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AGM 2008
Note: This
page has been formatted for printing and so uses a smaller font than
usual.
The
30th Annual General Meeting of the Club was held in the Railwaymen's Church, Swanwick Junction, at The Midland Railway
Centre, Butterley, on Saturday 17 May 2008 commencing at 2.00 p.m.
INTRODUCTION
AND SEDERUNT
Members attending were: Richard Martin
(Chairman), Gordon Pirie (Vice Chairman), Graham Lambert (Secretary),
Pete Walker (Membership Secretary), Ted Cheers, Eileen Clark, Joe
Clark, Roger Cleaver, Stephen Gray, Nick Hartshorne, N.J. Hill,
Bob Hipgrave, Andy Hutchings, Stephen Lewis, Catherine Marchant,
Yvonne Martin, Elaine Pirie, Brian Richardson, Douglas Robinson,
Geoff Sargeant, Rosemary Sargeant, Brian Slater, Jeff Smith, A.J.
Spencer, Fred Thornton and Mary Thornton..
APOLOGIES
FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from: Maurice and Hilary Blencowe, Barry
Bubb, Phillip Earnshaw, Jane Ellis, Paul Hudson, Bill Jagger, Tony
Jervis, Angela Jones, Mark Jones, Glen Leonard, Richard Lewis, Rupert
Nicholson, Bill Pertwee, Martin Phelan, Bob Prigg, Ralph Rawlinson,
David Shepherd, Jeff Vinter and Nigel Willis.
CHAIRMAN'S
ADDRESS
Being appropriate to the venue, the Chairman, Richard Martin,
addressed the meeting from the pulpit and welcomed all those attending.
He offered our new leaflet, rather than hymn sheets, and gave the
following report:
It had been another good year for our club and I would
like to say 'well done' to all volunteers, Committee Members, Area
Organisers and Walk Leaders,
without whose efforts there would be no Railway Ramblers. During
the year there have been over fifty walks nationally and two organised
holidays; a great achievement for a small club like ours.
I would like all Members to consider leading a walk
in order to increase the variety of walks available and to take some
of the
pressure
off
existing long-serving walk leaders. Members willing to help in this
way should speak to their Area Organiser or, if they do not have
one, send their walk details to the editors to go in the magazine.
Sadly, our Founder Member Nigel Willis's wife, Libby,
died during the year, a great shock to all who knew this lovely lady.
Our thoughts are with Nigel at this sad time.
During the year, Jeff Vinter arranged for one of
his students to design a new club leaflet, which he had printed,
and I have a large stock of these at home. If any Member would like
a few to hand out to friends and fellow walkers who might be
interested in joining the Club, please let me know and
I will post some to you. In the meantime, samples have
been placed on the seats.
MINUTES
OF TWENTY-NINTH AGM
These had been circulated to all members in the Club's
magazine and published on the Club's website. A motion to accept
the Minutes as an accurate record was proposed by Graham Lambert,
seconded by Roger Cleaver and carried unanimously.
MATTERS
ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
There were no matters arising that would not be covered by other
Agenda items.
REPORTS
FROM ELECTED OFFICERS
Reports from the following officers were presented to the meeting.
Vice
Chairman
Gordon Pirie provided the following report.
-
When I was compiling this talk, I realised how much
work the other members of the committee put into this club, and how
much we are indebted to them for their efforts. As a result, the
club has had another successful year.
-
This last year has seen lots of work put into
publicity. You will hear about the success of the website with
44,000 hits up to mid
March, and the 5,000 copies of the new brochure, as a
result of Geoff Sargeant's suggestion, distributed since last
July. [Erratum: The brochure was suggested
by Duncan McLeish, who wrote
the original
text for it. Webmaster.] In addition, Graham Lambert has
arranged more effective contact with the Northumberland Railway
Walks Society – a
socially minded group, and a merry bunch to boot!
-
From the financial angle, you will be glad to
hear that the insurance premium for the club's public liability
insurance remains at £215
pa for £5
million cover, and through Graham's efforts the club's
high interest savings account is now with the Alliance & Leicester;
which gives us access via 14,000 Post Office branches, many
A&L
offices, and the Internet.
-
Graham has been busy sorting out another important
document – a
standard request letter to landowners asking for permission to walk
through their property – which is a great idea.
