A belated happy new year to all our members!
This newsletter brings advance notice of the Annual General Meeting, which will be a week earlier than usual on 10th April 2019.
February meeting
We are pleased to announce that Peter Vannucci will give a presentation on Rails around Melbourne at our meeting on Wednesday 20th February.
Peter last addressed us in September 2015, when he gave an entertaining account of the NIR in-house magazine Stafflines, including the work of photographer Sammy Norton.
The Members’ Miscellany has been postponed until a future date.
March meeting
A rare chance to see the work of Joe Cassells at an MRSI meeting, Joe will visit us on Wednesday 20th March to look back on Irish Rail in the 1990s and 2000s.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Society will take place at 7.15pm on Wednesday 10th April in our usual venue of Ashfield Girls’ High School. This is to avoid the Easter holiday period when we know that members may have other priorities.
At the reconvened AGM of Wednesday 19th September 2018, the following were elected:
- Secretary: Vacant
- Committee members: Matthew Tennis, Brian Templeton and Andy Boal
By rotation, each of the three Officers of the Society retires in turn at the AGM, and this year it is the turn of the Chairman, David Carson, to stand down.
However, as most of you will be aware, Andy has filled the post of Acting Secretary since September, and it will be necessary to fill this post substantively at the AGM.
In addition,
Roy Thompson, our Treasurer, has indicated that he will resign at the AGM due
to increasing responsibilities outside the Society.
It will therefore be necessary to elect all of the following at the AGM:
- Chairman, for a term of three years
- Secretary, for a term of two years (to fill the vacancy)
- Treasurer, for a term of one year (to complete Roy’s term of office)
- Up to three Committee Members, for a term of one year.
Members are asked to give thought to who might fill these posts for the coming year. As usual, a newsletter will issue in late March with a detailed agenda and enclosures, but the draft agenda is shown below:
Draft Agenda
- Apologies
- Adoption of minutes of reconvened Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 19th September 2018
- Matters arising from previous minutes
- Chairman’s report
- Accounts and Treasurer’s report
- Matters arising from reports
- 80 class preservation
- Election of officers and committee members
- Election of Honorary Auditor
- Any other business
After the AGM, the Downpatrick and Co Down Railway Society will give a presentation on their work, especially with the DEMUs whose preservation we have aided by contributing towards their transportation costs.
Constitution
Arising from the following Constitutional Amendments passed at the Reconvened AGM of 19th September 2018, the Constitution has been amended and uploaded to the MRSI website.
- That section 5.2 of the Constitution be amended to read as follows:-
The Treasurer shall keep accounts of all monies received or expended by MRSI and a complete financial statement with a report by an independent auditor shall be submitted at each Annual General Meeting. The financial year shall be from 1st March each year to 28th February the following year.
2. That section 6.8 of the Constitution be amended to read as follows:-
A quorum at any General Meeting shall be the lower of fifteen or half
the voting membership.
80 class preservation
The quiet months before the Downpatrick operating season begins again are being occupied with internal refurbishment of the 80 class DEMUs, including restoring the original oak-effect formica.
As members may know, engines were exchanged between 80 class and 450 class sets as required when they required major work. An interesting discovery was that due to this rotation of engines, both 69 and 90 carry 70 class engines, and 458 carries an 80 class engine. Perhaps someone can tell us which class of engines is carried by 97 and 99!
Driver training on both the 80 class and 450 class sets is due to recommence this spring.
Members of the Society in the 2011-12 season will hear from Andy and Downpatrick about their benefits for Downpatrick in the next few weeks.
Senior Travel Pass Group
The next day out is Wednesday 27th February to Hazelhatch and Maynooth. Ken Harte writes:
Irish Rail have introduced an hourly service through the tunnel during the day to Hazelhatch so we plan to head there and back to Drumcondra or Connolly to join the 12.17 service from Connolly to Maynooth.
TICKETS. Monthly return to Maynooth (NB CODE 92 Mullingar )
Connolly-Hazelhatch return ticket is required before boarding the train at Connolly to Hazelhatch.
TIMETABLE
Lanyon Place dep. 08.00
Connolly arr. 10.05
Connolly dep. 10.40
Hazelhatch arr. 11.20
Hazelhatch dep. 11.35
Drumcondra arr 12.06
Connolly arr. 12.12
Connolly dep. 12.17
Drumcondra dep. 12.21
Maynooth arr. 12.58
Maynooth dep. 14.10 14.40 15.05 15.35 15.42
Broombridge arr. 14.41 15.11 15.36 16.13
(Luas Interchange Available)
Connolly arr. 14.52 15.21 15.47 16.08 16.25
Connolly dep. 15.20 16.50
Lanyon Place arr. 17.29 19.05
As ever, please contact Ken for more information.
Membership
If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2018/19, you will find a new membership form here – please complete and return it to Andy as soon as possible.
Please remember, we can no longer accept payment in Euros. We can also no longer process membership applications without a form.
