New items are shown in Red

 

Open Day

DSMEE will be hosting an Open Day at their site in Marlay Park on Sunday 24 Sept 2017 from 11:00 to 17:00. Both the usual raised track and the ground level lines will be carrying passengers.  On this unique day, adults will be carried on the trains, in contrast to the normal children-only service. The club house will also be open to members of the public and a range of trains and other engineering models, produced by DSMEE members will also be on display. All members are requested to come to this event, to bring along the fruits of their model engineering endeavours and, importantly to assist in  supporting the Society's activities on the day.

 

Raised Track

Saturday 30 September 2017 will be the last day of normal Saturday afternoon train rides for children for the 2017 season. In October, the sleeper replacement program will resume, in readiness for the 2018 season.

 

Ground level Track

The major program of replacement of wooden sleepers on the ground level line, will shortly resume. Last winter, 125 meters of track alone the Golf Club fence was relaid with rot-proof plastic sleepers. The plan for this winter is to replace a similar amount of sleepers, at the circle at the far end of the line. Two new crossings for the Park Authority grass cutting machines have been laid in concrete to facilate these machine crossing the tracks without damaging the rails. These crossings are in the circuit of the track that was severely damaged some years ago. This will allow approximate 80 meters of rail to be relaid, using the welded 7.25 inch gauge track currently in storage. This will link the main circuit to the section of track still in situ in the top corner of this field. All this is part of an ongoing plan to bring the damaged loop back into service.

 

DSMEE Library

The DSMEE library has now moved from Marlay House to a new facility in the clubhouse. This  makes the contents of the library much more accessable to members. If you want to donate books or magazines that might be of interst to members, please contact Cecil.

 

Workshop Area

After the disruption resulting from the library construction, a number of members, with Albert leading the charge, have imposed great order and cleanliness on the Workshop area, and this is now a pleasuure to work in.

 

Display Rack

The Society was recently given two models (a small traction engine and a 3.5 inch gauge loco) by the family of a model-maker from West Limerick. A display rack to store these models has been welded up by Eric and painted by Denis. The rack has space for plently more models, so if you want to donate or loan models, or know of potential donations, please contact Denis.

 

Additions to Locomotive Fleet

Terry introduced his newly-built 7.25 inch Donegal Railrcar but is also getting the late Liam Wall's coal-fired 5 inchSweet Pea  back into action. Graham is doing the same with Liam's 3.5 inch coal-fired Heisler. Norman has obtained a 5 inch LMS tender coal-fired loco, which he is successfully mastering. Michael is currenly working on his new large electric loco.

 

Model Engineering Metalworking classes.

St Colmcille's Community School in Knocklyon started evening classes in metalworking over a year ago (Tuesday evenings 7 to 9 pm). These have proved popular with DSMEE members, who now constitute half the students. The new term starts on 19 Sept. Details available at: www.knocklyonadulted.ie/uploads/1/3/9/5/13957485/metalwork.pdf. If interested, act soon, as the class is filling quickly.

 

Gauge 1 Track

At last the construction of the Gauge 1 track has started. It is located under the trees beside the container. The track plan is a simple single-track oval, measuring 10 metres by 6 meters, giving a total length of  nearly 30 meters. Provision will be made for laying a second parallel line, if required. The line will be mounted at table-top height, and will feature a widened length of 5 meters to facilitate a passing loop and steaming area.

 

Winter Talks

Denis is looking for volunteers to contribute to the winter talk's program. If you want to present on any topic, please contact Denis.

 

Coleraine Model Engineering Club

This year, it is the turn of Coleraine (Damhead) Club to host the annual gettogether of model engineering clubs in Ireland. This will be on Sat 7 Oct 2017. Several members of DSMEE are planning to visit. Email Terry if you are interested in travelling (info@dsmee.ie). More info on this club can be seen on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DamheadRailway