-
Mixed with some memorable occasions, we've had
some very sad news this year. We all remember, with pleasure, the
good times we have
had with Libby Willis, Arthur Barnett, and Raymond Hutcheson,
and it's sad to read their obituaries in Railway Ramblings, written
by
John Simmons, Brian Slater and Tony Jervis respectively. We
are anticipating looking after some of Raymond's writings
and photos for members' use. It was super to hear from Jane Ellis and
Richard Lewis about the success of the walk in February in
Arthur's memory,
around the time of what would have been his 100th birthday.
-
Other rare occasions were when Richard arranged to
meet our President, David Shepherd, OBE, at the Gloucestershire and
Warwickshire Railway, and
Bill Pertwee was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
-
I was glad to see that Maurice and Hilary have agreed
to include more detailed information for walks, e.g. directions,
locations and
map references, although we still had to send them an e-mail
asking, 'Where
is Butterley?'
-
We had some correspondence about a new bank/public holiday and I
think it's a super idea to have one in November, possibly named Remembrance
Day.
-
Finally, there have been the TV programmes. 'Along
These Lines',
currently being shown in the South on Meridian TV, is proving
to be excellent, with lots of fine photography. We haven't seen
it in
our neck of the woods, but I know that Ralph Rawlinson, Ron
Strutt and Jeff Vinter have contributed vast amounts of information.
It's
odd that David Shepherd featured prominently, although he didn't
contribute much. Let's hope that the programmes boost our membership.I
also heard something about helicopter-based photography of old UK
lines, to be broadcast by the BBC in
the autumn – something
to look forward to.
Secretary
Graham Lambert read out the following letter dated 30 April 2008
from David Shepherd, the Club's President:
Dear Graham,
I am so very sorry that I have not replied
sooner to your letter of 7 April. It is the usual excuse which you
know
already so I won't
be repetitive!
First of all, I don't know whether any of your members managed
to get down to the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway
event as you suggested because the whole event was so crowded with
people from start to finish that I didn't know who I was meeting
most of the time. Incidentally, for wildlife conservation, with the
aid
of Black Prince, we raised something like £17,500, so
that will indicate the degree of success of the weekend. It
was all
very exciting.
You ask in your letter if I will be prepared to
continue as President and the answer is most certainly 'yes' – I
just wish I had more time to come to your various events but I
really enjoy reading your magazine from page to page.
Concerning my inability to commit myself further
than just a name on the notepaper, why don't we consider
having a special day with Black Prince on the GWR for Railway Ramblers?
We have done this
for a couple of organisations. Our friends at the Gloucestershire
and Warwickshire are only too keen to support us in every
way
possible as they are a great bunch of people. It would, moreover,
give me
an excuse to go down to see Black Prince, which I hardly
ever do due to my many commitments but, if there is a reason, I
am only
too
delighted to take the opportunity. So a coach load of Railway
Ramblers especially coming to enjoy themselves with 92203 would,
I think,
be well worth considering, perhaps at your AGM. Concerning
that day, I am very much afraid that once again I am committed
all day and
in the evening for my Foundation.
Meanwhile, with sincerest apologies for not writing sooner and with
warmest regards to all.
Yours sincerely,
David
Graham continued by reading the following letter from
Bill Pertwee, the club's Vice-President:
Dear Graham,
Thank you for your letter of 7 April. I
am quite prepared to continue as your Vice-President.
I shall be away yet again in parts of this April and parts of May
which coincide with the AGM. It is possible I may be moving
down to the West Country, probably late summer. I will of course
let you
have my new address there if it should happen.
I do want to attend an AGM at some time when I
am completely free, but am still being pushed to do another railway
book about disused stations
and their new life nowadays. The slight problem the publishers
are putting to me is that a DVD should be filmed at the same time,
with
an on the spot commentary from me. At the moment I am
part of a team gathering money towards the new children's hospice
in Cornwall. Our efforts are going well so it is well worth the
time spent on
the venture. If the book and DVD should come about I
will certainly need the help of the Railway Ramblers as I have mentioned
before.
For now, kind regards,
Bill
Graham then summarised his year as Secretary, comprising
mainly administrative tasks but also co-ordinating and acting as a centre
for
the Committee
and Members' needs. As requested at last year's
AGM, contact had been made with the NRWS, and their walks
programme is
to be included in Railway Ramblings. He reported that he had
also:
-
Produced a walk permission request to landowners
for use by walk leaders.
