RADMEC
The Ramsgate and District Model Engineering Club
Latest News
20th April 2025
Easter Sunday
A drizzly start soon gave way to a dry day with the sun making guest appearances. A steady flow of families came out for miniature train rides and, indeed, tram rides thanks to Dan & Kate bringing their J70 Wisbech & Upwell tram out for a run. Chocolates were handed out to every child who joined us for a ride, whilst we enjoyed cakes kindly supplied by Adam’s mum & dad.
(KB)
6th April 2025
We’re back and what a successful first day we had, the bright, if somewhat chilly, day saw the families out in the park where many enjoyed a train ride. Thank you to everyone who joined us. We’ve been busy recently changing some life expired concrete track beams, with these now in place, it’s so good to be operating our little trains once again. Thank you as always to our small dedicated band of volunteers.
(KB)
18th December 2024
Sunday 15th December was the rescheduled date of the Ellington Park Christmas Fayre. We ran trains for part of the day and this proved popular with queues of people wanting a ride.
A certain ‘Jolly Gentleman’ was at the controls spreading Christmas Cheer.
We are planning on being at the park this coming Sunday 22nd December as a prelude to the Carol Concert taking place that evening. We hope to see you there, either way, we at RADMEC wish you all a lovely Christmas and New Year.
(KB)
30th September 2024
Yesterday was our last scheduled running day of the year, barring the Halloween & Christmas Fayre events. Despite the cooler temperatures, many families paid us a visit and enjoyed a train ride. We were delighted to be joined by Dan & Kate from the Canterbury & District MES who bought their 5” gauge ‘Maid of Kent’ L1 Class locomotive along, the live steam aspect of which was enjoyed by all present and helped draw in the crowds.
Many thanks Dan & Kate
(KB)
18th August 2024
Maidstone Model Engineering Society 2024 Open Day
On the road again when several RADMEC members visited the excellent track at The Maidstone Model Engineers Society at Mote Park, Maidstone.
Much fun was had by all and we would like to thank all at Maidstone MES for their invite and hospitality.
(KB)
10th August 2024
Canterbury Model Engineering Society -2024 Visiting Clubs Day
Today, some RADMEC members made the short journey over to Sturry to take part in Canterbury MES’s Visiting Clubs Day. We took three locos with us, ‘Nova-Motus’, The ‘Dirty Baldwin’ and the ‘76’.
It’s always great to met the guys and girls from other clubs, exchange ideas and talk miniature railways for the day. As well as getting to drive somewhere different.
Thanks to everyone at Canterbury MES for inviting us along and looking after everyone so well.
(KB)
27th July 2024
Picnic in the Park 2024
What’s better than driving your mini train and have the accompaniment of live music all day? A really busy day in the park yesterday saw over 400 customers enjoy riding on our miniature railway, the park was very busy with families listening to live music throughout the day and partaking in refreshments, including a licenced bar (not that any RADMEC members partook, professional to the last!)
Duncan brought his latest WIP along, a mining loco, which we know will look great once it is finished.
A rare outing of Alan’s Barclay 4 wheel shunting loco also provided some rides during the afternoon.
Thanks to everyone who paid us a visit.
(KB)
20th July 2024
That went well!
Today saw the return for us, once again, providing miniature train rides, following our track repairs. After completing some test runs in the morning we then reopened for public running. To mark the occasion, we did not charge our usual £1 fare, instead we had a bucket for voluntary donations that we will use to offset some of the costs that the repairs have come to. Many families were able to partake in rides, including a two week old baby! Thanks to everyone who did donate, your help is much appreciated.
It’s nice to be back!
(KB)
18th July 2024
Archive Time
With the reopening of railway this coming Saturday (20th July, 11:00- 15:00) after completing essential repairs, I thought it would be nice to share this 1971 picture of former RADMEC stalwart Walter Skuse examining the dedication plaque that bears his name.
(KB)
13th July 2024
Track Repairs Update #3
If you happen to be in Ellington Park this weekend, you’ll see our club members ‘hard at it’ replacing the life expired beams. This manually challenging task is only possible through great teamwork and some excellent progress has been made today and, we hope, to have it all completed by the end of play tomorrow. We are so excited to be coming to the end of this necessary work, which will allow us to be able to, once again, provide train rides, a lot earlier than we originally anticipated. If you are passing, please say ‘hi!’
(KB)
7th July 2024
Tonbridge Model Engineering Society 80th Anniversary
Yesterday, several RADMEC members journeyed down to Tonbridge Model Engineering Society to join in with the celebrations for their 80th anniversary. Amongst the various live steam and electric locos providing train rides to the public, RADMEC bought along ‘Golden Eagle’, ‘Nova-Motus’ and ‘The Dirty Baldwin’.
