Meets

Thamesiders December 2022 – Merry Christmas and a happy New Year

Thamesiders' Physical Meets

As the title and time of publication suggests, it is the holiday season. As I write this to you a few days into 2023, I’d like to take this opportunity, especially if you didn’t hear it from me, to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. It’s the time for celebration, gift giving, setting promises to ourselves we may never keep and letting go a bit for than just the finances. However for me, this is probably a very good space to summarise 2022 and the Thamesiders as a year, and what we as a group are looking forward to in 2023.

After the Annual General Meeting, it was a lovely dinner at the Swan

As you saw from the previous information and our calendars, December was the downtime month in terms of physical layout meets, where we met for the Annual General Meeting and Christmas Lunch. The main points from the AGM I recall are the well deserved recognition and appreciation of the hard work Paul E did in setting up and managing the NMRA May Meet for us, and the motion to make Martin G an Honorary Member. We also discussed at a high level our annual subs and our event for 2023, the Open Day at St Osyth.

There was also time allotted for the annual bring and buy between members, where I recall in earlier years I staunchly stood against the ideal of selling any of my models, however moving in the direction of potentially starting to focus on a single era and area, I brought some items for sale this time around. After both sessions we moved on to the Christmas Lunch where I am afraid to say I didn’t manage to get many pictures. Apologies; I was enjoying it a little too much! Maybe next year…?

Part of the gang (un)lucky enough to be in the single picture mostly decent enough to be shared. It seems I nearly got away no one noticing…

Next time I’ll be sure to get the waitress to get a group photo, but there will be plenty of opportunity to grab something in 2023 so watch out guys…

For me the meal at the Swan was a welcoming closure to what had been a lovely year (in my opinion). Now before you roll your eyes at me, let me defend the claim…

Already mentioned was the May meet, and although we weren’t the biggest show in town we did get our expenses covered and had some well-rounded interest from the local groups and villages.

The Essex Belt Lines at the May Meet 2022. In the background from left to right is Paul P, Dean H and Tom F. Further to the right is Martin G inspecting some track on the N Scale the night before the big day.

The N Scale at the May Meet on the day. Martin G is focused from behind the backscene while being supervised by Paul E on the right. In the background our newer member Dennis (aka dad) is making some moves on the other side of the yard.

Obviously the May meet goes to the top of the list, but some of the other noteworthy achievements include the HO changing the setup by introducing the 7×0 layout (previously mentioned as the 5×2 or 7×2).

The 7×0 EBL setup, making use of the previously stored additional staging boards allowing us to facilitate larger trains.

The N Scale saw some good progression in terms of scenery, particularly the crossing at Taggart.

A view of the N Scale with the scenery taking shape. Paul E and David A are inspecting the track, whilst Tom F sets up for lunch just behind EBL (HO).

And let’s not forget Paul H being able to secure a storage solution for us. This was highlighted during the AGM and from my perspective has played a key role in having better access to our inventory. This also allowed Mike A to kindly bring Laxton up (HO branch) where it is now stored with the other layouts.

This obviously isn’t every highlight, and I implore you to look back through the blog to see individual meets as well as the Ditchlight, but for me these were some of the good, well-rounded achievements for us this year as a group.

Looking forward to 2023 then, the main excitement will be our open day at St Osyth, currently set for 24 June. We’re not planning to run this as big as we did for the May Meet in 2022, but with reservations for the hall running from the Friday eve this is the next step up from our usual physical meets. We’ll be looking to distribute some localised publicity for the community as well as some of the local clubs over the next few months.

At the AGM there was also discussions around getting Laxton up to speed and aligned with the Essex Belt Lines. One key component of those discussions was around aligning the two sets of modules in a way where we could directly utilise the EBL staging, instead of having to complete a loop on the main before our trains could gain access to Laxton. I’m excited to see how that comes along, as well as what I can do to support such a venture.

There have also been some interest from a few members regarding making our own modules. I must profess I have started looking into this prospect so will be looking forward to doing something beyond the starting board I have (below).

So 2023 is set to be another good year I think. Aside from getting some working modules running, my only other resolution this year is to move forward with focusing on a specific era and area, and to really up the ante when it comes to publicity for the N Scale.

Just under 12 months to go; here’s to maybe achieving at least one of those goals, and for another great year ahead of us…

Happy modelling and see you soon!

Neal K.

Thamesiders Physical Meet – Saturday, 26 November 2022

Thamesiders' Physical Meets

Our first arrivals for the last St Osyth meet of the year showed up at around 09:15, and they included the returning Paul P after his amazing holiday. We were also pleased to see again Mike A, bringing up Laxton which is now in the group’s storage, and Michael T to bring us some more interesting trains to run. Suffice to say the HO group had favourable numbers this time around and that was reflected by the Essex Belt Lines being almost completely ready to run by 11. This is also despite some final repairs being done to the central staging yard board, and some track levelling on the Dan and Patrick modules with many thanks to Paul P’s handiwork.

Paul P and Neal K’s combined super-superliner making her run past Peach Meadows. Train is being lead by Neal K’s two F40Phs.