-
Dealt with communications concerning the sad deaths of Members Raymond
Hutcheson, Arthur Barnett and Libby Willis.
-
Arranged improved facilities with Alliance & Leicester
for the Club's banking arrangements.
-
Been involved with the new brochure, the Two
Tunnels (Connect2) project, and member David Wilson's queries
about Bluebell Railway DVDs produced by Chris Bedford's Dumpman
Films and the latter's
website – Chris is now a Member.
-
Helped to deal with the Presteign–Kington
trespass problem by a member on a walk led by Bob Prigg.
Treasurer
Copies of the audited accounts had been circulated to the meeting.
Paul Hudson, the Treasurer, had not sought re-election and was not in
attendance, but had sent in the following report:
2007 found the finances of Railway Ramblers in a sound
position. However, with current pressures on the outlook for inflation,
we could see a sharp
increase in outgoings in the next year or so, and this is already evident
with the costs of producing and distributing the magazine, our major
expense. With this in mind, I propose an increase in the Household membership
rate from £8 to £10 (other categories to be increased pro
rata) from January 2009.
In Paul's absence, Graham Lambert offered
to take questions and immediately advised the meeting that the Committee,
on reflection, had decided that the Club's funds were healthy enough
to allow the subscription levels to remain unchanged, at least for
the current year.
Gordon Pirie asked if we could put our subscriptions through
the Gift Aid scheme, but Douglas Robinson advised that this was not possible
as we are not a Registered
Charity.
Fred Thornton asked why AGM expenses were so much higher
than in the previous year. Graham advised that this was due to a combination
of Club Officers' AGM
expenses previously being shown under Sundry Expenses, refreshment charges
incurred at the 2007 AGM, and the hall hire for our 2008 AGM having been
paid in advance during last year.
Graham drew attention to 'one off' expenses in relation
to a new printer for our Editors and the cost of producing the Club's
new Membership leaflet.
Marion Thornton asked why interest was all credited to
the Footpath Fund when some related to the Club's General Fund.
Graham was unable to answer this and assumed it was an historical situation.
It was agreed
that the Treasurer should show the pro rata amounts in
future. Graham then proposed that interest earned on the Club's
General Fund should be transferred to the Footpath Fund in future. This
was seconded by N.J. Hill and passed unanimously.
The Treasurer's Report was proposed for adoption by Graham Lambert,
seconded by Brian Slater and approved unanimously.
Membership
Secretary
Pete Walker submitted a printed report setting out the membership
statistics. He advised that, since the year end and with a new
member joining today, membership now stood at a record 499, mainly
due to the 'Paul Atterbury
effect'. The well known presenter on the Antiques Roadshow had
recently published a book, 'Along Lost Lines', in which the
Club had been mentioned favourably, and this had resulted in
several new membership applications. The possible effects of the current
Meridian
TV series 'Along These Lines' and an as yet untitled BBC
series due to be screened in the autumn were anticipated as favourable.
Andy Hutchings asked if groups, such as NRWS, were included
as individuals and Pete advised that it was treated as one membership.
Marion Thornton asked if Area Groups with very low numbers should consider
joining another group. It was agreed that it was up to those concerned
to decide.
It was asked why the club didn't have a Northern
Ireland Area Group, and Pete advised that there was only one member.
Magazine
Editors
The following report had been received from Maurice and Hilary
Blencowe:
We have plenty of material for possible inclusion in the
magazine and receive material regularly. We also have a wealth of photographs,
but please remember to include the location, the date the photograph
was taken and, if possible, a short write-up to go with each photograph.
All members undoubtedly
know the type of format that is most readable within the magazine, so
if a walk report follows those lines this will increase the chances of
it being published. Maps are very useful too. Finally, as always, we
end with a plea to keep to the copy
deadlines.
Webmaster
Jeff Vinter had submitted the following report, which Graham Lambert
read out:
During 2007, the website has undergone further major developments, the
principal ones being the addition of:
-
A message board, which can be updated by club officers;
-
An online gazetteer covering the whole of the British Isles;
-
Links to additional railway-related sites;
-
Five further pages in the Photo Gallery; and
-
A web statistics service, which tracks the Internet Protocol (IP)
addresses of our visitors, which countries they come from, how they
found
our site, etc.
