RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30051, 8 February 1963, Page 17

RANDOM REMINDER

DON’T STAND BACK FROM THE TRAIN

Even people who can not be trusted to tighten a loose screw on the toaster without ruining the instrument and their tempers very often have the deepest interest in mechanical things, and the warmest admiration for those who make or repair them. It is this enthusiasm which has led, in the last year or two, several thousand people to visit the Canterbury Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (Inc.) when it holds its annual display. This year an even bigger crowd is expected at the display, at Andrew’s crescent, off Simeon street The display, which will begin this evening, will be open all day on Saturday and on Saturday night, and all day on Sunday. This gives the average man just enough time to study everything, to his satisfaction.

And the man who takes his family along will not have to worry too much about the children, because outside the display building, there is a model railway, with a circuit of 400 feet of rail, and miniature steam locomotives to take the youngsters for train rides. This will appeal strongly to the children, and the only difficulty may be persuading those of much more mature years to stand aside for the little ones. For this will be a fascinating business —there is a loading bay for the train, and an electric signalling system to add to the authenticity. The Society has been in existence for 28 years, and the display this year is the collected work of that considerable period. The effort which has been put into

some of the working models is prodigious: in some cases, it has taken 10 years or so of delicate, precise engineering before the job has been completed. But it is not, of course, all railway engines by any means. There are all sorts of stationary engines, and workshop equipment, and boats—and that only begins a long list. Of especial interest to railwaymen will be the New Zealand Railways D class engine, built in 1887. It may be assumed that devotion to these crafts does not inevitably mean broken homes, and no doubt there will be some faithful wives accompanying their husbands to the display. But in general, it will be a day of rest for mother. The children will not be able to get there fast enough; and neither will their father.