SUBSCRIPTIONS: These continue to come in, but have slowed in the last two weeks - hopefully this is because everyone has paid up!
We continue to gain new members - Welcome to The Club and our railway. We hope you will get some enjoyment out of belonging, and can help with the operation and/or maintenance on the railway.
OPEN DAYS: The first for 2003 was held on 6th April and the weather was rather unkind as it rained most of the day. Just the weather to allow us to operate a steam loco in - but the only 'white stuff' seen was a mist on the hills!! Our 2 ex-Meremere diesels did the honours - and will be for some time to come.
Passengers were not too plentiful, even though we were mentioned on the TV One weather report on the Saturday night.
Thanks to all who turned up to help -
The next ones are May 4th
1st June - Sunday (only) Queen's birthday weekend and
July 6th
Please return your work-notices - I didn't get many back for last month.
STEAM LOCOS: As mentioned, there hasn't been much 'white stuff' around The Junction and unfortunately, won't be for some time.
F 185:
Work continues on this with the boiler now ready for the boiler inspector (remember, we were being shunted from Tauranga, Hamilton and Auckland). With special thanks to Genesis Power Limited, we are now to get one sponsored through them. We now need to work through the changeover of "paper work" involved!
Work on the front tube plate has been completed -Don and Colin (Jenner) spent another few days in there.
All tubes have been cut to length, thanks to Simon, Harvey and Ludwig Engineering for the loan of their 'cut-off' saw. Believe it or not, there are FIVE slightly different lengths of tubes - so all had to be cut accurately and marked.
Ian and Don have also spent some time inside the firebox trying to get some stay bolts out of the tube-plate. They do NOT want to move - so they will probably be checked by ultrasonics and left as-is.
Richard, Don, Ian and Colin (CJ) had also spent some time while in the firebox reaming some of the tube-holes true.
This is a l-o-n-g and slow job using a hand reamer.
Recently we had to check on Don, as we could hear the 'rattle' of the reamer and its pilot pipe, but not much else. We wondered if he was just sitting in there reading a book while rattling the reamer!!!!
The regulator pipe needing replacement is away to get replaced.
Eric is busy overhauling the injectors - hope you don't loose any of the bits!!
Richard spent a lot of time inside and outside the boiler repairing a long broken steam pipe that takes steam from the top of the dome to a manifold in the cab. He tells me it was hot job, gas brazing a fairly large copper pipe inside the boiler. Bob kept an eye on things and controlled the air supply to the boiler - a vacuum cleaner.
Simon has also lapped in the water valves on the saddle tanks.
As well as the boiler inspector, we have to get an ultra-sonic expert in, to thickness-check some of the boiler plates and check a few other bits and pieces.
Mike is back into making the spark arresting funnel.
Words of wisdom: I'm not a COMPLETE IDIOT - some parts are missing.
PECKETT:
Chris and his crew spent another day getting some undercoat on the framework until rain again stopped them - and they had to retire into the shed, so then spent some time cleaning the axle-boxes.
No progress with the boiler repairs yet, but we are still gathering info about different repair options. The owner of Peckett 1631 - the next one after ours - cut a large hole in the outer wrapper of the fire-box to do some repairs and replace a section of plate and did the job very successfully. (This is my preferred repair method and the section cut out on 1631 was exactly where I want to cut our one out).
MINE'S CARRIAGE: Not much to report on this. Harvey cut a step in the wooden bottom plate at one end to allow the T & G to fit properly. Our other 'wood butchers' haven't been around for some time.
Work on the bogies has continued as and when our Community Workers have a bit of spare time and Trev Willmot has also helped on a couple of days. Very little remains to be done before the bogie can be replaced under the car.
XC WAGON: Not much to report on this either. The roof is ready for the plastic sheeting. Harvey gave up on thoughts of "repairing" the old sliding door when he saw its condition. A narrower one was found and he has extended it to be the same size as the proper door. He arrived at club last open day with the 'new' door (he knew there were many hands to lug it into the work area).
I USE TO HAVE A HANDLE ON LIFE: - but it broke!
DIESEL LOCOS:
The only real work on these has been on the DS loco - long out of use, but with quite a lot of work done on it over the years. The radiator is ready to be refitted but work is going ahead on the fan shield and mounting plates. It was recently brought down close to the work-shop where it was water blasted and the motor ran for about 3 hours - even if not on all 8 cylinders!!!
FIREWOOD: Trevor (Willmot) has cut up the firewood stacked beside the firewood heap and offered to cut up some more if we stack it handy.
LAWNMOWER: Trevor has provided a 'pre-loved' lawn-mower for the club but it hasn't been tried yet, as Alan has continued to bring and use his own while he cuts the lawns. Thanks to you both for input into this machine and work that it entails.
SHANTY: Richard has continued with work on the porch. The hot water cylinder is now in the corner of the porch, on a stand - so that we can hook it up to a wet-back when we replace the present small coal range. Lots of other bits and pieces have been recently purchased for this job. The next job is plumbing up the basins and tub in the porch.
WORKSHOP: As predicted - it isn't big enough!! Yet it is 1/3rd BIGGER than originally planned. Eric recently produced a couple of bread racks for shelves and a mobile bench.
A lot of bits and pieces are in the workshop ready to be put up in the loft for storage - but we desperately need some shelves!!
Richard says we have plenty of ice-cream containers for the moment - and thanks to all who have supplied them.
Present plans are to cover an area just outside the workshop, where the back road is and set up the press, forge and a large welding table.
BATTERY ELECTRIC LOCO: Chris Lucas and his crew have spent another day on this. Special thanks also to HCB Standby Technologies for sponsorship of the essential batteries and to Chris for securing this.