At the moment, the site has 64 pages. As at 3rd January 2008, it
had attracted 40,544 visits since being launched (in a much simpler
form)
in 1997. The last time the hit counter was checked on 15th May 2007,
it stood at 31,233. Extrapolating these values, the average rate
of activity on the site is as follows:
-
40 visits per day
-
1,224 visits per month
-
14,648 visits per year
The above rates represent an increase of 11% over 2006,
which in turn was 50% up on 2005. The hit counter measures unique visits
only, so
people
visiting the site repeatedly on the same day are not counted. The
highest number of visits in a single day was 109 on 1st January 2008.
Other statistics are as follows:
-
78% of visitors access the site directly, i.e. by typing
in its web address, with a further 22% of visitors using a search
engine to
locate it.
-
The browsers used are predominantly Microsoft
Internet Explorer (80%) and Mozilla Firefox (15%), with the main
search engines
being Google
(89%) and Yahoo (6%) – information which enables me to
concentrate on testing the site with the products that most of
our visitors
actually use.
-
Of those visitors who use a search engine, almost 99%
of them are looking for Railway Ramblers, disused railway lines,
disused
railway walks,
or similar word combinations. The remaining 1% are searching for Jeff
Vinter. (During the year in question, these were probably media
people
researching TV series and newspaper articles.)
-
90% of visitors are
from the UK, with the remaining 10% coming from the rest of the
world. The USA is the biggest contributor in the 'rest
of the world' category with 2.78% of visits, but most
of the other countries are English-speaking or, as with Spain
and
Portugal,
contain
sizeable ex-patriot communities. It is likely that some of
these visits are by people considering a holiday in the UK.
-
All of the
above statistics are provided on a cumulative basis, with
the option of extracting data between any pair of dates.
-
Unfortunately, details of individual visitors are cleared at
the end of each 24 hour period since this information is too bulky
to store
cumulatively. While this provides me with a means of identifying,
and potentially barring,
anyone who misuses the site, it is not easily interpreted
since one-third of the visitors are identified only by a numeric
IP address, which
does not let me determine easily who they are.
-
As at 3rd January 2008, the website had inbound
links from 255 other websites, ranging from the Ramblers' Association,
to local authorities and even the BBC.
-
The website currently occupies just under 54 megabytes
of disk space, with 100 megabytes available in total. This is ample
for the next 2-3 years. More space could be obtained easily by re-sampling
the photographs,
especially in the large Photo Gallery. The reduction
in quality would
be unnoticeable, but would reduce the size of each
photograph by up to three-quarters. This would also increase the speed at which
individual
pages loaded.
At last year's AGM, a member claimed that the high number of visits
to the club's site was probably the result of repeated visits
by existing members. This did not ring true. In 2007:
-
22% of visitors needed a search engine to find our site, so
were probably not members.
-
Of the 78% of visitors who found our site directly, some were
visiting us via inbound links from other websites, so were probably
not members.
-
10% of visitors (159 different individuals) were from abroad,
so were probably not members.
-
The website was again the club's most effective
recruitment tool, with each new recruit being initially a non-member.
-
Several non-members made themselves known during the year by
sending me e-mails, or contributing news reports and photographs
to the website.
-
To account for over 14,000 visits during the year, every existing
member would have had to have viewed the site at least 30 times,
which seems
unlikely.
Given the technology that we are using (discussed briefly below), I
cannot state with absolute certainty what percentage of visitors represents
non members. However, given the first point above, it is reasonable to
suppose that at least 20% of our visitors are non-members, representing
just under 3,000 visits per year. Taking all factors into account, that
figure could easily be 33%, or even 50%.
The technology that we are using to run the site is
largely free, with only the message board attracting a fee (currently
$28.44 per 180 days,
which is less than £30 p.a. given the current exchange rate). We
could obtain a more detailed analysis of our web traffic by choosing
a paid rather than a free web statistics package, but I do not feel that
this is justified. We are a small club and, in my opinion, have all that
we need to monitor and manage the effectiveness of our website.
Apart from developing and managing the website during the year, I have
also carried out the following publicity work for the club:
-
Developed and printed 5,000 copies of a high quality, full colour
promotional brochure. (A copy of this was sent to each member with
the Autumn 2007
magazine.)
-
Provided detailed assistance to the makers of an eight-part television
series to be broadcast on Meridian (ITV1) in the south of England.
This included advice with route selection, supplying historical
details, tracing
former passengers and railway staff, and providing detailed itineraries
for a helicopter pilot and aerial film crew.
