Today was the first meeting of our model railway group and as well as existing Shed members we welcomed new Shedder Jon to the group. Although there isn’t a huge amount of space in the Shed, there is enough for the group to tackle a couple of projects.
One of these is the representation of the Whitworth line that Shed member Jack had started a number of years ago but no longer has space for. Now that it has been brought out of storage, the model requires some repairs, as well as work to complete the line that features Healey Viaduct (pictured) through to Facit Station. This is clearly going to be a long-term project! Today though, was all about planning a structure for the model boards to rest on. There was plenty of discussion as we explored options that might provide a sturdy foundation without taking an age to set-up/dismantle.
Alongside the Whitworth line model, the group will be developing a test line that will both give us a working section of track to test locomotives on, as well as being somewhere to apply wiring and layout techniques. We started today with some scrap lengths of plywood and within half an hour had a loco running up and down a rough 10 foot long section of track. We will develop this over the coming weeks and explore just how much we can squeeze into a very limited space!
The group already has a shopping list for materials and members are thinking of fundraising ideas to meet the costs that it will generate. A number of modelling and model railway items have already been donated to Whitworth Men’s Shed and the group will be calling out on social media for more donations of any unwanted items looking for a home in the near future.
The Engine Shed is open to any WMS members who are available on a Wednesday morning. If you are interested in coming along and getting involved, feel free to pop along to any of our sessions for a brew! Alternatively get in touch if you have any questions or want to find out more.
