Yes, it really is 90 years since the Manchester Model Railway Society was formed way back in 1925 and we just couldn’t let this milestone pass without a celebration of our achievements and a reflection of how times have changed over the last 9 decades.
Our initial plan was to open Dean Hall on Saturday 14 March to provide members with a very special opportunity to meet up to celebrate the present, reminisce about the past, and look forward to our continued future success.
A buffet was to be laid on, all layouts were to be working, members partners were welcome, plus any special guests we could attract.
However, when the numbers started to reach proportions where the old building’s timbers would start to creak, coupled with concerns over the lack of space to meet all our objectives, we decided to splash out a little (and if you can’t do it for a 90th anniversary, when can you?!) and arranged at short notice for a local Social Club to provide the reception room, buffet and drinks.
We also attracted some special guests, notably:-
Councillor Chris Boyes, George Dent, Derek Mundy, Mike Raithby, John Sherratt,
Keith Whitmore, and distinguished guest the Mayor of Trafford,
councillor Ejaz Malik.
We all met up at Dean Hall between 12 noon & 2pm to enjoy the initial festivities, layout running and the library and refreshment facilities.
The Mayor is welcomed by John Tate and Martin Stringer and he duly signs in.
Ralph Robertson and Phil Taylor then show him round the club whilst Malcolm Nevitt and and Bill Allen ensure Dewsbury Midland operates smoothly.
At 2pm we walk just up the road to the United Services Club where a large reception room provided ample and comfortable seating in a relaxing atmosphere for the 92 guests, with access to the bar area.
There were addresses from the Chairman Phil Taylor and the President Les Fram, together with a toast to the Society given by George Dent, the deputy editor of Model Rail, and events were kept moving along by the MC Martin Stringer.
The excellent buffet provided by the United Services Club was served at 3pm with unlimited tea & coffee, and Peter Radford supplied three large cakes for dessert. We only managed to consume two of these so the third was donated to a local hospice.
We were graced by the presence of the Mayor of Trafford, Councillor Ejaz Malik, who attended Dean Hall and the United Services Club where he cut the anniversary cake with the Society President Les Fram. He congratulated us on our achievements and said how impressed he was with the Society and its members.
At around 4.15 we began to stroll back to Dean Hall to spend more time operating the layouts, or just chat amongst friends both old and new, all with a common interest in modelling our rich railway heritage.
There was more than a passing reference during the day to The Christmas Model Railway Show in Manchester city centre on December 5 & 6, so if this isn’t in your diary already, then you know what to do!
And please do spread the word amongst friends and family – every one of us has a part to play in making the show a success, it’s only once a year and it wouldn’t happen at all if it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication of a relatively small number of members.
Thank you.
The April 2015 edition of our monthly magazine ‘The Link’ is a special 90th anniversary edition with many pages of photographs and narrative dedicated to our special day.
News of our celebrations filtered through to the Granada Television Studios who sent ace reported Paul Crone hotfoot to Dean Hall to investigate.
Here’s his news report which was broadcast on the Granada 6pm local news programme on Friday 27 March 2015.