What a fabulous track and facilities Tonbridge MES has to offer, we were made to feel very welcome by the club members and it was great to drive our locos on a track other than our own (not that we can do that anyway, at present!) We were provided with food & drink throughout the day as well as a commemorative mug to mark the occasion.
Thank you for hosting us Tonbridge MES and congratulations on reaching this milestone.
(KB)
30th June 2024
Track Repairs Update #2
The casting of the replacement concrete beams is now complete. The next stage involves getting these beams to the park, removing the age expired beams and installing their replacements. This we hope to have done by the end of July 2024.
In the meantime, they are still other jobs that need doing around our railway, not least the cutting of the grass that, in our absence, was getting out of control! Also, an ongoing project is installing flint decorative panels in our building in Ellington Park, another one of these was completed yesterday to further enhance the overall look of ‘Hectors House’.
Thank you to all our volunteers that are giving up their free time in order to get our railway back up and running, we hope to be giving train rides soon.
We’re getting there!
(KB)
9th June 2024
Track Repairs Update #1
We are making good progress with the moulding of the replacement track supports which, once installed, will allow us to be able to safely operate our trains once again.
The construction of these supports, which is being carried out by volunteers in the club, has gone really well. To date, three curved and two straight supports have been made (as seen in the photo below) which, when fully cured, will be transported to the park and replacing the damaged supports.
Thank you for your patience whilst this work is carried out, we will be up and running asap, as we’re missing our railway as much as, no doubt, you are.
(KB)
14th April 2024
A quiet day in the park for our first scheduled running day of the year that didn’t coincide with other events taking place in the park, nevertheless, over ninety people enjoyed a train ride behind one of the two locos we had running. Please CLICK HERE to view our schedule & events page to see when we will next be back ‘playing trains’.
(KB)
29th March 2024
Following an Extraordinary General Meeting due to the resignation of Alan Gibbs as Chairman, we welcome Darren Argyle as our new Chairman. Alan did a great job as Chairman for many years and we thank him for that.
(KB)
23rd March 2024
Today saw the 2024 ‘Power of Women’ event take place in the park and it was, also, our first running day of the year. The, somewhat, chilly day proved to be a busy one with over 350 customers enjoying a ride behind one of the three locos we had running throughout the day. The face lifted ‘Nova-Motus’ was the stalwart of the day, along with Kevin’s ‘Dirty Baldwin’ making it’s first public debut, sadly, a technical issue dampened this debut when it was withdrawn from service in the afternoon and replaced by the club’s class 33 loco. We certainly started off the season with a successful day, hopefully, that will set the theme for the rest of the year.
(KB)
10th September 2023
The ‘Stig’ joined us for a ride at the 130th Anniversary of Ellington Park. It was a great and very hot day….
30th October 2022
Yesterday was the Halloween event in Ellington Park. It was a great – and very busy – day. We had a long queue waiting for rides for most of the day, with lots of people in costumes all in good humour!
We even ran in the dark and the engine drivers all reported that it was great driving in the dark, with the track being illuminated in front of them by a good headlight on the loco, making it safe.
We are already looking forward to next year’s event!
16th September 2022 – The final part of our station was fitted today – its nameplate, Ellington Halt…
13th July 2022 – Yesterday the canopy was erected and I have to say it looks good! Tomorrow the tarmac and yellow line should be reinstated.
7th July 2022 – The first part of getting our station canopy was sorted today.
Two holes were dug and partially filled with concrete, these being the pads on which the canopy will stand.
All things being equal, the canopy will be erected next Tuesday the 12th July.
Looking forward to seeing it and getting the benefit from it being there!
24th June 2022 – On this day 75 years ago, back in 1947, The Ramsgate and District Model Engineering Club was formed. Thanks to the dedication of our members, both past and present, the Club is still going strong.
15th May 2022 – Today was the first outing of our new Club Loco, a Class 33 diesel-electric, at the May Fayre in Ellington Park – it was a great test of the loco and it performed perfectly…
9th April 2022 – Today was the Easter Fun Day in Ellington Park. The sun shone and it was a glorious day and we even had a visit from the Easter Bunny!
24th November 2021 – Our station now has a yellow ‘Do Not Cross’ line, similar to those found on mainline station platforms. When trains are running, no member of the public should cross the line without be directed to do so – this to minimise the chance of anyone being struck by a train passing through the station.
1st October 2021 – Our AGM will be held at the Cafe in Ellington Park on November 4th, starting promptly at 7:30pm.
19th July 2021 – Now that Covid restrictions have been relaxed, we have decided that it should be safe to start running again! Our first running day will be on Sunday 25th July from around midday to 4pm. Hopefully, we will continue to run each Sunday until the end of the season which is normally at the end of September.
