Second meeting on July 30th
From the organisers...
May 21st this year was the 175th anniversary of the first locomotive hauled train through South West London. The 1838 service of about eight trains per day was between Nine Elms and Woking. The line is the same as used today by South West Trains but none of the original four London stations (Nine Elms, Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Merton and Kingston) remain, although others with the same names do elsewhere. Rail still plays an important role.
According to the 2011 Census half the people who go out to work in the Borough of Wandsworth do so by rail, tram or tube. Rail facilities take up three per cent of the Borough land area, which is approximately 30 times the national average. Predicted population pressures will secure a buoyant future of rail with new and proposed developments including the recently completed London Overground Loop, Crossrail now under construction and other projects under consideration including HS2, Northern Line Extension, CR2 etc. are rarely out of the news.
One thing our area lacks is a (Model) Rail Club and there may well be a widespread desire to correct this. Normally such a club will do at least some the following:
Construct, repair and run model railway(s)
Have a social side
Discuss railways with possible trips, lectures etc.
Contribute to community particularly interest to the elderly and hands on skills to the young
Finance covering membership, merchandise, grants (arts, education etc.), sponsorship etc.
We have had one meeting and the consensus was to initially concentrate on the first two items.
Anyone interested or would like to contribute please come to our 2nd meeting at Café Nero on St John’s Hill at 8pm on Tuesday 30th July. Those wishing to be kept up to date on developments can e-mail Peter@Hird.biz
July 9, 2013