MERG East Midlands Area Group News

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Joint area group coordinators - Brian Norris, Pete Brownlow and John Gowers

To send us an email, use the MERG East Midlands Area Group contact form.

For MERG members, you might also like to look at our area group forum.

SUMMER 2018 MERG East Midlands area group meeting

Sunday 15th July 2018 from 10:00

Kindly hosted by Judi Rastall at her place in Sutton on Sea.

Come to the seaside for our Summer meeting! The weather forecast is hot and sunny.

The venue is about 5 minutes walk from the Prom, so you might like to bring the family for a day by the seaside, whilst we get on with the far more important stuff! Partners and families are welcome to use the other room for teas/coffees etc. whilst we are having the meeting.

Judi can accommodate up to 20 people, so bookings are first come first served. If we become fully booked, we will keep a waiting list in case of cancellations. Note that the 20 limit is for the room where we have the meeting, any partners or family who would like to come along for a day at the seaside are additional to the 20 limit.

If you would like to come, please let us know as soon as possible. If you do decide at the last minute, it is still worth getting in touch as, with the longer distance that most have to travel, the numbers are usually less than more centrally located meetings.

Most of you will know that Judi is our Kit Sales Manager. This is an opportunity to see the huge MERG kit operation, how Judi manages the stock, processes the orders and sends out all those kits.

Sutton on Sea is on the east coast of Lincolnshire between Skegness and Grimsby. Parking is available on street near the venue. We have scheduled this meeting before the start of the peak summer season. Once the school holidays start, from late July, parking becomes much more difficult and there will be long queues on all roads into the resort on a Saturday morning – so come and enjoy the seaside before the mad summer rush.

This venue is less convenient for arrival by train. The nearest railhead is Skegness which is at the end of a long branch line and is an hour round trip from Sutton.

Tea and Coffee will be available, lunch can be purchased from local fish and chip shops (which are open on a Sunday), or bring your own if you prefer.

Judi has been progressing her loft railway, so you can have a look at how it is getting on. It is OO gauge DCC, visiting locos and stock are welcome.

AGENDA

The meeting will be informal and flexible, so these are approximate times:

10:00 Arrival, Informal chat and get to know the other members

10:30 Introductions and group news

11:00 The Great Model Railway Challenge - TV Series - my experience By Marcus Dawson

11:45 Short coffee break

12:00 Update from the committee – Martin Perry

12:30 MERG kit news by Judi Rastall – News on new/updated kits, availability, what is coming

12:30 Progress on my layout - Judi Rastall - an update on progress with the loft layout

13:15 Lunch - Fish and chips from the local shops or bring your own

14:30 Afternoon sessions:

- The MERG kit locker by Judi Rastall – guided tours

- Running session on Judi's loft layout

- Making it work - our usual problem solving clinic

- Help with soldering and kit construction

- Or just relax in the sunshine in the garden

Kits will, of course, be available for purchase. If you have specific requirements, then it would be best to pre-order what you want from Judi for collection at the meeting, as popular kits can go out of stock quickly.

For the clinic session, as we have done before, if you have built something and would like any help and advice, please bring it along and we'll work on it with you as a demonstration for everyone. If you know in advance what you would like to get sorted, let us know in advance so we can gen up on it.

The venue is reasonably accessible, there are a couple of shallow steps up through the front door and a step down into the kitchen of 5“. The width of the kitchen doorway is 29”. Please advise if you need any assistance.

To access the loft layout, you do need to be able to climb up the loft ladder, so this will not be possible for everybody. Judi will give a talk about her progress during the morning session, with the option to visit and operate the layout in the afternoon for those who can access it.

Please note that Judi is owned by her two Kit Cats who will be in attendance, so anyone who has any feline allergy or intolerance should be aware of this.

If you would like to come, and have not already done so, please send an email to eastmids@merg.org.uk or post a message in the East Midlands Area group section of the MERG forum. You will get a reply in due course with full address details and directions to the venue.

If you have already emailed or posted that you are coming, you should get your confirmation email in the next few days.

MAY 2018 MERG East Midlands area group meeting

Saturday 26th May 2018 from 9:30

Kindly hosted by the Nene Valley Railway in their Study Centre meeting room at Wansford

Thanks to Russ Jenner for organising the venue for us.

These arrangements are provisional, as some details still have to be finalised with the speakers.

