Try to get to a Society group meeting.

Hobby · June 15, 2019, 13:10

Or even easier get the Editor to stick a request in the News asking people to get in touch... that's how the Midlands Group started up! Plenty of people making comments about lack of groups but no-one actually doing anything about it... Get off your backsides and make it happen as I am sure there would be enough interest for a Scottish Group for instance.

Scottish Modeller · June 15, 2019, 15:08

Quote from: Hobby on June 15, 2019, 13:10
Or even easier get the Editor to stick a request in the News asking people to get in touch... that's how the Midlands Group started up! Plenty of people making comments about lack of groups but no-one actually doing anything about it... Get off your backsides and make it happen as I am sure there would be enough interest for a Scottish Group for instance.

Hi Hobby,

You spoilt southerners!

You cannot apply the same sort of criteria to putting a Scottish (or Welsh) Area Group together as you can an English one

There are no clusters of cities as there are in England.

Being close to another person that is interested in being part of an area group in Scotland could be as much as 50 miles apart and still be in the same postcode area!

I've followed a similar process for DEMU in Scotland and now trying to do it for the NGS in Scotland.

Thanks
Phil H

Hobby · June 15, 2019, 16:34

You shouldn't make assumptions about people, Phil! I'm not a Southerner nor spoilt, and I lived in Central Scotland for nearly a decade and my mother and sister lived in Aberdeen for many decades so I do know my way around Scotland quite well. I don't know where you are based but I do know that, if they wanted to, members from Scotland could set up a group and have meetings up there, OK they may not be holding meetings every month like many others, but that's not a criteria!. Most of the population live in the Central Belt so setting up a Group based there would make sense with the more outlying Scottish members such as Graeme (Aberdeen) visiting as and when they could. The distance from where I live to other members who live the other side of the West Mids is only about the same as Glasgow to Edinburgh (under 50 miles) so similar logistics! Many people attend Stan's meeting that have to travel far larger distances than that!

However rather than discuss it on here and make assumptions about the Membership that neither of us know are true why don't you put an advert in the News like I suggested and see what happens. You've taken the time to reply on this thread so it's only a small step to send Chris Ford an email and get him to publish a request, it doesn't cost anything and if my experience in setting up the West Mids group is anything to go by it's well worth it... If you get going and I'm up visiting my wife's relatives in Edinburgh I may even get along myself!

Over to you!

Blair

Malcolm · June 15, 2019, 19:45

As a longstanding Scottish member if I remember correctly from about 1980 through to about the early 90's there was a regular meeting of a Scottish group in members homes in Edinburgh, North Berwick in the East through to Bo'ness in the West. There was a hard core of about 5 or 6 members however as happens people move away and others have families, change of hobby etc and the meetings died out. Moves to try and get a Glasgow group up and running failed.
About 8 years ago Dave Chapman in Aviemore re-constituted the Scottish group as SCOONS [Scottish 009ers] and arranged informal meetings, announced in the 009 News, mostly at the Glasgow or Perth shows when the 009 stand was in attendance. As far as I can recall the only time there was a meeting away from a show was 3 or 4 years ago when about 6 of us met at a members house in Duns with attendees from Aviemore, Stirling, Edinburgh, East Lothian and the Borders.
As you correctly surmise Phil, the scattering of members far and wide is the main obstacle. I can think of three 009 Society members in Edinburgh plus myself down in East Lothian plus Andrew Hastie in Fife but otherwise I have no idea how many others there are lurking in the background.
The current situation appears to be that Dave Chapman is, in the absence of any announcements in the 009 News to the contrary, 009 Scotland Group heid yin so you might want to contact him via the membership sec. as regrettably I have mislaid his e-mail address.
Malcolm

Hugh Norwood · June 16, 2019, 19:43

I don't want to muddy the waters, but the Italian group meet up in facebook space more regularly than in real life. I believe they meet up at exhibitions.

BrianE · June 19, 2019, 21:51

Stats time again (I do think it useful to have real information): There are currently 64 members in Scotland. There are small clusters around Edinburgh and Glasgow. The rest are scattered literally across the whole country, from far north to south and from the islands in the west to the east.

Just sayin'

Brian

Hobby · June 20, 2019, 08:16

Thanks, Brian, it confirms what I thought, it's up to them, a Group could be set up but to do that someone will have to bite the bullet and actually do something... I await the next 'News with interest to see if anyone bothers...

engerth399 · June 20, 2019, 08:30

In Wales there is a cluster of cities: Cardiff, Newport, Swansea plus the towns in the Welsh Valleys.
Peter

Stan Williams · June 21, 2019, 03:05

Although are group goes by the title Merseyside & South West Lancs Group, we have visitors from far and wide.
ie Cumbria, West Yorkshire, Hull, Wolverhampton, Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Wirral and Merseyside.

If people are interested they will come along especially if your get togethers are interesting.

We have had three meetings in 2020 and the numbers through the doors are 42, 52, and 40.

Are next meeting is Saturday 29th June starting at 1pm at the All Saints Parish Hall, Church Road, Rainford WA11 8HE.

If you fancy coming along, you are most welcome to join us.

Stan.

Stan Williams · July 24, 2019, 13:53

This is an example of being part of a group.
James Hodgkiss is attempting to build his first 009 layout which will be based on French WW1 railways.
He is having his trials and tribulations regarding good tracklaying for starters.

Well help is at hand, because at our next meeting on the 3rd August, James will have the help of a number of good modellers and in particular
Paul Windle (one of the finest modellers in these lands) is going to help him through the sticky bits and hopefully by the end of the day,
James will have a working layout and any faults will have been ironed out.

Just another reason to join an area group or set one up.
Ask yourselves, how many times have you started a layout, just to pack it up ?

Stan.

Hobby · July 24, 2019, 15:12

I agree Stan, but as always it needs someone to do the work start it all up. As we've seen from several replies on this thread there are people who would like someone else to be that person.

Sad but true!

Stephen Rainsbury · March 05, 2020, 23:54

Was there every a group in Kent?

Stan Williams · March 06, 2020, 09:33

I believe someone did start up a group and a few years ago, we exhibited Gairloch & Wester Ross at the Canterbury Exhibition
some years ago and I remember we signed up 3 or 4 people to join the 009 society that weekend.

Are they still members ?

Stan.

Hobby · March 06, 2020, 11:04

Isn't the Greenwich Group SE London so reasonably local? Don't know about any others, Sussex downs Group?

All Groups are listed here:

https://009society.com/news/area-groups/?v=79cba1185463#areagroup

The 7mm NG Assoc list is here and overlaps a fair bit!

https://7mmnga.org.uk/area-groups.php

B.Meldon · March 06, 2020, 11:24

Quote from: Hobby on March 06, 2020, 11:04
Isn't the Greenwich Group SE London so reasonably local? Don't know about any others, Sussex downs Group?

There is also the Greenwich & District Narrow Gauge Railway Society, but this is separate from the 009 Society.
They have weekly meetings alternating between members' homes in South London and Essex.

Brian Meldon