The N Scale wasn’t far behind and a focal point for today’s meet was considering the tunnel ceiling and scenery for the left-hand return loop. There were also some recorded operations, with a much better quality compared to past footage with thanks to remembering to bring my tripod this time. The HO also squeezed some sequences in, but I still aim to favor the N Scale over the next few months, especially when we have the buildings and scenery out on the boards.

The consist making her way over the bridges


We did have a couple of visitors interested in the trains, but it is worth mentioning we had a small crowd’s worth of people coming in throughout the day looking for the St Osyth church Christmas fayre…?! The sign outside didn’t help… but I bet we’ve sowed some seeds of interest in the back of their minds…

Neal K’s Southern Pacific mixed freight arrived at the Ethanol Plant to drop off the tank cars, while Michael T’s 4-8-0 takes a hopper train to Peach Meadows.


My personal highlight for this meet had a tie between getting some great footage of the N Scale, and Paul P and I linking our Amtrak superliners to create a super-superliner consist! Regarding the former, I especially liked David’s Santa Fe long hoods and Dennis’ (aka dad to me) log train. The HO did have some difficulty with their trains, showing the behaviours I saw during the last meet where my F7A refused to respond to any commands. However, there was sufficient stock behaving themselves enough to run the layout, including my ethanol tank cars which were switched out and parked at the ethanol plant, and when it came time to pack up, being spotted to be taken off the layout.

A junior member’s Milwaukee Road G7m is going to retrieve the tank cars to pull from the SP’s consist and hold at the plants’ sidings. It will need to do a run-around before it can drop them off into the plant properly, but to do that, the SP train needs to leave. Hence getting the tank cars out of the way first…

And this is the locomotive after successfully completing the run around and now pulling back in to drop off into the dedicated areas for loading unloading, visible on the left where the model gent is standing on a catwalk.


One straight forward and almost on time pack up later, we are now ready for the AGM and Christmas lunch. We were sorry to hear of our usual caterer for the lunch falling into ill health, where Chris C very kindly moved us to the Swan to allow them to rest and where we all hope in good time, return to good health.

Dennis’ 4-4-0 American, in Minneapolis & St Louis RR, moving a freight car across Taggart’s bridges.

Dennis’ Milwaukee Road Baldwin VO-1000 switcher moving an empty log train.


If I don’t see you at the AGM or Christmas lunch, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year.


Neal K

David A’s Santa Fe long hoods crossing the bridges at Taggart.

Thamesiders Physical Meet – Saturday, 22 October 2022

Thamesiders' Physical Meets
Dennis and Dean working the N Scale’s yard

A Burlington Route E7 crossing the bridges at Taggart. Photo by Dennis.

The first arrivals turned up at the village hall around 09:00, and the N Scale contingent was more represented this time, where the priorities were also switched in terms of essential maintenance. Some new end boards were measured and installed for the HO, allowing the yard to come together in pairs instead of stacking atop one another, reducing the risk of damage to track and easier transport to and from storage.

As noted previously, we were able to get the majority of both layouts in the storage solution so it was a case of transporting the modules from the solution to the hall. We tend to stack the legs and braces for EBL on a single trolly, and use the sack barrows and second trolly to transport the modules themselves.

Dennis’ CNW reefer train, with a noted story about witnessing a long reefer train such as this pass by during his youth.

The HO’s setup was complete around 11:30, with the first trains running shortly after despite the setup not being fully complete. It took a moment to catch up with proper operations, but once done it was mostly seamless.

The N Scale for this meet returned to the classic L shape setup with Taggart, and the bridge corners. EBL continued with the 7×2 setup, and with many thanks for Paul H’s efforts, we now have a control panel which supports EBL’s signals and points again.

Now with a working panel, we installed the signals on EBL. These worked well as always (provided the right ones are installed!)

The N Scale saw a big reefer train, an RAE express service and some interesting Santa Fe / BNSF freight services. The Essex Belt Lines, once up and operational, saw two express passenger consists, two medium freights and a Southern Pacific commuter.

As I’ve understood there were a very little issues with the N Scale, and a couple on the HO. Noteworthy of course was the dead spot on Ethanol again; it may take a proper maintenance session to get that right but larger wheel-based engines or multi-engine consists may have a better time over this area until then.

Paul H’s new control panel for the 7×2 setup.

It was also noted one of the bridges is loose from its supports. This didn’t seem to affect operations but it was an item to monitor for us, especially when we are transporting the bridge modules across bumpy surfaces and slopes between the hall and storage.

We broke for lunch at around 01:30pm, making some basic plans for the NMRA Convention next month as well as potentially the next physical meet. There was also brainstorming for the Summer Open Day next year, so I will making moves on that shortly!

Another shot of the N Scale, this time with David and Paul E looking over the return loop. Tom F is in the background, readying EBL for break down and pack away.

A CSX Grain Hopper at the N Scale’s grain elevator. Photo by Dennis.

