The Short North
Official publication of the Central Coast Steam Model Co Operative Limited
March 04
In this issue
Change of Direction for The Short North.,
Concrete tables for your club
Mowing Roster,
The Grand Plan?
St Johns Ambulance volunteers in hand.
Running day reports.
Lions Club Charity run Preparations for our Birthday Run,
News In Brief
The Funny Side
All Aboard
Welcome to the editio princeps of The Short North under a new Editor.
Unfortunately, Rob Lougher could no longer continue with the editorialship of
this publication owing to work commitments and has offered his resignation.
The Short North would like to express its sincere appreciation for the hard
work that Rob has put into your club s newsletter over the past few years and
we look forward to seeing many new models on the way with his extra time.
Thanks Rob. Change of Direction As From the next issue, The Short North will
be changing to booklet form. The Short North will be published in January,
March, May, July, September and November. It will be available for collection
at the club meeting night. All copy to be received no later than 2 weeks prior
the meeting for inclusion in the month of publication. Remember this is your
newsletter so support it by supplying anything of interest. All articles will
be published verbatim provided they are not libellous
Concrete Tables.
Late last year one of our self starting members, Ken Howells, was on a trip
to Queensland and noticed a concrete table in a park. With camera in hand Ken
quickly photographed the table and from this designed and built formwork for
the various parts of the completed table. These being, Ends, Stretcher, Seats
and Top. Each completed table requires 2 Ends 1 Stretcher 2 seats and one top.
With ten complete tables to produce this equated to 20 ends 10 stretchers 20
seats and 10 tops. For each of these components reinforcing mesh must be cut
to shape with the ends having steel tubes in them to allow the threaded rod
from the stretcher to pass through during assembly. Assembly is undertaken by
a group of four to five people with Ken Howells and Allan Fogarty leading the
way. The two ends are placed on a previously poured and cured concrete slab
and then the stretcher is positioned to allow it to connect to one end. When
complete the second end is brought home and the stretcher tightened up on the
threaded rod which protrudes from the stretcher and passes through the ends to
the outside face. When complete, liquid nails in liberally applied to the
mating surfaces of the ends and stretcher ready for the immediate placement of
the top. The top requires lifting by a minimum for 4 people. The ends which
also hold the seats have liquid nails placed on the mating surfaces and the
seats are placed in situ. Thus the table is complete. Why were the concrete
tables built? We are very fortunate to have an arrangement with a concrete
company who drop of any leftover concrete to our site for free. This
arrangement has been in place for over twenty years. The only cost to the club
was for the materials used in the formwork and assembly of the tables. With
this not exceeding A$300 the cost of each table was A$30. Not so bad for an
all purpose vandal proof table for both the public and the club members. A
very special thanks to Ken Howells and Allan Fogarty for designing and making
these tables. They are a true asset to the club.
Mowing Roster At the last club meeting a discussion occurred on
re-instating the mowing roster. The reason for this is to allow those
members who have other time constraints and find it difficult
attending on a more regular basis and opportunity to know when their help is
needed in the mowing department so that they can organise their time more
effectively and assist this club with its daunting task of mowing 10 acres. At
the present time a roster is being developed with the help of Mick Farrell and
will be included with the next issue of The Short North . Until then the
mowing is done on the Saturday prior to the run day and the Thursday prior to
the run day. These are the dates for the next 3 months Run Day Date Thursday
Date Saturday Date April Saturday 3rd April 1st March 27th May Saturday 1st
April 29th April 24th June Saturday 5th June 3rd May 29th There should be
someone on site by 9 am on both Thursday and Saturday. Remember this is your
club and it needs YOU!
The Grand Plan
Where would you like to see your club go? Do you have any ideas for
improvement, change, enlargement or shrinkage. If so please put pen to paper
with your suggestions and send it to the Board for inclusion in the Grand Plan.
The St John Ambulance volunteers.
After recent discussions about having trained first aid officers on hand on
a running day, Noel Richards suggested that the Board might like to contact St
Johns and enquire about the possibility of them attending on our run days.
John Crowhurst took on this responsibility and now we have members of St Johns
Ambulance volunteers on hand at every run day. This has proven to be a
fantastic idea as it provides the club with up to date senior first aid
officers and removes an extra burden from the active club members on a run day.
