Hungate Bridge

[bramleyman]

Three years ago, I attended a Wisbech & March Bramley line meeting where afterwards, I enquired about Wisbech Model Railway Club and got told it had closed many years previous due to lack of support. It later turned out there had never been a club in the town.

Upon reaching home again and in Wisbech where we then lived, my Partner suggested I tried to start one up and so we set about designing headed notepaper, got an E-mail address for it and contacted the local press, seeking anybody interested in starting one up. Quite literally, less than three weeks later, we held our first meeting in 'The Club' as we now call it, which is really the conservatory of the home of two married members. When I first got the call from the gentleman offering us their home to meet, because of his name, I thought it was a wind-up. Upon calling him back, arranging to meet and then doing so, I found him to be very genuine.

At the first meeting, there were 28 people came along, but sadly because of varying reasons, many opted not to come again and so we now have a staunch membership of 15. It was then decided to build an end-to-end layout and based on no particular place, apart from somewhere in East Anglia. The gent who owns the building very kindly donated the timber for the frames and trestles on which to place the baseboard.

Three years later, we have built and now operate a layout of 22 feet long and 2 feet wide, with still some parts to be finished off including the adding of signals, plus an extention in order for everybody to get a chance to operate it. There are some photo's of it on our website www.freewebs.com/wismrc and in the album. To take advantage of seeing them at their best, click on slideshow, sit back and enjoy them. You will see towards the end, we have attended an Exhibition. In fact we did two on two consecutive weekends and not only did we get a very warm welcome from both, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time at them as well.

[Trev]

Good site, and a nice looking layout, bramleyman.

It's also nice to read how you began the club from the ground up, and I see what you mean about your wind-up suspicions!

As for the N gauge project, I'll be interested to follow that one, so please keep us updated. I've had quite a bad experience with N, but I'm still determined to do something in the future, once I'm settled in a new house. I don't think that N is very suitable for a layout which involves a lot of shunting, so I personally would go for a continuous run with fiddle yard.

But I reckon Swisstrains John might have differing ideas!!

[swisstrains]

Originally Posted by Trev

....................... I don't think that N is very suitable for a layout which involves a lot of shunting, so I personally would go for a continuous run with fiddle yard.

But I reckon Swisstrains John might have differing ideas!!

I've got to agree with you on that score Trev.
Even in 1:160 N Gauge more and more stock (especially that produced in the East) is being turned out with couplers that refuse to mate up smoothly making shunting a bit of a pain.
The layout I am building at the moment does involve some shunting but generally it's operation is centred around the continuous running of fixed formation trains that are stored in a fiddle yard when not in use.

[Trev]

Many years ago I had a schoolfriend who had built an N gauge layout in his dads' garden shed. It was a simple double track looped 8, giving quite a long run in a confined area. It included one carriage siding, one goods wagon siding and a small locoshed. Stock was two Minitrix 'Warships', one Minitrix Class 27, half a dozen Minitrix coaches and a selection of Peco wagons. And the couplings were fantastic! They worked. Not once did I see a loco uncouple itself from its train, like my stock does. And yet it's the same design of coupling. So why the difference?

[swisstrains]

Originally Posted by Trev

Many years ago I had a schoolfriend who had built an N gauge layout in his dads' garden shed. It was a simple double track looped 8, giving quite a long run in a confined area. It included one carriage siding, one goods wagon siding and a small locoshed. Stock was two Minitrix 'Warships', one Minitrix Class 27, half a dozen Minitrix coaches and a selection of Peco wagons. And the couplings were fantastic! They worked. Not once did I see a loco uncouple itself from its train, like my stock does. And yet it's the same design of coupling. So why the difference?

Trev,
Is it possible that the different manufacturers haven't adopted a common spec for their couplings (height, tension etc.) or do you still have uncoupling problems between stock from the same maker?
As N Gauge was developed by the Germans the likes of Minitrix, Arnold and Fleischmann all generally worked to common standards and that included the British outline models produced by Minitrix. I think the problems started when Graham Farish and Peco decided to be different and use their own "simpler" version of the German coupler (Rapido).

[bramleyman]

I am pleased to inform you all, we have a new website and offering a better look to it on www.wmrc.weebly.com as well as still having the original that will in due course disappear.

[bramleyman]

The E-mail address is now: [email protected] and our website which is still under construction, yet can be seen is on:http://wisbechmrc.webs.com

We do intend to hold a small show along with our Landlord in the next few weeks, but awaiting confirmation of dates, and admission will be Free. Details will be posted as soon as I get them.

[bramleyman]

A date for your diaries if you are in West Norfolk on the day. Sunday 5th June, Wimbotsham & Stow Village Hall, Low Road,, Wimbotsham, King's Lynn, PE34 3QG, from 10.00 to 16.00, a Mini Model Railway Exhibition featuring Hungate Bridge, plus either 3 or 4 other layouts. Entrance is yet to be decided, but it is being held to raise funds for the renovation of the village hall.

Hungate Bridge has undergone some superb changes over recent months, as well as improvements made.

Light refreshments will also be available.