What a great day!

Well, Narrow But Nice 2011 is now over. The day started at 08:30 with the arrival of volunteers and unloading of vehicles. Before the doors were opened to the public, bacon butties were served to all volunteers and exhibitors.

10:30 came and went with no sign of the usual queue of visitors waiting for opening time but it was raining, as well as the first time we’d run the event since 2004 and first time ever at this venue. However, publicity paid off and paying punters arrived in a steady stream all day.

This post will be updated later with photos and details but, for now, we’re having a well-earned rest.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

It’s nearly here!

Less than a week to go now until Narrow But Nice 2011 and the list of exhibitors is fixed. We’re now sorting out the finer details, like catering and volunteers.

For those outside of the group who are going to come along, the doors open at 10:30 on Saturday 17th September and close again at 16:00. Admission is just £4 with under-12s getting in for free.

Merstham Village Hall is within 250 yards of both the station and the nearest bus stop. Trains take 15 minutes from East Croydon or less than 5 from Redhill. Car parking is limited on site but there is free on-street parking in easy walking distance or paid-for in the station car park.

Posted in Exhibitions | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Two Weeks Today!

In just two short weeks, it’s Narrow But Nice 2011, where we’ll be playing with our train sets at Merstham Village Hall. For full details, please see the main exhibition page.

Please note that there is a change to the list of layouts. Green Gates has stepped aside in favour of Eastgate Tramway, the layout that Philip Moss donated to the Area Group a year before his passing.

Come along, have a look at the layouts, have a cup of tea and a chat, and generally enjoy a lazy day out playing trains.

Posted in Exhibitions | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Philip Moss – 1926 to 2011

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we must report the passing of Philip Moss, peacefully at home after a protracted period of illness. He leaves his wife in the care of their large family.

Philip was an early member of the 7mm NGA and a founder of the Surrey Area Group. He was both Editor and Treasurer of the Association proper, as well as Editor, Treasurer and every other hat for the Group over the years.

Having retired on at least two occasions from the Rat Race, he was a pillar of his local church and President of his local Scout District.

However, above all of that, he was an incredibly kind and understanding man, with a way of quickly seeing to the heart of a problem and always having an encouraging word and a smile for those in need.

Rest In Peace, Philip. You will be sorely missed.

Posted in Members | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Narrow But Nice 2011

It’s been seven long years since last we held a Narrow But Nice but we’re teaming up with the Surrey Narrow Gaugers again to reprise this previously successful day of playing with trains.

The venue is the Village Hall, Station Approach North, Merstham, Surrey RH1 3ED and the date is Saturday 17th September 2011. There will be five layouts each of 009 and 016.5 scale, with some trade support. Refreshments will be available but there are also two local pubs and cafés.

We look forward to seeing you! Why not download the flyer and print it to remind you. Better yet, drop off a few at local model railway shows, libraries and community centres!

For a list of layouts, please refer to the main exhibition page.

Posted in Exhibitions | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

150 Not Out!

The Surrey Area Group has published a newsletter for its members for at least the last 12½ years. Our next edition will be the 150th, which we consider to be quite some achievement, especially when you remember it started out as an experiment!

Continue reading

Posted in Newsletter | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Welcome!

The old Surrey Area Group web site was composed of static pages which were a pain to update and required the efforts of a single web master. Our new site is hosted on WordPress, which is a licence-free content management system. This means that the site can have more than one editor and should therefore remain more up to date. It’s remains to be seen if the reality reflects this ideal!

The photograph in the banner above was taken by Alan Rogers during a group visit to the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway and shows the Schwartzkopf 0-4-0 well tank No1 Bronhilde pulling coaches 6 and 7 up the bank towards Warren Wood, beyond the curve.

Posted in Web Site | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off