Shed Notices

Dear all,

It is that time of year again when we are looking for contributions to the DVD. We’d ideally like MP4, AVCHD or MP2 format files (as high quality as possible) to be sent via Dropbox or similar with a link sent by email to: debenvalleylightrailway@yahoo.co.uk. (Any queries should be fielded to this address also.) We’d like each video to be less than 10 minutes long. There is still time to get out into the garden with a camera and enjoy the enhanced steam effects the colder weather affords us, or perhaps you have some footage taken over the summer languishing on an SD card?

We’d be particularly grateful for any “How to” instructional videos on any garden railway topic – for example weathering, coal firing or point construction. There have also been requests for more overall shots showing how the railway fits into the garden – perhaps showing a track plan as part of the video may be of benefit to those members who are currently planning their own garden railways?

I wrote a few words on some ideas last year which are still relevant – you can read them here – On filming.

I look forward to receiving your videos!

Zach Bond

For the first time ever, we’re having a prototype steam locomotive in steam at the National Garden Railway Show. No.24 from the 15″ gauge Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway – a replica of the S.R.R.L 2ft gauge No.24 – will be in steam and giving you the chance to get behind the regulator for a driving experience for £5. Driver for a Fiver on No.24 will start from 9am on the Saturday and continue through the day.

If you’ve never had the chance to have a drive of a large steam loco, this is it! But don’t worry you won’t be alone in the spacious cab, as one of the professional drivers from the C.C.L.R will be in the cab with you to show you how to drive.

We are very thankful to the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway for allowing 24 to attend the show, which is looking like the best one yet.

Laurence Smith, Show Director

Loco stolen today – please keep an eye out – thank you.

Very distinctive rebuilt Mamod ‘Swordbreaker’ – very unusual as an 0-6-0. It was taken on a Cross-Country train Derby to Birmingham train today, stopping at Burton. Taken in a rucksack along with other bits including a camera. A much loved regular at the Llechfan Garden Railway and many other lines & exhibition layouts. Please help to keep out an eye for this very special little engine.

May SMT was printed on schedule yesterday and will be collected from Warners by Royal Mail today.  UK addresses will start to receive the package from tomorrow morning and most overseas recipients will start receiving theirs next week.  If you renewed your membership after Thursday 12^th May (I know that at least 30 of you did), you missed the bulk mailing so Warners will send your copy manually during next week.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

May Bulletin has already been printed and May SMT will go to print early next week. Thanks to Suzanne and Gareth for keeping to schedule again. We are on target for Royal Mail to collect the May package from Warners Midlands next Friday, 20^th May, so deliveries to UK addresses should start the following day. Overseas packages will be sent by air mail as usual. As part of the Board’s ongoing objective to provide additional benefits to members, what we hope will be a useful modelling aid will be tacked to the front cover of Bulletin. Thanks to Rod Nipper for making this happen. Enjoy when the package arrives.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

Thank you for your interest in the dehydrated water offer. Unfortunately as a result of Storm Katie, the Original Welsh Water Company’s dehydration plant was flooded over the Bank Holiday weekend, and we do not expect supplies to be available again till April Fools day next year.

Limited time offer – register your interest NOW!

For many years both full size and model steam engine operators have been concerned about the quality of the water that they put into their boilers, and the damage that impurities and chemical imbalances can cause. British Railways and ICI developed the Alfloc system and modern products such as Polytan 4F are currently used by heritage railways.

In models the use of de-ionised and distilled water has been hotly debated and at least one 16mm manufacturer offers a physical filtering system for water treatment. However the Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers has teamed up with The Original Welsh Water Company to bring the benefits of pure Welsh water to its worldwide membership.

Sustainably abstracted from Welsh mountain aquifers the Original Welsh Water Company triple filters the water through activated charcoal and micro mesh slate filter beds to purify it before passing it through the Patented Reduced Aquatic Treatment System, as certified by The Water Industry Technical Subcommittee, a state of the art patented system to dehydrate the product and hermetically package it so that it meets international standards for worldwide distribution.

The Association is delighted to be offering its members a trial pack of dehydrated Original Welsh Water for a strictly limited time as one of the current member benefits.

To register for your trial pack, send your name and membership number to water.offer@16mm.org.uk. Register now! – Offer ends at midday on 1st April 2016.

Pam Morgan, spokeswoman for the company said, “We are delighted to be working with the Association to provide members with the benefits of our product.”

