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Get involved with Orchard Wharf!
First meeting Friday 18 May 2018, 18.30 in the Library The build of Orchard Wharf is now under way. We propose to meet regularly on Friday evenings (with a possible earlier start for those available in the afternoon). The first meeting is on Friday 18 May. All members are welcome to attend. We’ll provide another …read more.
Apr 30, 2018Reflections on Ingatestone’s first show
In the months since our last update much has been done to the layout and the common fiddleyard shared with Putnam (H0) with the main goal of taking Ingatestone (00) to the London Festival of Railway Modelling in March 2018 at Ally Pally. We intended to show the full layout, under construction but with roundie-roundie …read more.
Apr 26, 2018
Mons Meg
After a month in the paint shops we now have an ex-works engine, called “Mons Meg”. This engine was named after the medieval cannon resident in Edinburgh Castle and the engine, when new, visited King’s Cross a few times – it should look at home on Copenhagen Fields. There are a few …read more.
Apr 23, 2018Orchard Wharf project is now directly contactable!
We now have a layout email address: orchardwharf@themrc.org.uk. So one less excuse not to get in touch.
Mar 29, 2018Orchard Wharf debut as track building starts
Following a presentation to club members at the beginning of the month, our new EM Gauge project Orchard Wharf (set in London’s docklands c. 1960) was shown off to the public for the first time at last weekend’s London Festival of Railway Modelling. The layout formed just one part of The MRC’s extensive demonstration stand. …read more.
Mar 26, 2018Empire Mills attending Trainwest, 14/15 April 2018
We had a great trip to Doncaster back in February — thank you to those who stopped by to see the layout and chat. The layout ran flawlessly (well, a cable did come loose on Sunday morning but that was it). I am grateful to the rest of the operating team, Hugh and Tom, for …read more.
Mar 16, 2018
Orchard Wharf
Above: smartphone cameras can be cruel! Old and new traction alike will need more attention before it can grace the layout. EM gauge operations intensify Orchard Wharf is our new EM gauge project. We’ve taken a very different tack to that of Empire Mills, the layout’s predecessor. What we wanted this time was something the …read more.
Feb 17, 2018
Empire Mills at upcoming Festival of British Railway Modelling
This weekend, 10 & 11 February, we’re attending the Festival of British Railway Modelling at Doncaster race course. We’re in the company of some pretty impressive layouts, not least in EM gauge. Look forward to seeing you there!
Feb 6, 2018
MRC Test Tracks at Warley 50
It’s been a busy first day at Warley for the MRC Test Tracks. A constant stream of locomotives kept the test team busy, with new owners were being reassured to see their purchases successfully running round the tracks. A handful of non-runners were identified, these were returned to suppliers for replacement or refunded.
Nov 25, 2017
Minories November 2017
We’ve had a busy few weeks, leading up to two exhibitions over consecutive weekends in November- Tolworth then Wakefield. It would be fair to say we weren’t quite ready for Tolworth Showtrain – so apologies to the Hampton Court MRS and those who came on the Saturday morning. However with perseverance we fixed the key …read more.
Nov 25, 2017
Copenhagen Fields – November 2017
Space is always tight in our lower layouts hall, but we’ve got a few weeks available to have the whole layout up, which gives us the chance to carry out some of the more major projects on track and wiring. We have had an incredibly productive day today with both new fast line loops completed …read more.
Nov 24, 2017Empire Mills September and October 2017
Little jobs can be very time consuming. Firstly the uncoupling magnets are now powered by a relay, which hopefully means we won’t burn out the switches on the controllers any more. Secondly the uncouplers which were incorrectly identified have now been fixed, so reducing a pernicious source of operator confusion. And finally a mystery short …read more.
Nov 13, 2017