-
Assisted a freelance journalist in researching
an article on the former Bridport branch for possible publication
in The Guardian.
At the time of writing, the BBC has made contact about
a national series on the after-effects of the Beeching closures,
and I am expecting to
hear from their director during the coming months. [Addendum: This
six-part series is now in production with the working title 'Railway Walks'.
Webmaster.]
SUBSCRIPTION
AND CAPITATION RATES
Graham Lambert referred to Paul Hudson's Treasurer's
Report and the Committee's decision to defer any increases,
and proposed that the existing rates of subscription and capitation
remain unchanged. This was seconded by Fred Thornton and carried
unanimously.
APPOINTMENT
OF AUDITOR
At last year's AGM, it was suggested that the title of
this post be changed to Accounts Scrutineer, but the Committee felt
that it would be
appropriate
to retain the title of Auditor. Douglas Robinson and N.J. Hill advised
that, under current legislation, this is not recommended and suggested
that the title be changed to Independent Accounts Examiner. This
was accepted by the meeting.
Geoff Jones was not seeking re-election and Nick Hartshorne offered
to stand. This was seconded by Douglas Robinson and carried unanimously.
FOOTPATH
FUND
There were no disbursements from the Footpath Fund during the
year.
Richard Martin gave details of a railway path scheme
for part of the former Somerset & Dorset
line, known as the North Dorset Trailway, which is seeking £6,000
to acquire a key piece of land south of Stalbridge. Dorset County
Council will match donations, and Richard proposed that
the Club donates £2,500 to this scheme. Geoff Sargeant seconded
and this was carried unanimously. [Addendum: DCC's
matched-giving has yet to be confirmed, but the Trailway supporters'
group raising the money aims to put all fund-raising for this acquisition
on to a 'matched' basis. Webmaster.]
REPORTS
FROM AREA GROUPS
Chilterns
The following report was given by Geoff Sargeant:
Activity remained stable over the year, averaging monthly walks, although
a couple were shelved due to lack of interest, possibly due to poor
weather forecasts at the time. Nevertheless, we proceeded with groups
as low as three, the norm being much higher however, sometimes reaching
double figures, with a maximum of 17.
We twice visited the Brackley area, exploring the LNWR
and GCR routes through the town, also the nearby SMJR, rarely visited.
For these
our thanks go to Dave Scott and Mick Boggis for researching and leading
the walks. Other routes followed were the Ayot Greenway to Harpenden,
the Buntingford line to Hadham, the Croxley Mills branch, the Brill
tramway (Kingswood branch), the Alexandra Palace line, and the Watlington
line from Chinnor (this latter including a steam-hauled 'Halloween
Special' on the Icknield Line). Waterways followed included
the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation and the Thames & Medway
Canal; some of us also joined the sponsored walk in the Wendover
hills in support of the Chilterns air ambulance. Acknowledgements
are due to Alan Frewin, Roger Cleaver, and Roger Green for preparing
some of these rambles.
Several of us participated in Don Kennedy's 'Lost
Railways of London' series of walks, and visited the Ketton cement
works tour organised by Phil Wood, which also included a ride in
a diesel
shunter.
Our overseas trip was a December week in the Eifel area
of Germany, when seven of us rented a holiday apartment in Bad Munstereifel
for
walks in the surrounding hills and forests, rail trips to Bonn and
Cologne, and enjoyed the Christmas markets. As a UK out-of-area trip,
some of us (unadvertised) visited the Whitehaven area of west Cumbria
to investigate its railway and industrial heritage; this will form
the basis for an 'official' RR visit in June this year.
Eastern
No report was submitted.
Midlands, East & West
Bob Prigg advised
through another Member that he had undertaken too many walks to detail!
Midlands, South
Barry Bubb supplied the following report:
There were three Stratford area walks in June, July and August. The
Evesham area walk on 29 March this year unfortunately had to be cancelled,
due to a relative's illness, necessitating a spell in Stratford
hospital. It will be re-scheduled for 6 September (provisional date).
The 26th April walk will hopefully go ahead as planned along with the
rest of
this year's programme as per the magazine except the 5th July
walk, which is now one week later than advertised, due to a special
events weekend which was unknown at the time of planning. I have enclosed
details of a plan to redevelop the old army camp at Long Marston as
an 'Eco Town'. This may result in the re-opening of the
line to Stratford-on-Avon, a consequence of which will be the possible
loss of the Greenway cyclepath. I must stress that things are in the
very early stages and there is much opposition locally. I hope to see
the President of the Club at the GWR, where progress is now proceeding
northwards towards Broadway, with track relaid for about a mile and
a half to
near the site of Laverton Halt (closed 7 March 1960). Projected opening
dates are Laverton 2009 and Broadway 2014.