AGENDA

With lots of good stuff on the agenda, We've gone for a slightly earlier start - since most people usually get there early anyway!

09:00 Members arrival, Informal chat and get to know the other members

09:30 Introductions and group news

09:45 Introduction to the CBUS CANMIO - Pete Brownlow

10:00 The Universal CANMIO firmware - Ian Hogg

11:00 Coffee Break

11:30 MERG Kit news - Judi Rastall

12:00 Lunch (early as the NVR cafe may be busy)

13:00 3D printing - Howard Watkins

14:30 Split out for afternoon practical clinics:

Setting up the Universal CANMIO with Ian Hogg

3D printing with Howard Watkins

General kit problem solving with the usual team

We will ask for £2 per head to cover the room hire cost and £1 each in the “honesty box” will cover as many teas and coffees as you want all day. This money will all go to the Nene Valley Railway.

Kits will be available for purchase. If you have specific requirements, then it would be best to pre-order what you want from the kit locker for collection at the meeting, as Judi can only bring a selection of stock to the meeting.

The NVR cafe will be open from about 8:30 for bacon butties or full breakfast, and also open at lunchtime. However, as it is a bank holiday running weekend at NVR, it may be very busy. For that reason, we have scheduled lunch early, and we may make arrangements to pre-order during the morning.

The meeting room is step-free accessible. If you need a disabled parking space reserved close up, please let us know.

For those who would like to come by train, we can arrange to collect you from Peterborough station or, if you can get there early enough, I can collect from Wellingborough station on my way to the meeting about 7:30am.

If you would like to come, please send an email to eastmids@merg.org.uk or post a message in the East Midlands Area group section of the MERG forum. You will get a reply in due course with full address details and directions to the venue.

Members from outside the East Midlands are always welcome at our meetings, as are visitors. Please just let us know you are coming so we can plan for the numbers expected.

FEBRUARY 2018 MERG East Midlands area group meeting

Sunday 4th Febrary 2018 from 10:00

Kindly hosted by the Syston Model Railway Society at their clubrooms at The Old School Community Centre, Thurmaston, Leicestershire

Thanks to SMRS and MERG member Mike Collins for arranging this venue for us.

Due to when the venue is available, we are trying a Sunday this time. The Pros are that members who have Saturday commitments, such as football fans or those working in retail, might be able to get along. The downside is that the local chip shop is not open on a Sunday, so you'll need to bring a packed lunch, and arriving by train might be more difficult due to Sunday services starting later than on a Saturday.

Collection can be arranged from Syston station for those who would like to come by train.

Tea and coffee will be available.

We will ask for a donation of £2 per head to cover the room hire.

The meeting room is on the ground floor and easily accessible. The clubrooms housing the SMRS layouts are upstairs.

AGENDA

The meeting will be informal and flexible, so these are approximate times:

10:00 Arrival, Informal chat and get to know the other members

10:30 Welcome to SMRS - by Mike Collins

10:35 Introductions and group news

11:00 Update on progress with my new automated layout by Colin Head

11:30 Tea/coffee break (or recovery time if we are running late)

11:45 Kit locker update - Judi Rastall

12:15 What's new and coming soon in JMRI latest versions - Pete Brownlow

13:00 Lunch - Bring your own

Also a chance to see the SMRS layouts on site

14:00 Making it work - practical sessions using members projects, MERG kits or anything else.

16:30 Wrap-up discussion, confirm next meeting and thanks to our hosts

16:35 Carry on with anything else we havn't fixed yet until we get thown out!

Kits will be available for purchase. If you have specific requirements, then it would be best to pre-order what you want from the kit locker for collection at the meeting, as Judi can only bring a selection of stock to the meeting.

For the practical sessions, as we have done before, if you have built something and would like any help and advice, please bring it along and we'll work on it with you as a demonstration for everyone.

If you already know what you want help on for this session, please email the details in advance so we can gen-up on it and look like we know what we are talking about!

If we didn't quite have time to get your project properly sorted at the last meeting, please bring it along again and you will be top of the list.

If you would like to come, please send an email to eastmids@merg.org.uk or post a message in the East Midlands Area group section of the MERG forum. You will get a reply in due course with full address details, directions to the venue and parking information. Let us know if you need a lift from the station.

MERG members and visitors from anywhere are always welcome at our meetings, you don't have to live in the East Midlands to come!

Details of previous East Midlands Area Group meetings