Good Progress on the Trackbed Members’ Walk

The Trust has just completed a very busy weekend – with attendance at the  Waveney Valley Model Railway Club’s 26th Southwold Model Railway Exhibition, and the small matter of an AGM – all in the same two days.
Our friends at the show were, as always, very well organised, and provided hot meals to exhibitors (something you don’t always get), plus a good amount of pre-show publicity. We had a promotional stand, and managed to sell much shop stock, from books to models. Several Railway Bus Tour tickets also sold, and some hundreds of SRT leaflets, and Bus Tour leaflets, were given out. The heat and humidity on Saturday were tiring – but there were enough staff so that time off to enjoy the show was possible: some layouts were quite literally breathtaking.
The Trust AGM, held as usual at the Electric Picture Palace in Southwold, was happily quorate (just!), and Trustees John Ridgway, Alan Taylor and James Hewett were re-elected, unopposed. The Chairman’s Report was positive (given the irritating circumstances of our endless planning delays), as was the Treasurer’s Report, which showed a relatively comfortable financial situation, with increased shop profit (not that there is ever really enough cash, of course!).
Notice was given of the upcoming launch of the Southwold Railway Heritage Train project and fund (more details will be posted here at the official launch), and progress on our new-build locomotive project, “Blyth”, and other rolling stock. The Chairman particularly praised the work that has done by volunteers at both the workshop and at Wenhaston.
Alan Taylor, the President, ended the meeting with a plea for fund-raising specialists to come forward to help with this essential work: there is little point in establishing funds if there’s no-one administering them, keeping them running smoothly, and keeping them in the public eye.
The Trust looks forward to future events: the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Gala on September 13th and 14th, Henham Steam Rally on September 20th and 21st, the Warley Model Show at Birmingham National Exhibition Centre on November 22nd and 23rd, and of course our own Southwold Railway Model Show on the 2015 May Bank Holiday. The Trust is interested in attending similar events – ideally relatively local ones.