We started breaking down EBL at around 03:15pm, successfully finishing up just 10 minutes past 5. The N Scale was much quicker, but the gents kindly helped us with packing. Teamwork certainly makes the dream work…

My personal highlights for the day was getting to test my newly-converted GP9s, one of which worked flawlessly, and the other not so much. I also was able to try out my MTH F3B in a basic El Capitan consist (with admittedly more Express Baggage and RAE cars than passengers – Could this be prototypical? After a certain time, who knows?)

Looking at the rear end of the reefer consist, and at the front of the Mail/baggage express.

A Chicago Great Western GP30 on its way to the pulpwood mill after crossing the bridges at Taggart. Photo by Dennis.

Glad to be reminded, you’ll see I was able to get some shots in of the N Scale; my usual bias for the HO is hopefully being suppressed now, especially since the layout overall is progressing so well. Admittedly, it’s hard to multitask when it comes to trains, and reaching over the scales takes effort as well as the other Thamesiders’ reminding me.

A wonderful time as always; we had one visitor and several inquisitive lookers. There was understandably less compared to last month’s because of my slip up with the parish magazine. I definitely sent it this time; it’s due out at the start of November.

Happy modelling everyone, and see you next meet!

Neal K

My SP Local making a stop at Peach Meadow’s station. My intention here was to do a run around and swap with the engines, but we ran out of time and had to start packing; hopefully next year…

Thamesiders Physical Meet – Saturday, 24 September 2022

Thamesiders' Physical Meets
My trains set up and waiting patiently for their go on the new 7×2 EBL Setup

The first arrivals turned up at the village hall around 08:50, with Paul H delivering the remainder of the items from Martian’s store. For the first part of the morning, both groups pulled together to get the new storage in shape. We then moved on to setup.

Due to a limited presence, the N Scalers decided to perform some important maintenance on their end loops to get them up to operational order.

The HO group tried a new 7 x 2 setup, without signals and Ethanol Buildings because there was no control panel created yet. We made use of our (long time in storage) additional x2 staging modules, moving the “Dan” modules from the outer sides onto the opposite straight.

The new 7×2 setup in use on EBL

Noted trains in attendance was the usual Pennsylvania Express Passenger, an Amtrak later era passenger, an Amtrak early era passenger, a large modern freight hauling box cars and tank cars (unashamedly the tank cars were not as modern!) and a CNW commuter train.

There was still some issues with the Ethanol Module, and there was point I swear I saw smoke coming out of the APT Module following an extended short. Hopefully nothing is too damaged or if there was damage, it is easily and cheaply recoverable.

I had brought my new Walthers Trainman Amtrak F7 AB set with ESU DCC Sound with hopes to run it with the early Amtrak Passenger. The B Unit came on without issues, however the A unit was refusing to activate or respond. It was possibly still stuck in an earlier consist (curse the Gaugemaster System at the Mid-Essex Club)!

A view of the scenic section of the 7 x 2 EBL setup

We wound down not long after lunch with many thanks to Dean stepping in for us to secure the food. Notably, we were able to fit a lot of the EBL boards into the new storage space. The last trains to run was my modern box freight (cut down severely following misbehaviour and starting to pack away), and a Southern Pacific U-Boat with a caboose close behind.

The HOers agreed to have this setup next time, and by the time we were ready to start packing up, Paul H confirmed a new panel was ready for the signals and switches. Next physical meet will certainly be an interesting one!

Overall, a very nice meet for all and a (not advertised) great birthday ops session for myself.

See you all online or at the next physical meet!

Neal K

Emphasising the extended staging yard with a full view of the long freight

Thamesiders Physical Meet – Saturday, 27 August 2022

Thamesiders' Physical Meets

The HO modules got off to a head start thanks to an early starting team, but it was quickly caught up by the N Scale when both groups balanced out after some late arrivals.

The HO focused on recording electrical setup and how more members can get the modules sufficiently powered so trains can be run. Then the focus turned to troubleshooting a dead spot on Ethanol’s crossover, and repairing some of the damaged buildings on the Ethanol plant itself.

The N scale was set up as a straight end to end with the return loop on one side and the reversing loop on the other. The group performed some needed maintenance as well as serving as the entertainment for our guests throughout the day.

Besides our much welcomed guests, one other highlight of the day for me was not realising I had not completely stopped my Chicago and North-western commuter train when I went to pick up the food for lunch… Whilst I was away it had completed a full lap, continuing to increase the tally as we ate, slowly ambling around the Essex Belt Lines without a single issue besides the leading cab car temporarily decoupling at a hump in the staging yards.

Good times!

Neal K

Coronavirus – Virtual Meetings

Meets

Due to the restrictions put in place as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak the Thamesiders Group has had to suspend our regular meetings until the controls are relaxed and we’re allowed to gather again.

In the place of those meetings, we’ve started a programme of virtual meetings – please contact us for more details.

Be well.

Essex Belt Lines – First operations Day

EBL Signalling Project, Meets

The EBL team held the first formal operations session at the June meet. The team used the recently commissioned CTC signalling system, a full suite of prototype style train order paperwork to authorise movements and for some trains car cards and waybills to direct the movement of individual rail vehicles.

This was a challenging but enjoyable day. it did highlight some development needs to help us achieve the best from the layout, these will be developed as we run more operations sessions.