Monday Talk in October
The title of the October talk was “The use of Wind Tunnels in aircraft design”. The speaker who was head of wind tunnel facilities at De Havilland, Hatfield gave a very interesting illustrated talk, explaining in some detail the types of wind tunnel for slow, medium and high speed flight simulation on scaled models. Also…
September Happenings
The members’ meeting on Monday 9th was graced by a presentation on Gauge 3 railways by Alan Marsden. He showed a number of videos of layouts (some with on train cameras) and a display of locomotives and rolling stock belonging to him and other members. It was a surprise to some present that Gauge 3…
Visitor’s Rally
Over the 31st August – 2nd September weekend the Society hosted its annual rally for visiting locomotives. In spite of the published dates the rally seems to get underway earlier each year. This year several of our own members were already set up with their caravans by the Wednesday. On Thursday morning the first of…
Visiting the Railway – Using Sat Nav
For many years in our advertising we have given the postcode of the railway to assist in finding it. We have just learned that for some 18 months visitors have been trying to access the site via North End Farm in the nearby village of Haynes. Understandably the patience of the farmer has now become…
Vulnerable Children
On Thursday 1st August we played hosts to 72 handicapped children and their carers. from St. John’s Special School in Kempston. Everything went according to plan with the superb weather providing the only problem. Not enough shade with a cloudless sky and temperature above 30 C. A similar visit took place on Thursday 8th with…
Clubhouse Improvements
The wood plank floor of the Clubhouse developed a number of problems including warping and impregnated dirt. The answer has been to have installed a welded vinyl covering that should be a great improvement. Gaps have been appearing between wall planks and advice sort on a remedy. Fortunately this showed that the task is well within the expertise of…
New Look Station
Haynes End station has seen the erection of the uprights for its canopy. If all goes well the platforms will soon be protected from rain and the icy wind that seems a permanent fixture, even in the middle of a heatwave. Not quite on the scale of Kings Cross/St.Pancras but I feel sure that you…
June Members Meeting
The evening meeting on 10th June was informed and entertained by Ian Couchman of the Saffron Walden Society of Model Engineers. He presented a talk on both Greensand casting and Lost Wax casting giving detail on each method and the pros and cons associated with them. He described the construction of a waste oil burning…
June Traction Rally
The weekend of 22nd and 23rd of June sees the Annual Traction Engine Rally. It is important to note that the emphasis is on miniature engines although in the past we have enticed the occasional full size engine to our site. Saturday will be devoted to the Traction Engines and is essentially a private event…
Visitors From Germany
Sunday 12th May saw a new event in the Society’s history. A visit by a group from a German village twinned with one of ours. Every year the villages exchange visits and it was thought that the railway would add interest. This certainly appeared to be the case as for the few hours spent with us…