Dehydrated water from the Original Welsh Water Company

Instructions for use: Trial pack makes 5 litres of boiler feed water. To use your trial pack you will need to provide your own clean plastic 5 litre container, ideally made from an opaque plastic. Careful open the trial pack by cutting along the red dotted line and empty the contents, taking care not to spill it, into the container. Top up with five litres of cooled water from your kettle or drinking water filter (e.g.: Brita) to maintain the highest purity standards. Enjoy the benefits of dehydrated water from the Original Welsh Water Company in your model boilers.

Caution: Please read and make sure you fully understand the instructions before use.

Warning: This product is not to be used without supervision. May cause drowning if inhaled. If accidentally splashed on skin, apply copious towels or other soft absorbent material. May cause irritation to young people with a known allergy to H2O. If in doubt use eye protection and gloves when handling.

For full chemical analysis and product data sheet tel: 0800 0104 2016

Recommended mean operating temperature between 32 and 212 degrees F at one atmosphere.

Store in a cool location out of direct sunlight. Use by date: 12:00 01.04.16

An updated Policy and Procedure for the Management of Harassment, Bullying, Violence and Aggression has been posted on the Policies page of the Association web site.

Mike Riley, Company Secretary

Dispatch of the large February mailing is now imminent. The pictures below show SMT going through the binding process, where the 76 pages are put in order and stapled prior to stacking. SMT was printed on Wednesday and bound on Thursday, meaning that the last of the material for the February mailing is now complete. We expect packaging to occur on Friday.

Royal Mail may collect it on Friday afternoon, in which case (and based on November’s experience) the package will start arriving at UK addresses on Saturday. Royal Mail make two collections a day from Warners, but if the package is not available by the time they make the second collection, most UK residents will receive it on Monday. Delivery by Air Mail to overseas addresses takes longer and members overseas well know how long it typically takes.

There are two changes from the previous mailings:

• We are using thicker film to wrap the package. This will reduce the potential for tearing but cannot completely eliminate it. As in the past, please advise Warners of any damaged/missing items (email 16mmNGM@warnersgroup.co.uk, phone 01778 392016, or +44 1778 392016 from overseas) and they will replace them promptly.
• The annual DVD will be tack glued to the cover of SMT. I am assured that the glue will not damage SMT having viewed a sample personally. This will help to guard against the DVD becoming separated from the rest of the package if a tear to the wrapping occurs.

I hope you enjoy yours when it arrives.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

All elements of the very full February mailing are now with our printers. We have met the schedule agreed with Warners Midlands (who print and distribute), so I expect they will complete packaging and collection by Royal Mail this Friday. Some UK addresses may receive the package as early as Saturday 20th. Most members should have received theirs by Saturday 27th. Some countries take much longer to process Air Mail – affected member are well aware. Any change will be communicated via Shed Notices.

Members should thank the various editors and compilers of the material they will receive. Of all mailings, this one has involved more members of the board than any other in the year.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

Invitations to renew your subscription online are being sent today to most members who elect to use this facility. The email will not come from an Association address as in the past but it will be clear that it’s from the Subscription Management team at Warners (look for “on behalf of … warnersgroup.co.uk” in the sender’s email address). To enable you further to reassure yourself that the invitation is genuine, if available, a fragment of your personal data in included in the invitation. This won’t compromise your security as it’s a very small fragment. If the data isn’t available then “No data held” will be shown.

The email can also be opened in a Web browser if the formatting in the invitation has been lost. The link to do this is top right in the email.

A small number of members who elect to renew online will receive their invitation later in the week. This delay will enable us to reduce and hopefully avoid any need to enter the delivery address for SMT manually. This affects about 200 UK and overseas members with addresses where, for example, our data stores a house name but no street address, or where local address formatting puts the house name after the street name. We will work hard to avoid any compromise to delivery address and the reliable receipt of you magazine. A further post will be made when the necessary changes have been made.

The renewal process has been tested extensively and as part of this, a how-to document has been created. I do not think that members will need this as the testers found everything required in the instructions within the invitation, but it is here if needed. There are two things which this testing shows should be highlight to member who elect to renew via Direct Debit:

• When entering account number and sort code on the online direct debit mandate, use the tab key to move between boxes
• Don’t be concerned if an unexpected name and/or street address if you look this up from the sort code using the button provided on the same form – this data base been provided by the banks and building societies and may reflect where they want direct debit mandates to be sent.

Finally, if you have problems with your renewal please contact Warners by phone or email. Their contact details are provide in the invitation. I cannot fix individual problems but I am very interested in feedback on your experience. As I have already said, it’s different to last year but offers facilities which we were unable to offer in the past.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary