Page The Otago Model Engineering Society January 2018 Club Dates CONROD is printed by: Wickliffe Limited Maintenance Day 10.00am First Saturday of the month General Meeting 7.30 pm Second Monday of the month Boat Group 7.30 pm First Wednesday following General Engineering 7.30 pm Third Monday of the month Scale Railway 7.30 pm Each Tuesday Thursday Toilers 10.00 am Each Thursday Committee Meeting 7.00 pm Last Monday of the month CONROD Deadline 5.00 pm Friday following Committee Meeting Running Day (Weather Dependant) 1.30 pm Last Sunday of the month
Page 2 PATRONS Robert Storm Chris Staynes Hon Solicitor T.Whitcombe PRESIDENT Russell Clark 476 3663 Vice President James Woods 476 1369 SECRETARY John Nelson 027 434 6372 TREASURER Colin Nicholls 454 5432 colinn@clear.net.nz COMMITTEE MEMBERS Bruce Milne James Tamis 455 5914 Group Representative On Committee Keith Murphy (Boats) 4731740 Andrew Nicholson (Scale Railway) 455 5371 Librarian Brian Niven 455 4491 Bookings John Nelson 027 434 6372 Conrod Editor Lachlan Clark 027 828 9809 conrod.omes@gmail.com From the President - Russell Clark Well it s the start of another year and I hope everyone enjoyed the festive season and are now prepared for the challenges of the year ahead. The first challenge for the club and its members is to prepare for and deliver to the public of Dunedin, another week of modelling entertainment excellence. As a club we are well versed in what is required and I am sure all members will actively participate in this year s event. If you are able to help Jim in any way prior to the event please do so or if you have any questions about the event please contact him directly. The final event on last year s calendar was a quiz night hosted by John Nelson who again did an excellent job with the questions. The turnout of members was disappointing but those who did come along had a very enjoyable night out. There will not be a general meeting this month and the next commitment for members is to turn out for a working bee on Saturday 19th January to prepare the grounds and facilities for the February exhibition.
Page 3 Editor s Desk - Lachlan Clark It has been a busy and productive holiday season for many members. With Exhibition week fast approaching workshops and model rooms have been in full swing readying items for the clubs biggest event of the year. Photo: Lachlan C Plenty of work at the club has also been undertaken in the last couple of months. Particularly of note the entrance foyer has been altered to improve the frontage for public visiting at Exhibition week with the bulk of the work being completed in just two days. Hamish has been described as the energiser bunny on steroids in the relentless way he approached the building work with Ron Johnston working on the electrics and both assisted by Jim, Russell and Dianne. Please note there will be no general meeting in February owing to Exhibition week. The next general club meeting will be the AGM in March. Photo: Jim W Photo: Jim W
Page 4 Many who have visited the hall recently will have noticed a rather large model on display. Ian Marsh and Gordon Duell have been working on rejuvenating a very impressive model of the Port Otago container crane on loan for our annual display. The meccano model stands over two metres tall and is designed to be fully operable and capable of lifting scale containers. Photos: Lachlan C I look forward to seeing you all in a couple of weeks at Exhibition week! Past Exhibition. Photo from the Stan Vernon collection. Mike Cowan testing Chris s Tich boiler. Photo: Jim W
Page 5 Festival of Modelling - Jim Woods The annual exhibition in 2019 is from February 2 till February 10. Waitangi Day 6th is the Wednesday. The opening times are 10.30 till 4.30, weekends and Waitangi Day, week nights 6.30 till 8.30. The roster is on the notice board opposite the OO railway. The theme is all kinds of modelling and we have invited several other groups to display in the hall. Also we will the Port Otago Meccano container Crane as our main display item with boats related to this. It will be really important that all members have a go at doing some of the smaller jobs like cleaning, hall stewards, ticket selling, station staff, shop and what ever. If everyone does an hour or so, someone else can have a break or run a model, that would be great. We will also be having a draw at the end of the week for members who sign in at the signal box to win a set of tools and useful items for the workshop. The more days you are there, better chance of winning!!!! We would like to have the big clean up a fortnight before the event, Saturday 19 January 10am. This will give the grass and things time to recover or reschedule to the following weekend if the weather is not in our favour. Also have a look about. if it looks abit dirty, give it a wash, things like windows etc.
Page 6 A Great Sea Story - Pacific Yachting (Facebook), Via Chris K The passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was quietly knifing its way through the waters of the mid-pacific on its way from Vancouver to Australia. The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought Captain John DS. Phillips, the result. The Warrimoo's position was LAT 0º 31' N and LONG 179 30' W. The date was 31 December 1899. "Know what this means?" First Mate Payton broke in, "We're only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line". Captain Phillips was prankish enough to take full advantage of the opportunity for achieving the navigational freak of a lifetime. He called his navigators to the bridge to check & double check the ship's position. He changed course slightly so as to bear directly on his mark. Then he adjusted the engine speed. The calm weather & clear night worked in his favor. At mid-night the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line! The consequences of this bizarre position were many: The forward part (bow) of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere & in the middle of summer. The rear (stern) was in the Northern Hemisphere & in the middle of winter. The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899. In the bow (forward) part it was 1 January 1900. This ship was therefore not only in: Two different days, Two different months, Two different years, Two different seasons, But in two different centuries - all at the same time!
Page 7 Boat Group - Brian McCurdy, Photos: John Anderson Wednesday 12/12/18 16 Members attended on a pleasant evening with the gathering starting at 6.30pm with boating on the pond and retiring to the hall where Kevin started the meeting at 7.30. Kevin stated that the roster list for Festival Display was now on the notice board and he asked members present to check it out and put their names on spots that they feel they can assist with. Henry Goosselink introduced a new member Cecil Gillan to the members and we all wished him well and hope he enjoys his time at OMES. Cecil has a keen interest in model boat building. Kevin also gave a brief report on Gary Douglas who, at the time of writing, was making steady progress.
Page 8 Bits on the Table There were only three models on display this month. Brian McCurdy presented his now ready to run Loyal Moderator which now only requires cosmetic work to be done; decals, anchors, door handles and the like. All small stuff. The model is looking very nice with many members commented on the workmanship and presentation. Bill King presented his all but completed Racing Sparrow yacht and explained some of the variations from the original drawings that he and Gordon Duell had done. Keith Murphy had the hull of his latest model. This time it is a scratch-built tramp steamer called the Wentworth, which was built in 1912. Keith is constructing the model using white pine. Around the Workshops Bill King had not been doing a lot, just finishing work on his Sparrow. Ian Marsh working on his jet boat and is fitting it up to take an electric starter. This will be an interesting exercise for the members to see how this works out. He is also working on a model yacht that is based on the plans for a full sized yacht that was published in Popular Mechanics (remember that publication).
Page 9 Ron Johnson has been busy working on the station tuck shop. Modifying the hole in the wall for the installation of a replacement fan. Also been cleaning up his carport. Keith Murphy reported that he went to the Lawrence Historical weekend but unfortunately the weather wasn t great. Busy working on his Tramp Steamer and a spot of gardening. Murray Vince had been busy reorganising his workshop to suit the installation of his new mill and was busy making new shelves to hold mill components etc. Brian McCurdy has continued the work on his Loyal Moderator which is now drawing to a close. Henry Goosselink continues to work on his radiocontrolled Goose. Has started fibre glassing work. Jon Winton continues to work on his locomotive. Meeting closed 8.45 No date was set for next meeting due to Christmas holidays etc. But it is expected that casual Boating on the Pond will be notified in the usual way.
Page 10 Health and Safety Report Spotted on a Wellington construction site. «FIRST NAME» «SURNAME» «STREET ADDRESS» «SUBURB» «CITY», «Post Code» Sender: The Otago Model Engineering Society Inc 1 John Wilson Drive P.O. BOX 2163 South Dunedin