Hi from Essex.

[James M]

Hi All,

I have just joined the forum this morning. I model in 16mm, but have found a lot of interesting posts on this forum. Our two scales are very similar so I am sure I can learn a lot and hopefully help others a lot. I have a small oval of track in my garden which I hope to eventually extend and develope. I run steam and battery locos, but enjoy running my battery locos more.

Regards Alan.

 

[Hal Farsed]

Welcome Alan

 

[Steve]

Welcome aboard Alan

 

[Zerogee]

Welcome Alan - what part of Essex are you in? There's quite an active bunch of us up in North Essex around the Colchester area, we have a very good programme of summer garden meets (under the G Scale Society banner) and a regular monthly indoor running day during the colder parts of the year, where live steam is just as welcome as track-power, battery or almost anything else.....

Hope you enjoy your time here!

Jon.

 

[Paul M]

Welcome to the group. You're like me model in 16mm but enjoy all garden railways. What part of Essex? I'm in North Herts.

 

[PhilP]

Welcome Alan!

 

[James M]

Welcome Alan - what part of Essex are you in? There's quite an active bunch of us up in North Essex around the Colchester area, we have a very good programme of summer garden meets (under the G Scale Society banner) and a regular monthly indoor running day during the colder parts of the year, where live steam is just as welcome as track-power, battery or almost anything else.....

Hope you enjoy your time here!

Jon.

Hi Jon, I am in South Essex, soun

Welcome Alan - what part of Essex are you in? There's quite an active bunch of us up in North Essex around the Colchester area, we have a very good programme of summer garden meets (under the G Scale Society banner) and a regular monthly indoor running day during the colder parts of the year, where live steam is just as welcome as track-power, battery or almost anything else.....

Hope you enjoy your time here!

Jon.

Hi Jon, I am from South Essex. Meetings sound interesting. I can easily regauge a loco and some stock!

Regards Alan.

 

[stockers]

Welcome aboard.

 

[James M]

Welcome to the group. You're like me model in 16mm but enjoy all garden railways. What part of Essex? I'm in North Herts.

Hi Paul, I'm in South Essex, near Southend.

Regards Alan.

 

[Zerogee]

Hi Jon, I am in South Essex, soun

Hi Jon, I am from South Essex. Meetings sound interesting. I can easily regauge a loco and some stock!

Regards Alan.

I guess that you normally run on 32mm, in that case? All our running is usually on 45mm, but if you've got re-gaugeable stock then that's fine.
The monthly winter meets are not TOO far from you - in Salcott, down on the Blackwater Estuary south of Tiptree - next one is on the 4th March (sadly I won't make that one myself due to other commitments, but there should be a good crowd there including several other folks who are active here on GSC), then there are two in April, on the 1st and the 29th. At these Saturday meetings we normally run track power for a while first (both DC and DCC depending on the gear that people have brought along), then run live steam and battery power later in the afternoon.
The GSS garden open afternoons (usually, but not always, on Sundays) then start around May, and details of them are circulated to all G Scale Society members in the area - again, they are almost all 45mm, and are predominantly G scale electric though some do dabble in live steam as well.

Jon.

 

[Gizzy]

Welcome to the forum Alan.

I sometimes pop down to the Essex meets, so I may see you there one day....

 

[James M]

I guess that you normally run on 32mm, in that case? All our running is usually on 45mm, but if you've got re-gaugeable stock then that's fine.
The monthly winter meets are not TOO far from you - in Salcott, down on the Blackwater Estuary south of Tiptree - next one is on the 4th March (sadly I won't make that one myself due to other commitments, but there should be a good crowd there including several other folks who are active here on GSC), then there are two in April, on the 1st and the 29th. At these Saturday meetings we normally run track power for a while first (both DC and DCC depending on the gear that people have brought along), then run live steam and battery power later in the afternoon.
The GSS garden open afternoons (usually, but not always, on Sundays) then start around May, and details of them are circulated to all G Scale Society members in the area - again, they are almost all 45mm, and are predominantly G scale electric though some do dabble in live steam as well.

Jon.

Hi Jon,
Thanks for the info on meetings, do you have to be a G Scale Society member to attend meetings?

 

[Zerogee]

Hi Jon,
Thanks for the info on meetings, do you have to be a G Scale Society member to attend meetings?

The Salcott winter meets, no - held in the Village Hall, they are quite informal and we welcome anyone who wants to turn up; in fact they didn't start out as GSS meets at all, they just seem to have been absorbed into the Society's calendar! There are quite often more 16-millers there than G-scalers, the common thing being running on 45mm.
The summer garden days are a slightly different matter, because people are opening their own gardens and thus may not want details circulated outside the society membership for security reasons, so to get the details of when (and more importantly, where) these are you really need to join the society - but it's quite a reasonable cost and you do get a quarterly magazine out of it (not as impressive as the 16mil Association's journal, but still not a bad read) as well as the potential social side and contact with members in your area.

Jon.

 

[Timbo]

Welcome. This is very interesting and useful place to be.

 

[dunnyrail]

The Salcott winter meets, no - held in the Village Hall, they are quite informal and we welcome anyone who wants to turn up; in fact they didn't start out as GSS meets at all, they just seem to have been absorbed into the Society's calendar! There are quite often more 16-millers there than G-scalers, the common thing being running on 45mm.
The summer garden days are a slightly different matter, because people are opening their own gardens and thus may not want details circulated outside the society membership for security reasons, so to get the details of when (and more importantly, where) these are you really need to join the society - but it's quite a reasonable cost and you do get a quarterly magazine out of it (not as impressive as the 16mil Association's journal, but still not a bad read) as well as the potential social side and contact with members in your area.

Jon.

If only the Kelvedin and Tollesbury Light Railway were still open that would make a cracking days trip!
JonD

 

[Zerogee]

If only the Kelvedin and Tollesbury Light Railway were still open that would make a cracking days trip!
JonD

Well, the Chappel and Wakes Colne (Colne Valley Railway) is still open, and not too far away....

Jon.

 

[beavercreek]

Here is a little vid that I cobbled together, from one of our member's shooting, at our 2013 Salcott Christmas meet..... (we now also have a 'Winter Meet' at the larger Tolleshunt Knights village hall)
Shows the range of kit that turns up.....

 

[Zerogee]

Thanks for re-posting that, Mike!

That gives a good impression of the monthly Salcott village hall meets (less the Christmas stuff of course), with the temporary track down on the floor (note the Post-Office-issue rubber bands stretched between sleepers, great for keeping the track pieces tightly together and ensuring good continuity!) and a real mix of scales and types of motive power - though recently we've had a much bigger turnout (no, not an LGB R5....), probably a good couple of dozen or more folks at the February one just gone. As I mentioned above, all are welcome at these meets and you don't need to be a GSS member to come along.

Jon.

 

[Nordmij]

Southend soon to have a new line just awaiting planning permission and secure fencing to go up. Life starting again this spring. Looks like i will need lots of timber and cement and a big delivery of extra track. Off to search secondhandvtrack now....