Thanks to Noel and John C.
What is a Shoe?
This issue keeps raising its ugly head (no not mine - ed) about what is
fully covered in footwear. The board has re-iterated the need for vigilance on
this issue by all members on a run day. A fully covered-in shoe is a shoe that
covers all of the foot from toes to heal and up to the ankle. They do not have
any bits missing, for example; holes, slits, almost joined sandals, etc. This
is a Workcover NSW requirement and unfortunately in this time of litigation we
must protect both ourselves and the club be ensuring that no person rides
without fully covered in shoes. If in doubt ask the Duty Officer of the day
Running Day
Reports The January run was very hot. As I did not take notes for this run
day and my memory is like sieve the report will be short. Some people turned
up and played trains, while some people did not. Those who were there had a
great day as did the public and the promotion of this wonderful hobby of
miniature engineering was shown at its best to the visiting public. It was
great to catch up with those who went away for the break and to hear of their
travels and clubs they visited. I think the catching up with friends and the
telling of tales could rival the driving of locos for fun and enjoyment& maybe.
The March run day which started out overcast and was poorly attended by the
public due to the inclement weather. At 2pm the President and Duty Officer
cancelled the run so the we could all go home and dry out. A disappointing day
for the public and members. Although there is nothing like steam, rain and
mist to stir ones emotions and wish for days gone by. As in the lines of the
poem; And history shall remember, these machines now at rest, Of the men who
gave them life, men who gave their best, Of whistles in the valley and country
splendour crossed. It was an age that one was and an age forever lost.
Lions Club Run
Our six monthly run for the local Lions club was held on Saturday 20th of
March. The day, which was well advertised by the Lions club, was very busy
with almost 800 rides given to the very happy public. Eight locos were
rostered on to move this heavy load. 7 were Ted Willams (2705), Mick Farrell
(985), Stan Smith (Stan s Diesel) Leal Brack (10) and our club loco (4101).
5 Trevor Crowhurst (8002), John Gordon (42105), Allan Fogarty (XPT), Ivan
Burns (DC01), and Tom Walker (A10). That was the locos, Bruce Langdon was in
the canteen, Ivan Bruns was running the signals. Bob Newman was pointing
trains in the right direction, Helen Smith was on the crossing and the Station
was staffed by Evelyn Crowhurst, Jack Rutherford, and John Crowhurst. Ken
Howells and Norm Browne were seen guarding trains and the children on the
trains. Many others were busy contributing to the day as well. The Duty
Officer for the day was yours truly, (although I seem to be called the fat
controller - I wonder why?) All in all a great day for raising money for the
Lions club and a day of fire, fun and friendship for the members of the Central
Coast Steam Model Co-Op.
Birthday Run Preparations
The birthday run will be upon us shortly. It will be held on the weekend
of 4/5 September. Saturday is our normal run day. However, those that wish to
stay overnight a non-public run is held on the Sunday. Some meal will be
available on the Saturday night for both visitors and members alike. More
details next issue.
News in Brief
Tom Walker and Ken Howells have been working on the mowers. New member
John Mills and Tom Walker have fixed the motor on the welder/generator. Mowing
continues apace and the other ride-on has gone for repairs thanks to John
Crowhurst. Most of the concrete tables have been erected with the help of Leon
Brack s tractor and were well patronised by the public on the lions club run
day. Please see the Treasurer if you would like a name badge A phone list is
attached to member's copies with thanks to Allan Fogarty for these.
The Funny Side
A Snail was mugged by a Tortoise, when asked by the police if he could
identify the perpetrator the Snail replied, Sorry it all happened too fast
The pros and cons of putting in a raised track for use by 3 1/2" gauge was
discussed amongst some members of this club. After all had their say I simply
asked "Is there any point in raised track?" Until next time may your pressure
be high, your glass half-full, and your fire bright. Alternatively, for the
electrics may your extension cord be just that little bit longer.
Official Publication of the Central Coast Steam Model Co-Operative Ltd
The Short North March 2004
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Note from webmaster: This issue, and others up to September 2004, just
received in Mac format which I can't read yet. The above text was extracted but
later issues also include photos which will take a little while longer to
decode. regards, Tom (13/9/04)
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