OK, this is where it all gets heavy, where we reveal all the intense modelling activity that thrives night after night at a packed clubhouse, where the only sounds are of baseboards being sanded to size, track pins being hammered into submission and scenery scatter being scattered.
Some of that goes only certainly, in amongst the consuming of tea, the poking of the fire (real sea coal of course) and general chat about all things railway and sundry other matters. And the size of the clubhouse means it doesn't take many to pack it out.
We meet every Tuesday and Friday, usually at the clubrooms at 57a Portland St. Some activities may be held elsewhere, as notified by the organisers and listed in the news section of the website's front page.
Some Thursday afternoons see layout work progressing, as agreed by those involved.
Layouts
We are building two exhibition layouts, Monsal Dale downstairs in the back room, and Talisker Glen upstairs in the back.
We also have a fixed dual-gauge layout, Portland Street upstairs in the front.
Downstairs Saltash is worked on in-between exhibition outings.
Members have also built individual elements of the Modular Layout, a series of 2ft x 1ft mini-scenes which join up into a long(ish) line or a big(ish) rectangle.
Click here for details of the layouts.
Annual exhibition
Our big event of the year - see here.
Talks
New for 2011 has been a very successful series of talks by members, preceded by a meal and a raffle. A list of current talks is here.
Sleeper trips
Each summer a group of members go on a holiday involving a sleeper element, usually a railway, sometimes a ferry. It also involves eating and (real-ale) drinking, although the latter is entirely optional. More details are here.
Other activities
Some members are also involved, individually or collectively, with preserved railway lines, both locally and further afield. Such activities include firing, guarding, tracklaying and general maintenance.
