Summer 2000 Newsletter

Introduction.

Here is the latest newsletter from the S.R.S.

In this issue there is the usual review of society meetings, all the latest from the N.Y.M.R. and any other items of interest within the railway scene from near and far. The year 2000 must be one of the saddest in the history of the S.R.S. with the death of two of its members. The death of Roger Quinn, a former secretary of the society, was reported in newsletter 7 but then in May we heard about the sudden death of Richard our vice-chairman, this came out of the blue and was a great shock to us all. Richard had a lifelong interest in railways and had accepted the post of vice chairman with great gusto and enthusiasm. In fact in April he had chaired the meeting where his son Clive gave his inaugural presentation and there was no prouder father anywhere. To Mary and Clive the society extends its sympathy and condolences.

Meeting Reports.

To continue the report on society meetings the 14^th of April saw the Brian Webb quiz return and it was very pleasing to see a good attendance. The contest was a close one and finally won by Colin Foster. Thanks to Fred who set the questions, its a difficult job and with this in mind the committee will be looking at the future of this event with a view to try and make it more appealing to the membership.

An "Underground Odyssey" was the title for the talk on the 28^th April and was given by Clive Hellawell, this I think was the first time the S.R.S. had ever had a talk on this subject. The idea of the talk was not to give a complete potted history as the time available made this impracticable but to concentrate on certain events and happenings within the underground system from its inception to the present day. I must admit in all the times that I have travelled on this system, I had not realised that the deeper tunnels are of smaller diameter than the ones nearer the surface. This was just one of many facts the audience learned at this meeting. Hopefully Clive may be persuaded to present part two in the not too distant future.

 The Hand-Bell Ringers of St Mary’s returned on the 12^th May and a minutes silence was held in respect of Richard’s sad death. Edwin also dedicated the evening to his memory.

The ringers entertained the society two years previously and had not lost their touch in fact; they were better than ever. Edwin then took us on a journey called "Going Away" showing prints of his latest wanderings around the railways of the north. As the title suggested many of theses excellent images were of trains going away, something a little different and very enjoyable.

Our final meeting of the winter program on the 26^th May was member’s night and as in previous years was highly enjoyable. A wide range of images and subjects were shown some very old, some taken only a few days before the meeting. To round off the evening Colin and Robin showed a selection of their magic lantern slides, some of which were extremely old and all very interesting.

June 16^th was the date for the first S.R.S. summer outing and this was in the G.W.R. Saloon on the N.Y.M.R. The weather was again very kind and a perfect summer evening was enjoyed by all, the K1 being the train engine from Pickering ably driven by John Fletcher and on the return from Grosmont the Class 2 diesel was driven by Bob Fussey. Many thanks to Dave, Stuart and Andrew for their efforts in making this night the undoubted success it was.

Due to illness within the Ryedale Model Engineers the evening at Gilling had to be cancelled which was unfortunate but necessary. I am glad to report that the members involved are now recovered and are fit and well.

On August 11^th 10 members met outside the Signal box at Grosmont and enjoyed a guided tour around the workings of the box which had been kindly arranged by the operating superintendent. The party then walked up to the M.P.D. where it had been intended that John Fletcher would guide the party around the shed, however the G.W.R. tank had other ideas and decided to de-rail itself at 5-30pm just when all the staff were about to go home. As you would imagine it was all hands to the pumps to re-rail this loco as it was blocking the coaling tower and the entrance to the running shed. As yours truly was the only person on shed the S.R.S. members had no choice but to put up with me as their guide.

The final summer meeting was at the York Model Engineers and unhappily only three of our members were present. For some inexplicable reason the York members were under the impression that we were a model society rather than just a general club and I think were a little disappointed at our poor showing. Terry (he who attracts the rain) had a very good day by being allowed to drive a Duchess for half an hour what an honour and a privilege. As is the usual for events such as this the society sent a letter of thanks and a donation. The committee will be looking closely at summer meetings and they would appreciate any member’s comments and /or suggestions for 2001. As I write this newsletter the winter program has already commenced the first meeting will be reported on in Issue no 9.

N.Y.M.R. News.

I think a report on the loco position is a good place to start; 60007 has had its partial retube and is in service and performing well, as is 75029,62005,34101,80135,44767. Blue Peter which has just returned after a successful run up the E.C.M.L. was pressed into service the first day it was back on the railway. Work continues on 30926, 30825 (ex 30841) and 90775.

G.W.R. Tank 6619 has gone to Carnforth for overhaul and I believe when completed will return to run at the N.Y.M.R. If you haven’t been to Goathland recently then you must as the cattle dock has been restored to where it used to be in the 1950s, the goods shed has been reopened and the whole station looks absolutely superb. The wagon group has had a busy year with 3 box vans been checked over and repainted. The current project is the Gunpowder wagon, which is owned by the N.R.M. Because of the cancellation of the 175^th celebrations at Shildon the Steam Gala on the first weekend in October has been extended to three days starting on the Friday instead on the Saturday. Visiting locos have been invited but with the current shortage of steam locos on some preserved lines I have no idea as yet what, if anything will appear.

The Diesel Gala, which is the first weekend in November, has also been extended to three days and it is hoped to have some of the locos from the N.R.M. at this event, e.g. class 20, class 37 and the class 40. There is also a chance of a visiting class 33.

The society is now on the World Wide Web and for those with access to a computer the address is www.scarboroughrailwaysociety.org.uk At the moment it is quite simple with only 5 pages but in time it may increase in size. It consists of a home page which is like a menu (to those whose are not familiar with these terms) a page with a brief outline of the society’s history and aims, a page with the current meeting program and finally details of membership application. It is hoped in time this may lead to an increase in our membership and make people more aware of our existence. The society's e-mail address is          info@scarboroughrailwaysociety.org.uk

©Copyright Scarborough Railway Society 2000