There is however ongoing work in our station area, which may mean that we cannot run every Sunday, but disruption will be kept to a minimum… It has been far too long since we’ve been able to use the railway giving public rides and we are really looking forward to resuming our running schedule!
6th February 2021 – There will be no Spring Meeting again this year, due to the ongoing Covid-19 problem. The meeting would normally be held on the last Friday of March. I’m sure that this doesn’t come as a surprise to any of our members…. Stay safe!
2nd October 2020 – Due to the continuing problems caused by Covid-19, there we will not be calling an Annual General Meeting this year. Hopefully next year things will be different!
10th July 2020 – Today we carried out steam tests on two member’s locomotives. I am pleased to say that both passed. Steam locomotives have to pass an annual steam test and a hydraulic test every four years in order to prove that their boilers are safe.
We have another two locomotives that require steam tests and we are hoping to perform the tests soon…
Whilst we are not currently running trains due to Covid-19, we do now have at least two steam locomotives ready for use when we resume running – this will probably not be this year…
29th February 2020 – Our Spring Meeting will be held on the 27th March, starting promptly at 7:30 in the Sylvia Kirkpatrict building at Crampton Tower.
2nd November 2019 – Following our AGM, the committee remains unchanged, as follows:
Chairman: Alan Gibbs
Treasurer: Jane Knight
Secretary: Shared by Jane Knight and Duncan Edwards
Safety Officer: Duncan Edwards
Our 2019 AGM will be held at the Sylvia Kirkpatrick building, Crampton Tower, Broadstairs. Friday 1st November 2019 starting promptly at 7:30pm.
27th August 2019 – The bridge now has a coat of paint – looking good, but still a couple more jobs to be done to finish it off completely.
10th July 2019 – The second stage of the bridge work is now complete and we have a pivoting bridge – no more having to carry it in and out of the shed! There is still more work to be done to finish it, adding a much needed coat of paint to complete the job…
8th April 2019 – The first stage of replacing the heavy lift out bridge with a pivoting one is complete – A pivot post has been buried in the ground around which the bridge will swing clear of the entrance to allow the mowers to get in to cut the grass on the inside of the track.
11th March 2019 – Due to unforeseen circumstances, our Spring Meeting will now be held one week later than planned, at Crampton Tower on the 5th April, starting promptly at 7:30.
2nd March 2019 – Our Spring Meeting will be held on the 29th March, starting promptly at 7:30 at Crampton Tower.
27th October 2018 – Following our AGM, the committee for 2017-2018 is as follows:
Chairman: Alan Gibbs
Treasurer: Jane Knight
Secretary: Shared by Jane Knight and Duncan Edwards
Safety Officer: Duncan Edwards
20th August 2018 – On Saturday 11th August we were invited to the Canterbury and District Model Engineering Society’s open day, an event held each year – Saturday for visiting clubs and Sunday for the general public. As always it was a great day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves – thanks for the invite!
14th July 2018 – Whilst running trains last Saturday at ‘Battles for Victory’, a guy came along carrying what I’d call a big drone. He asked for permission to launch from inside our track, as it is about the only safe place when there is an event on in the park. The drone is incredible and Alex, the owner operator was happy to discuss and demonstrate its capabilities – he kindly captured an image of our track.
The company Alex has created is called ‘A Drones Perspective Ltd.’ – more details can be found online at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
28th October 2017 – Following our AGM, the committee for 2017-2018 is as follows:
Chairman: Alan Gibbs
Treasurer: Jane Knight
Secretary: Shared by Jane Knight and Duncan Edwards
Safety Officer: Duncan Edwards
Our 2017 AGM will be held at the Sylvia Kirkpatrick building, Crampton Tower, Broadstairs. Friday 27th October 2017 starting promptly at 7:30pm.
3rd September 2017 – Work has started on the flintwork in the walls of our shed in Ellington Park….
9th July 2017 – Today was the second day of the 2017 Battles for Victory event in Ellington Park. The club was there both days – the weather was great, the show was fantastic and very well supported and we had great fun giving lots of train rides.
Many thanks to those people who gave up their weekend to help us and make the event so good!
Finally our thanks to Clive for organising the event. We look forward to the weekend of the 14th and 15th of July 2018 when the Battles for Victory event will be on once more!
1st November 2016 – The Club’s 2017 Spring Meeting will be held at Crampton Tower on the 31st
March at 7:30pm
29th October 2016 – Following our AGM, the committee for 2016-2017 remains unchanged:
Chairman: Alan Gibbs
Treasurer: Jane Knight
Secretary: James Kearsey
Safety Officer: Duncan Edwards
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