North East
The following report was received from Mike Ellison:
There is nothing really to report for the North East. We (Ian Black
and I) have still had no member asking for any walks – though
a couple of
members
will
be joining the walk I am running for the North Eastern Railway Association
on the trackbed of the line from Middleton-in-Teesdale to Barnard Castle
in early May.
North West
Mark Jones submitted the following report:
The North West group enjoyed another successful and enjoyable year.
A highlight was the hosting of the club's 2007 AGM weekend at Carnforth,
with walks starting at Lancaster, Sedbergh and Arnside to complement
the formal meeting.
In our area the group enjoyed, amongst others, walks from Bolton to
Atherton, a day exploring the Brooks tramways on Rossendale and a day
in the Glossop/Hadfield area. Phillip Earnshaw organised two very popular
holiday breaks, a week in the Brecon area and a five day visit to
Scotland, based at Perth. Phillip also arranged two fascinating track
walks on preserved lines during their out-of-operation periods. The
Lakeside & Haverthwaite
Railway was walked in March, and the Keighley & Worth Valley line
in November.
For 2008 we have another full programme of events in our area and
beyond. We continue to publish a newsletter every six months with items
of news, a quiz, walk reports and a programme of forthcoming events.
We welcome all Railway Ramblers to join us on a walk sometime soon.
Thanks to all who have given their time to support the group whether
as organisers,
advisors or walk leaders.
Scotland
Tony Jervis supplied
the following report.
The year started badly when the May walk along the Bathgate–Airdrie
line, likely to be re-opened in the next few years, was rained off
after only about a third of the distance had been covered. However,
summer eventually arrived and the walks thereafter were eminently successful,
with new members attending and not being scared off by the eccentricity
of some of the group, particularly its supposed leader. A circular
walk following colliery and quarry lines around Kilsyth found that
routes 'fossilised' through older housing developments
were more likely to survive than those in more open country where the
country park landscape artist had laid his hand of blandness. A major
problem in the Wishaw area of Lanarkshire was the burgeoning network
of new multi-lane dual carriageways of near motorway standard that
had to be crossed; environment-friendly ramblers with minimal carbon
footprints obviously do not form part of the government's transport
policy. Out in the middle of the empty moors north of Slamannan, however,
we were surprised but pleased to come across waymarking arrows; where
the 'official' path came from or whither it was eventually
going we knew not, but that it incorporated part of the railway line
we were following helped to increase the legitimacy of our peregrination.
In Ayrshire, too, a long-closed colliery line had been incorporated
into a country park; that we eventually lost the exact route in a dense
pine forest was compensated by the unexpected finding therein of a
well-loaded apple tree. Also during the summer, a number of shorter
midweek evening walks explored the twiglets that served peat works,
shale mines and canal interchange basins. The supposed onset of winter
did not impede our progress, though in deference to the potential increased
bogginess of the land, the programme was designed to follow lines that
had, at least partially, become tarmacked paths; indeed, if anything
some of the walks seemed longer, return journeys home being occasionally
started after darkness had fallen. The Summer 2008 programme is now
being formulated and the group are looking forward to another several
months of perambulatory blether (English translation: light-hearted
discussion) across large swathes of Scotland.
For those with a good knowledge
of railway geography, the following lines have been explored since
last May: Dunfermline to Steelend; Luib to Killin (Loch Tay); Gateside
to
Fairlie
and the Caprington branches; Kelty to Lilliehill Junction and Townhill;
Cronberry Moor circular; Lenzie to Lennoxtown; Comrie to Crieff;
Slateford to Balerno; Cardrona to Walkerburn; Cleland to Salsburgh
and Dunsyston;
Cumnock
to Ochiltree; and Glamis to Newtyle.
Southern
Richard Martin read the following report from Graham Lambert.
