The Club Room

Be a part of the Model Rail community – get involved today. E-mail: theclubroom@bauermedia.co.uk

The section about you, the Model Rail reader. Includes Exhibition Diary.

Beckenham & West Wickham MRC was formed in 1950 by a group of modellers from Beckenham, Shortlands and West Wickham, in south-east London. The club’s aims then, as now, were to promote the hobby and encourage activity from our youngest to oldest members through its two annual exhibitions (‘Vintage Tin Plate Trains’ and ‘Model Scale’), and an open day to show the local community what we do each week. We have a number of layouts, ranging from ‘N’ gauge up to ‘O’ gauge and also tin-plate. They’re operated with either DC or DCC and across a number of different methods, centred around an NX panel, for which we use MERG Unit, or Model Railway Computer Control Centre software, which was designed by the late Stephen Parascandolo. He was also interested in Croydon trams and one is named after him, on which many club members enjoy day trips out with our TFL friends. Membership brings with it the chance to work on our layouts and operate them at exhibitions. It also allows you to make new and like-minded friends, pick up ideas and learn new skills. Members come from all backgrounds from accountants to railway engineers and all ages from 16 to over 80. The club magazine, The Ground Disc, is free to all members and, of course, you get into all our club exhibitions for free – provided you help to run them! Our members take

their layouts to exhibitions all over the UK – keep eye out for us. If you would like to find out more, please come along to one of our club meetings. You can then see for yourself what we do and meet some of our members – you should find some interesting people to discuss trains with. Experience is not a prerequisite – all we ask is that you have an interest in railways and are prepared to help the club meet its objectives by helping with a layout, or assisting at the occasional exhibition. The club is also a great opportunity to learn more about model railways and learn from some of the more experienced members, who will be happy to show you how things are done. Whether you wish to get involved in complex model engineering or just play with your model trains, you will be very welcome. Address: St George’s Church Hall, 7 Albemarle Road, Beckenham BR3 5HZ E-mail: bwwmrc@me.com Web: www.bwwmrc.co.uk Meets: 1900 to 2200 every Thursday evening