new club in exeter

a few of us who are unhappy about the direction our club is taking are trying to start a new club in exeter, there was one years ago but it disbanded, it is called the exeter society of model and experimental engineers, or ESMME for short, it is open to anyone who build things be they locos,boats, planes, traction engines, clocks or even airfix kits, we wish it to be a sociable club where you, your friends and family can come and enjoy the day.at present there are 8 of us and we had a stand at a recent local classic car show, we had two locos on a stand and traction engines giving rides, we are looking for enthusiastic like minded people to help us get this off the ground,we have a short portable track with which to start club funds, and we are looking around for a piece of ground to become a permanent site,this will take time to get off the ground but if enough of us get together we can do it,

we are holding an open evening at 7 pm at the st sidwells centre ,sidwell street, exeter, it is to be held in the sidwella room,so come along , introduce yourself and see if what we want to do is of interest to you.

George, would that be every evening or do you have a particular date in mind for your open evening?! I would probably like to attend depending on the date.

Martin.

Since there are clubs at Tiverton and Newton Abbot the 'vacuum' in ME terms is to the west of the city - just saying. You might be able to link up with the Men in Sheds operation over at St Thomas'.

Sidwell St looks like it has become bus only in the 40 years since I last drove up it, at least from the direction of Bobby's (one of the only two places holding modelling materials in my youth). Where is the nearest free parking?

Im so sorry, I cant believe i didnt put th date up, its the 17th of this month,apologies yet again gentlemen.there is parking at the top of sidwell street in a small triangle just of the roundabout,and a large multi story car park, i believe its called king george the fifth,basically its behind john lewis on longcross street.

George, I am interested in your proposal to form a model engineering club in Exeter. Unfortunately, I will not be available for the meeting on 17th, but will try to join in the 'next step'.

In case it is of help to those who may be driving to the meeting, I would just mention that the multi-storey car park (formerly the King William Street Car Park, now The John Lewis) is closed and locked at 8pm, so not recommended for evening events. The one off the roundabout, which you mention, remains open as does the Bampfylde Street park, behind the shops just across the road from the St Sidwell's Centre.

Good luck

Geoff

Thanks for the directions Geoff.

I have put a note and link on the Modelboatmayhem site as there is a lot of mutual interest. I wonder have you contacted the Exeter Model Boat Club as they claim to have 200 members.

thank you, i didnt know there was a model boat club.

And a model flying club

The Exeter model boat club is even having a Father's Day open day so it might b a chance to go along and 'fly your flag'.

And a model Railway society.

Exeter Classic Motorcycle Club may also have people interested judging by some of the recent new additions to this forum.

Well the meeting was quite successful as about 17 people turned up though almost none from the readership of this forum. Hey where were you? We also need to get a few more of them to be computer literate.

The club is going ahead and at only £15 it is one of the cheapest ME clubs at least for the time being so quite a few paid up at the meeting. A website and inevitable facebook page are likely to appear soon but meanwhile they will be turning up at various local events with a portable track.

I found there is street parking free after 6pm so easy for the next club meeting which will be on the Second Friday July then ditto each month, 7 to 9 pm at the Sidwell community centre as above.

Thank you fir turning up Bazyle.,as you said quite successful,i know we have a long way to go but there is a lot of enthuiasam amongst the small but growing membership, also thank you for your input on some of the topics that were discussed.

We have been given a portable track now and with a bit of maintanance and a lick of paint it will soon be earning money for the club, the next step is to find a small 5 inch gauge loco, the two that we have access to are on the large side so something along the lines of a speedy,simplex or sweet pea is needed,

The reason membership is so low is simple,we dont have a permanent track or anything else for that matter so overheads are low,what we really need now is willing members who will work to get this club of the ground and input ideas for it. it will be your club after all so lets run it that way,unlike some i could name.

george

Well done, George and Bazyle: only wish I could have been there. Worse than that, I won't be available for the August meeting either! Never mind, can't be helped, but I WILL join you for the September meet, to swell the numbers by one!

Geoff

just a quick update, the next meeting of the exeter and district model engineering society is to be held this friday (8th july) at 7 pm in the sidwella room, st sidwells community centre,sidwell street exeter.

Regret I won't be able to make it George but as you don't have a website yet post any other activities like running the portable track on here so people wiho don't make it to the club meetings can perhaps still meet you.

good idea bazyle, thanks for the input.

Meeting was held last night,we signed 3 new members and we were given the use of a boiler test kit,we are all really pleased with the rapid progress of this,we would have been happy to be in this position after a year but to get there this fast has astounded us.we are going to look at a few patches of land in view of placing a permanent track there but we know this will take time, at the moment the portable track we were loaned is going through refurbishment and extra panels are being made.

We do realize that some people may not be able to attend our meetings and as suggested by bazyle i am putting up dates that we are meeting elsewhere.

We shall be at the tiegnmouth carnival on the 23rd july, this is to be held on the den, we arent sure if the portable track will be completed by then but the traction engines will be running.

On the 14th august we shall be at the dawlish carnival,the portable track should be completed by then.

And we are organizing a one day steam fair on the den in tiegnmouth on the 28th of august.we would welcome visiting exhibitors to come along and show their work. if you would like to do this contact me and you will be given all the details.

Again i say thank you to everyone who has offered help and encouragement to us. Please nip along and say hello.

Edited By george kirkby on 09/07/2016 09:37:16

If you haven't been able to get along to a meeting and get on their mailing list they are holding a Club BBQ on Sunday 4th Sept in the park half way up Deepway Lane, postcode EX6 8BG with portable track and traction engine in operation, 10am to 4pm. Bring your own food of course.

They also have a website now and Facebook page. The club name seems to have changed slightly.

A lot of work setting up by Ces and George and crystal ball to get the dry day and the clubs first BBQ was a great success in a small park. Several people from Taunton club and even one from St Albans. Next club night is this Friday.

A number of locals happened by to get free rides on the new portable track and a 4 & 1/2 in traction engine so will have been the envy of their school friends today.

more photos in my album "edmes".
The track is very simple and lightweight and took a bit of levelling but worked fine. Only difficulty is the bolts and fishplate joints that are also used on the SAMES track and are equally time consuming and fiddly to do up.

A quick update on the progress since my last post, we had another meeting on friday, doug gave a chat on geneology, some of the things he told us were a little disturbing, signed up two more members,and ashley broke the news that we may have a site for a permanant track, we have been given a provisional yes to having a ground level track at st katherines priory in exeter, there are a few provisos though but im sure we can work around them, so the next step is to survey the site,sort out a track plan and submit it to the committee there, lots of work left to do but weve come a long way quickly.

Edited By george kirkby on 16/10/2016 18:08:13

Even more good news for those of you in the area and thinking of joining. The new track site does not allow or need deep digging like for cuttings so you don't have to be worried about getting roped into lots of spade and barrow work. A major contrast to the Malta railway which was the subject of the last talk

Initial plans are for 260m (over 800ft in Brexitese) of track so a fair bit of sawing and welding is on the cards.

Meetings are now moved to 3rd Friday of the month at St Katherine's.