington Branch, The Coal Yard, 009 layout & one from Dave Landin. Orwell Models, secondhand from our group and IRMA, plus Mid Suffolk Light Railway.
As mentioned before, we need help from members to erect, run and pack the layouts. Chris Shum is pulling together rotas for the various tasks. If you are able to help, please let him know (before he comes after you).
Chris Smith is organising our secondhand stall, so see his newsletter item above if you have anything to sell.

Orwell Models / Coastal DCC have kindly offered to sponsor our show by paying for the hire of the hall. As you know they have been long term supporters of all our Open Days and shows so please remember to try and support them when you need modelling items.



LAYOUT PROGRESS by Mike
Again, huge progress with New Wookery. I’m busy wiring, but it does seem like an endless job! I put the layout up in my lounge last week, just to check the wiring so far – it seemed a good idea to make sure that what I’ve done so far is correct before adding to it – and making any faults harder to find later! The two through main lines are wired, and ran perfectly. Just as important, the wire in tube connectors for the viaduct carried the current across it impeccably, and my HST and Hitachi 800 ran over it with no hitches. A couple of places on the track need slight adjustment, but all in all, not bad – a shame I can’t embed videos into the newsletter to show you them running.
I’ve discovered the joys of surface-mounted Peco point motors! They are so easy to install, I wish I had learned about them long ago. I hate the Seep motors located under the board, they are such a hard job to get lined up correctly. I’m getting better at it, but there seems to be an unwritten law that they will have to go exactly where your underboard reinforcing is situated, and you have to hack a hole for them. Of course. it has happened to me now. With a little more planning, I could have gotten away with using all Peco’s.




I must confess that I seldom read much in the NGS newsletter. I browse the pictures, check out the new model announcements, and that’s about it for me. I’ve just received the latest issue though, and one article really grabbed my attention – the one about the Metcalfe diorama. Not that I’m interested in Metcalfe at all, but the way the streets stack up into the background really whetted my appetite. Bearing in mind that there is a 6.5 inch drop in the baseboard level to accommodate the viaduct, there is a lot of scope for several street levels. Much food for thought……


SONIC J50’s ARE GO! By Chris
Yes, finally the Sonic J50's have arrived and mine have been dispatched from Rails of Sheffield today - a bit of a pain as I'm off to the North Norfolk Railway’s, Mixed Traffic Gala tomorrow, so won't see them until I'm back, but at least sexy Suzie from Parcelforce will slip them into my secret place when she arrives in the morning! I did see one running at the York show and it was superb!!
I'll have more on these next month.


DISPLAYING AT THE BILLERICAY SHOW by Kevin
Dave invited me to come along and help display his Great Street layout at the Billericay show last week. All went very well, and Dave’s layout got a nice lot of interest through the whole day.


Here is a picture of a couple of ‘handsome’ chaps at the show.
The editor accepts no responsibility for trauma caused by this photo

LAYOUT NEWS - "The Coalyard" by another Chris
So, the colliery layout has changed into a coal yard, this has required a few changes, just as I was getting loose ballast down, I've now found myself doing some pretty serious butchery to the scenic plaster work!


So far, the ballast has remained intact while the hacking, sawing and drilling has been going on all around it.
I've added another area of coal staithes and heaps in an area that was a valley, so some big filling in there, and also put a road in from the upper to the lower yards.
This has knocked me back a bit timewise, but it will all be worth it and make for a much more credible layout.
The photo shows the 'new' area, everything was undercoat brown, but you can see the changes by the new, white plaster.
I have also made up some wagon rakes specifically for this layout, and started to weather them.


NEW TOYS AND YORK by Dave
Three additions to the fleet this month, largely thanks to the amazing NGS York show.


The Brighton Belle is a train I set my sights on pretty much from my first interest in N scale main-line (all of 2 years ago...) I understand the Hornby Arnold 5-BEL to be a bit of a prima donna amongst models but maybe, that's how it should be! It still looked pretty cool with one motor unit and a coach running on the club Deben layout with all table lamps aglow.


The Class 122 DMU is the new Graham Farish offering, courtesy of one of the exhibitors - Monk Bar Model Shop - which I also had to visit on my weekend there.


And finally, the new Sonic J50, which after Mike's prompting for any more articles, appeared on my doorstep as if by magic. I realise the photos don't really show how tiny this locomotive is - can't wait to run it. James Street at the NGS show had a couple of pre-release J50's running pretty much all the time and they performed perfectly as far as I could see. My highlight of the show was probably Grange-Over-Sands by the NW of England Area Group (apparently best in show 2018, I have subsequently discovered!). It was full of interest and detail with quite a few experimental additions. It was great to be shown around the layout by the builder which was typical of how helpful and friendly the operators all were. Looking forward to the next one.


NEW TOYS A selection of other member's latest acquisitions.....

Again, finances are holding me back somewhat, but I have picked up another couple of spine wagons and megafrets. I have quite a few flats with no containers now, so I couldn’t resist this batch of Asda containers when they came up on eBay, thirteen in all. There were a load of Stobart Tesco ones in another lot, which I would have preferred, but they went for too much money for me.


I had a virtually unused Gaugemaster four track controller, which was now redundant as the layout now has just two mainlines with walkabout controllers, so I decided to move it on and listed it in one of the Facebook selling groups. It sold within minutes for £140. When I got the box out to pack it ready for collection, I found the original bill from Hattons five years ago …..for £140!
Anyway, this gave me a bit of cash, so I invested a chunk of it in Three GF Freightliner HHA coal hoppers….


I now have a decent train of hoppers (all with different running numbers) and there are still a few of the Dapol ones I don’t have.

Oh no, stop, whoa! Now I asked you lot to keep me away from eBay, didn’t I? A lovely set of the HST in First Great Western “fag packet” livery was listed at a very good bargain price.
I kept telling myself no, no – it’s a bit early in the period I’m modelling, don’t buy it.
But then he dropped the price by twenty five quid! (sigh)……



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I'd already acquired a Network Rail liveried Farish class 31, when I had the opportunity to gain another one! So, coming across the Mk1 generator car at the York show - well, that had to come home with me, and is the start of a Network Rail train.


We have one come past the house every 4th Monday at 19:25, and returns on the Friday, so it's a case of see it, want it!
Farish are now bringing out some Mk2 coaches that will match the Mk1, making up a very nice train.
 
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Photo shows my latest acquisition, brought back from York. It’s a Rapido lass 28 Co-Bo. I even managed to fit the chip myself and it’s a nice little runner.



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Farish Class 44 in blue, though this will be repainted into full green livery.



Rapido Class 28 finally arrived.



Another Dapol class 66 to add to the fleet.



A Dapol Class 67, DB 67021 ‘Belmond’ in the British Pullman livery to pull a rake of Mk1 Pullman coaches.



By Minitrix, a Swiss E-lok class RE 495 BLS EP.V for hauling freight.



By Kato, a Swiss Ge4/4-III ‘Lavin’ of the Rhatische Bahn, in the Holcim livery.



A nice little oxford set, a Fowler BB1 plough engine and living trailer.