The Mumbles Railway in late Victorian days [original source unknown]
Comment
In what should be a season of goodwill, I have to report a further and rather odd occurrence at the club. Various recent thefts of items have been commented on already but this latest matter has left us scratching our heads. Very recently, when in the club with a number of other members, it was noticed that the entry door to the lobby area at the top of the stairs could not be opened. Thinking that this simply involved a broken door handle, the unit was removed to find that someone had unscrewed it earlier and had removed the spindle, rendering the mechanism completely inoperable. Quite why this happened is anyone’s guess, but this action completely obstructed a fire exit and the matter has been reported to FOYD. Whether this was malice or a practical joke on behalf of a third party is a matter for conjecture. We are hoping that there is no reoccurrence however.
Some future stock sale news
A plethora of these are planned for the early New Year, so save your Christmas pennies! Three are being arranged so far and the dates, where known, are:
A members’ stock sale on Thursday the 23rd. January 2020. This is an opportunity for members to sell their own stock within the club and no commission would be charged: what you make you keep! Please speak to Gwion Rhys Davies if you wish to be included in the sale. The rules for selling are simple, advertise your lots honestly and charge for them sensibly.
A diecast sale on FRIDAY the 28th. February 2020. This will involve a very large lot of diecast vehicles and other models in various scales, kindly donated to the club by Oxford Diecast. Whilst these are seconds or returned models, many without boxes, the majority are in good condition. This is the second time that Oxford has generously donated stock to us and a donation from the proceeds of the sale will be given to FOYD. Note: this is diecast only and no railway stock is involved.
A further general railway stock sale will be scheduled for March. I have been offered for sale two lots of OO railway equipment but have yet to inspect them. I will provide further details on this event in due course.
The 2020 wagon commissions
2020 will see the club’s fifth [and sixth!] wagon commission, the previous four all having sold out in their entirety and we are certain that demand will be equally high once again.
No 5 : This will be our usual three gauge run and this year features an interesting Swansea private owner wagon in the livery of The Swansea & District Railway Men’s Direct Coal Association. The choice of this wagon came from a discussion I had a while back with the late John Rogers. He provided a number of copies of photographs of potential liveries for commissions and Noel Blows has agreed to run with this one. The image below shows the livery. The copy John provided was in quite poor condition however and although restored, it remains rather grainy. The colour of the wagon is chocolate brown with black-shaded white lettering.
This run will be limited to 40 in O gauge, 130 in OO gauge and 110 in N gauge, with a 10% variance either way. The wagons will be available for the 2020 show and will cost £45 in O and £15 in OO and N. The artwork has now been signed off and a colour representation of the artwork will feature in a future newsletter.
No 6 : This will involve a smaller run of a West Wales private owner coal wagon in the livery of David Jones [of] Pencader. This will be available in O gauge only and the number limited to 25 or 30. This wagon is being produced in collaboration with the West Wales O Gauge Guild but it will also be available to a wider base, numbers permitting. Once the artwork has been signed off, an image and other details will appear in a future newsletter.
The club library and other developments
This has now grown into quite a large and respectable collection on books covering the pre-Grouping companies and later British Railways, as well as DVDs and modelling literature. Although well-organised, its location is far from ideal however: the lighting is very poor and the seating arrangements inconvenient. A decision has been taken to move it to make it more accessible and whilst this will not happen until early in the New Year, it will eventually reside in the room currently occupied by Cwmfelin Parkway. Once Cwmfelin has been relocated in the room currently occupied by Box [and, for a while, the exhibition portion of Downton Road], the room will be redecorated and the books relocated. Ted Hylton’s ‘office’ will also move to that new location. With all that work done, we shall probably have an open night with refreshments to celebrate the move.
On the subject of the library, the November journal of the Welsh Railways Research Circle, and its accompanying December Newsletter have now arrived. Included in the former is an interesting and well-illustrated article of the Cymmer Viaduct and the complicated colliery and passenger railway systems around it.
On other matters, the subject of the leaking skylights will be well known. St David’s Wells continues to be out of action [although remedial action has been promised] and a new leak has occurred in the recently replastered Box end of the club. Both of these skylights will be replaced by FOYD in the New Year, with FOYD also committing to replace a further two each year until they have all been changed.
The 2020 modelling competition, and a mini-event before Christmas
A reminder again that the 2020 general modelling competition will be judged on the last Thursday in March 2020. More imminent however is the SRMG Christmas Rock- Scene Competition, organised by Simon Durrer. Entries for this should be brought in no later than 7.15pm on the 19th December 2019, our last night before Christmas.
The 2020 show
Planning for this event is now well in hand and The Orangery at Margam Park has been booked and the contract signed. Gareth Lewis is preparing the floor plan and, shortly, we will be able to advise on the list of attendees. Updates will follow regularly in club newsletters.
A further photograph of the Mumbles tram, this time close to Swansea Victoria Station.Judging by the fashions and the coach, it was taken in the late 40s / early 50s. It’s a shame that the photographer cropped the photo so poorly. [again, source unknown]
The Christmas Break [and the locking-up rota]
The last official club night will be held on the 19th. December 2019. Whilst those with keys may wish to use the club over the break, it will reopen on Thursday the 2nd. January 2020 although probably, for most, a return will follow the week after.
The existing locking-up rota expires this coming Thursday. A new one, covering 2020, will be e-mailed to all members shortly and a copy placed on the notice board.
A members’ curry night
We usually manage to get at least one of these in a year and it is proposed to hold another in February or March 2020. The usual venue has been the Patti Raj restaurant at St Helens. A list will be put up in the early New Year to gauge interest and more information will follow from that. However, should members wish for an ‘eat’ which involves something other than curry, please do give your suggestions to any committee member.
Finally, the 2109 / 2020 AGM
In the normal course of events, this would take place in late January. There is likely to be a slight delay to the plan however as the auditor, David Williams, is due to undergo a knee operation before Christmas and so will be unable to examine the accounts in time. David has waited patiently for this operation for over a year and has had to endure considerable discomfort and pain. We wish him well and look forward to his return, all things being equal, early in the New Year.
It is probable that the AGM may take place in February, but confirmation of that will follow once David’s circumstances are better understood.
Best wishes all for 2020, and a peaceful season in the meantime.
Tony.
Club Mmember John Gray sent me this item from an old ‘Western Mail’ recently.
Travelling out of Swansea by train today, it is easy to forget that there was once a mainline station at Landore, even though the space once occupied by it is still partially visible.
Well, the station may well have gone, but the Swans’ home turf is now far closer to where it once was than it would have been in 1956......