The Southern Group is very active, which is due to having several
enthusiastic members who are prepared to put in the effort to create
a monthly walks programme. This is co-ordinated by Roger Mayo at an
annual planning meeting each February. Since the 2007 AGM, the group
has walked the former Malmesbury Branch, the Meon Valley line from
West Meon to Wickham, several Purbeck mineral tramways, the Surrey
Iron Railway from
Wandsworth to Croydon, the Portsmouth & Arundel Canal from Arundel
to Barnham including a visit to Arundel Brewery, a Dungeness round
trip including the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, Brading to
Bembridge on the Isle of Wight (which completed our coverage of the
whole system
since 2001), the Somerset & Dorset Railway from Midford to Midsomer
Norton, the Downs Link from Henfield to Shoreham-by-Sea, the Croydon
Tramlink including
'then and now'
on the former Merton Abbey Branch, the Mid Kent Line to Sanderstead,
another 'Capital Bash' on the Lost Railways of London around
former Docklands lines, the S&D around Corfe Mullen and Spetisbury
to Sturminster Marshall, and the Lambourn Valley branch.
This has been a varied and interesting programme, and thanks go to
Kevin Arnold, Keith Lawrie, Jeff Vinter, John Everest, Don Kennedy,
Richard Martin, Roger Mayo, John Elson and Simon Prudence.
South West
Vacant – no report received.
Wales
No report received.
Yorkshire
Jane Ellis submitted the following report:
The Branch activities have ranged far and wide, covering the length
and breadth of the county, from Stainmore and Swaledale in the north
to Sheffield in the south, Spurn Point in the extreme east to Nidderdale
in the far west. Thanks go to the dedication and enthusiasm of our
walks leaders. We also had a well researched canal walk in January
and our traditional end of year 'Dayrover Dash' tracing
routes in the highest and remotest spots in the county, where you wouldn't
believe public transport could go. Our Christmas walk was the usual
festive occasion; this time, we were welcomed back to our favourite
venue, The Commercial at Chapeltown near Sheffield, where once again
we were allowed free use of the function room after lunch and Richard
Lewis entertained us with a grand digital slide show of his railway
ramblings, both in the UK and across Europe. Once again we got together
with the North West group, not just for days' walks such as the
splendid AGM events in Cumbria, but also for holidays. We were fortunate
to enjoy summery conditions for the South Wales week, based in Brecon,
and even for the November trip to Perthshire, both of which were really
memorable.
MEMBERS'
MOTIONS
Graham Lambert referred to Clause 14 and outlined the following
proposed changes to the Club's Constitution in bold
and italics.
-
'In the event of the winding up or dissolution of the Club,
its property and assets shall be dedicated to a group or
groups with similar aims to the Club ...', shall be changed
to read '... distributed
equally amongst the members, at the discretion of the
appropriate Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting.'
-
'Should the net
assets in the General Fund fall below two hundred
pounds (£200) ...' shall
be changed to read '... last
year's
expenditure continuously for a period of three
calendar months, the Committee shall convene an Extraordinary
General Meeting
to discuss
the future, and possible dissolution of the Club.'
-
'All liabilities
at the dissolution of the Club shall be shared equally among the
members
of the Committee' shall be changed to 'Club'.
Graham stated that the Constitution was most unusual in that the Committee,
rather than the Members, would be liable for any liabilities in the
unlikely event that the Club was wound up. The quid pro quo was
that the Members would now share in any surplus, should the Club
be wound up. In support of the above he stated that the mood of the
members
in attendance at last year's AGM was positive, and that the proposed
changes had been aired in the AGM Minutes published in the magazine
and on
the club's website.
He went on to explain the reason for the proposed change to the basis
on which an EGM might be called, which was suggested at last year's
AGM, and that is that it would preclude the need to continually amend
the existing fixed figure in line with inflation. The Club's
expenditure for the past two years has averaged around £3,000,
of which the magazine and its distribution account for ca. 60%. Club
funds, excluding the Footpath Fund which should be 'ring fenced',
have averaged £7,000. Calling an EGM would give an opportunity
to determine the Club's problems and consider proposals to rectify
them and would, hopefully as a result, not necessarily result in a
proposal to dissolve the Club. Realistically, the Treasurer should
spot such a financial problem well before the Club's funds dropped
to the level of the previous year's expenditure and take suitable
action. Given the aforementioned, the proposed revised 'trigger' of
the last year's expenditure for calling an EGM appeared to make
sense.
The Committee had considered all these matters and recommended the
proposed changes in the Constitution accordingly. This was seconded
by N.J. Hill and approved unanimously.