HANDCRANE: This has been hired out to a film company for a couple of months in Taranaki. The film is 'The Last Samurai' and has a railway scene on the theme of laying a railway through a village in 1880. The "Army" being called in to sort out the 'locals', so that the railway construction could continue .....
The crane went down on one of Bougen Transport's transporters (hotly followed by Harvey with CJ - driving). The club was requested that we provide two 'guardians' for the crane during filming and preparation of transport there and back. Three 'volunteers' on the hot list had previously been down to check out the scene and carry out practice lifts - until the film co-ordinators changed their mind on what was to be 'the lift'. Our three club personnel were fitted out for a "uniform" (one as a back-up)- and NO, it wasn't GREASEY OVERALLS. It has been noted that our two were decked out in LIGHT COLOURED SHIRTS -the boys had to keep their hands IN THEIR POCKETS to prevent them rubbing up to the steamer and putting added 'make-up' on.
Special thanks to the three for the many many days of mucking around leading up to the shoot - (Bruce, Harvey and CJ) and also Mike and Ian B for helping prepare the crane, also for the loading and transport away from Puke Junction.
The co-ordinator from Samurai films said everything went "like Swiss precision clockwork" -special thanks for the support from Silverstream Railway team.
The crane is due back at Puke Junction week of Anzac weekend.
CONSCIOUSNESS: That annoying time between naps!!
COMMUNITY WORK PARTIES: We continue to receive a large amount of assistance from these. Painting the station building continues with only the window sills on the back to do, and a second coat on the seats and retaining wall on the platform.
They have really given the banks through the yard a 'hair-cut'.
TRACKWORK: Ian B recently did his 6-monthly inspection and marked only a few areas for 'repair'. The bad sleepers are being replaced and other jobs attended to as we work our way down the line.
So far, just over 100 sleepers have been replaced this year! We are also re-gauging track as we spot-sleeper and have just re-gauged about 100 metres. This is a long job, as every sleeper has to have the screws or spikes pulled out of one side, the rails pulled into gauge, new holes drilled and all fastenings put back. Often the older screw spikes must then be replaced as well.
WORKING BEES: These are still held on the Sunday of the fourth weekend of the month. Incredible (pretty good!) attendance's have occurred lately and a lot of jobs gotten on with. Thanks to all who turn up and help with these jobs. - as always, there continues to be heaps to do.
The next ones planned are Sunday May 25th June 29th and July 27th :
Mark your calendars now!
From info doing the rounds on email:
A train crew member was walking through a yard and slipped over on a piece of ballast. The excursion manager who was first on the scene found the crew member dazed and bleeding from one knee. "How badly are you hurt?" he enquired.
"How the hell should I know" muttered the crew member "I'm a doctor, not a lawyer".
Thanks Chris J for this.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: A very good attendance on this day, but not much discussion under the General Business slot. Paula did not stand for re-election so the rest of the present committee plus Harvey Tempero and Mike Campbell are the committee for 2003/04. Bruce McLuckie was appointed as Vice Chairman.
Therefore, your Committee are made up of the following:
CHAIRMAN Colin Ewing
VICE-CHAIRMAN Bruce McLuckie
SECRETARY Teresa Bettison
TREASURER Maureen Swabey
COMMITTEE: Mike Andrews, Mike Campbell, Jan Jenner, Colin Swabey, Harvey Tempero and GENERAL MANAGER: Colin Jenner.
The various reports will be sent out with newsletters.
Could the following be some of us??????????????????
AGE ACTIVATED ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER
(A.A.A.D.D)
I decided to wash my car. As I started toward the garage, I noticed some mail on the hall table. I decided to go through the mail before I washed the car. I put my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the rubbish bin and noticed the rubbish bin was full. So I decided to put the bills back on the table and take out the rubbish first. But then, I think, since I'm going to be near the letterbox when I take out the rubbish, I may as well pay the bills.
I take out my cheque book which is on the table and see there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in the desk in the study, so I got to my desk - where I find a bottle of soda that I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the soda aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see the soda is getting warm and decide I should put it into the fridge to cool.
As I head toward the kitchen,, a vase of flowers on the bench catches my eye-they need to be watered. I put the soda down on the bench and discover the reading glasses I've been searching for all morning. I decided I'd better put them on my desk but first I'm going to water the flowers. I put the glasses back down on the bench, fill a container with water, and suddenly spot the remote control for the TV-we'll be looking for the remote so I decide to put it back in the study where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I splash some water on the flowers but most of it spills on the floor, so I get some towels to wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what it was I was going to do.
At the end of the day, the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there's a warm bottle of soda on the bench, the flowers aren't watered, there's only one cheque in my cheque-book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with my car keys.
Then I try to figure out why nothing got done today. I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long and I'm really tired. I realise this is a serious problem, and I'll try and get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.
Do me a favour, forward this message to everyone you know because I don't remember to whom it has been sent-boy! It's tough getting old.
SAFETY TALK: This was programmed for the morning of The AGM to save members having to come to The Junction 2 days. Attendance was somewhat disappointing - made even more so by some THAT SHOULD have been present turning up, not just as the talk finished - for The AGM!
A lot of important topics were covered - like how we see the new Health and Safety Amendment Act affecting us.
SPONSORSHIP: Our Club spends a tremendous amount of time seeking, and often gaining, sponsorship. As often as not, this sponsorship is for materials or services and help in all sorts of directions plus the much needed dollars.
For these reasons the committee must approve ALL applications for sponsorship. No member is to seek sponsorship WITHOUT Committee approval, under any circumstances.
Without sponsorship of all kinds, our railway would not progress very far. Some Companies and Trusts are EXTREMELY GENEROUS and for this we acknowledge and thank them. The latest example of sponsorship are boiler inspections from Genesis - and the labour input as far as possible from Ludwig Engineering - including a new steam pipe for F185.