At last year's AGM, it had also been suggested that a minimum
period of continuous membership be required in order to share in the
Club's assets in the event of the winding up of the Club in order
to prevent 'carpetbaggers' from benefiting from this situation.
Based on the aforementioned statistics, the likely payout per Member
would be in the region of £6, which the Committee felt would
be unlikely to motivate 'carpetbaggers' and therefore it was
not recommending this suggested change.
Clause (3) of the Constitution refers to three classes of membership,
namely Household (1 or more persons living at the same address), Overseas,
and Group (10+). The Minutes of the 23rd AGM state 'The Chairman
noted that the Household Rate (HR) should be used as the basis for
the Club's
subscription rates. Overseas Rate should be 1½ times the HR and Group
Rate should be 3 times the HR. (This formula had been agreed at a previous
AGM.)'
The Secretary cannot find any reference to this in previous AGM Minutes,
but the Committee recommends that they be inserted in the Constitution.
This was approved unanimously.
The Constitution does not require the AGM location to be near a mainline
train station, nor does it preclude holding the AGM on the Saturday
of a Bank Holiday weekend. However, the 5th AGM Minutes state 'a
Resolution was made by Carl Pollitt that the AGM should be held at
a British Rail location on the Inter City network, in a different
part of the country each year. This was seconded by Alan Bowers, and
the
Secretary has been asked to look for a suitable site in the future.'
There is no note that a vote was taken, but it seems clear in the
minds of
a number of Members that this was agreed. It is impossible to know
how many Members might be put off attending an AGM by the absence
of a nearby railway station, but the Area groups would be able to arrange
transport for those without cars, the number of whom is probably
relatively
small. Perhaps a note could be inserted in the magazine suggesting
that those wishing to attend the AGM who are without their own transport
should contact their Area group leader to arrange a lift?
The Committee therefore proposed that the Constitution should state
that preference will be given to holding AGMs near a main line railway
station and that the AGM will not take place on the Saturday of a Bank
Holiday weekend. This was carried unanimously.
ELECTION
OF OFFICERS
The Secretary, Graham Lambert, advised that the following are
all prepared to stand unopposed and suggested they be elected en
bloc. This was then proposed by Yvonne Martin, seconded
by Stephen Lewis and carried unanimously.
Chairman – Richard Martin
Vice-Chairman – Gordon Pirie
Secretary – Graham Lambert
Membership Secretary – Pete Walker
Magazine Editors – Maurice and Hilary Blencowe
Magazine Distribution Officer – Rupert Nicholson
Webmaster – Jeff Vinter
The Secretary advised that the position of Treasurer was vacant.
Douglas Robinson proposed Marion Thornton and this was seconded
by Geoff Sargeant. Marion accepted the nomination and was elected
unanimously.
DATE
AND VENUE OF NEXT AGM
Richard Martin suggested a location at the former GWR works
in Swindon, but the cost was high and this was dismissed. Following
our President's suggestion that Members enjoy a day at the
Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway to see Black
Prince, it was proposed that we investigate this for the
AGM. Failing agreement, a hotel or similar venue in the Cheltenham
area was agreed. In trying to agree a date it became apparent that
there might be clashes with at least two other Area Group weekend
rambles. The Secretary therefore suggested that we find a basis
for fixing the AGM date in order that it will always be known in
advance to Members to facilitate planning and avoid date clashes.
After much discussion, Fred Thornton proposed that the AGM is held
on the second Saturday in April except when this is Easter Saturday,
when it will be held on the previous Saturday. This was seconded
by Bob Hipgrave and approved unanimously.
The 31st AGM of the Club will therefore be held on 4 April 2009,
as it is understood that the second Saturday in April 2009 is Easter
Saturday.
ANY
OTHER BUSINESS
Brian Slater referred to the trespass matter briefly
outlined in the Secretary's report, and Stephen Lewis asked
if the Constitution allowed the Club to exclude such Members and
was advised that it did. It was agreed that the Secretary should
send a letter
to the culprit, via Bob Prigg, warning him that his behaviour was
unacceptable to the Club.
Marion Thornton asked how often non-members could attend walks
and was advised twice; beyond that, our Public Liability Insurance
would not cover them.
Bob Hipgrave asked if personal injury was covered by our insurance
and was advised that only Public Liability is covered.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 4.20 p.m.
NOTE
The annual accounts, and membership and website reports,
will be published in a forthcoming issue of Railway Ramblings and
distributed to members.
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