Another September, another new season for MRSI.
Highlights of this year’s programme include a visit from Chris Conway and Richard Knox of Translink in October, and an all too rare presentation from Joe Cassells. You will find it enclosed with this newsletter.
Annual General Meeting
The May newsletter advised all members that the AGM will be reconvened for Wednesday 19th September immediately before Chris Playfair’s talk. A quorum of at least 20 members must be present for the AGM to take place.
Agenda
- Apologies
- Adoption of minutes of Annual General Meeting on 19th April 2017, 20th September 2017, 18th October 2017 and 18th April 2018
- Matters arising from previous minutes
- Chairman’s report
- Accounts and Treasurer’s report
- Matters arising from reports
- Constitutional amendments
- General Data Protection Regulation
- 80 class preservation
- Election of officers and committee members
- Election of Honorary Auditor
- Any other business
The Chairman and Treasurer read their reports at the adjourned AGM in April, and the reports will therefore be taken as read. Reports included in this newsletter will also be taken as read in order to expedite business.
Copies of the
accounts will be provided on the night.
Constitutional Amendments
The Committee has proposed the following two motions:
- 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.
A simple majority of those voting will be sufficient to decide these motions to
amend the Society’s Constitution.
General Data Protection Regulation
Members have already been advised of the adoption of the following Privacy Statement, which was printed in the May newsletter, and is included on the Membership form:
The Modern Railway Society of Ireland only uses the information you provide to us for legitimate interest as defined by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
We do not disclose the information we hold about you to third parties without your permission or unless lawfully required to do so. Access to your information is restricted to those members of the Committee who need it to carry out their roles. This will include the Secretary and the Treasurer.
The Committee of the Society may use your information to contact you concerning the business of the Society, including forthcoming events, membership matters, and notice of Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings.
By providing your email address, you agree that we can contact you via email in preference to post.
We delete your contact information one year after your membership expires, however we retain details of your name and membership number indefinitely in case you should rejoin in the future.
By submitting this membership form with payment, you agree to us using
your information in this way.
80 class preservation
Members of the society in 2011-12 will be written to separately about how they can receive their benefits from the Society’s donation to the Downpatrick and County Down Railway.
As you know, we committed £7,000 towards the transportation of the 80 class to Downpatrick, and we finally paid this over to Downpatrick in August. The agreed benefits for the then members of the Society are as follows:-
- Free admission to the annual DCDR Diesel Day for 2019-2023
- Free travel for the 2019 season and half price travel from 2020-2023
Entitled members will be issued with a card to that effect.
In terms of the vehicles whose transportation we have supported, 458 is now Downpatrick’s regular buffet set. It is currently being shunted dead, pending driver training in early 2019.
69 and 749 are having fairly substantial internal work done. Internally, they are being restored to fairly close to their original condition: the floor coverings installed in later years are being replaced with more traditional lino, woodwork is being repaired, and perhaps the biggest job of all: the 1980s vinyls which carried abstract murals are being stripped. Not entirely surprisingly, removing the vinyls is the easy part: the far more difficult bit is removing the 30-year old adhesive still firmly attached to the original teak effect formica.
Downpatrick hopes to have them ready for passenger service in early 2019, but they were placed on static display in the carriage gallery last weekend for the European Heritage Open Days – complete with freshly applied NIR logo transfers.
We will hear more from Downpatrick at the 2019 AGM.
Elections procedure
In accordance with the Constitution of the Society, one of the officers of the Society retires each year by rotation, and this year the Secretary’s post falls vacant.
Our Chairman David Carson will continue in office until the 2019 AGM, and our Treasurer Roy Thompson intends to retire a year early at the 2019 AGM.
No nominations having been received, we will be inviting nominations from the floor as follows:-
- to the post of Secretary for a three year term, retiring in 2021, and
- for up to three ordinary Committee Members, to serve for one year.
Our present Secretary Andy
Boal has indicated that he wishes to retire as Secretary this year due to
pressures outside the society. He is willing to be nominated as an ordinary
Committee Member.
Eligibility to vote
Only members who have paid their annual subscription for 2017-18 or 2018-19 and life members will be eligible to vote in the election.
Senior Travel Pass Group
The next day out is Wednesday 26th September to Galway, with an optional trip to Salthill and the option of a “long way round” return trip via Derry/Londonderry covering part of the upper half of the Western Corridor.
BELFAST-GALWAY Code 79
Depart Central 08.00
Connolly Arr. 10.05
Heuston Dep. 11.25
Galway Arr. 13.25
SALTHILL TRIP
Eyre Square South (Stop no 9) Service no 401. Journey time 15 mins.
Depart On the hour then every 20 minutes.
Salthill Return (Caesars Palace Stop) 7 minutes past the hour etc.
RETURN VIA HEUSTON.
Galway dep. 15.05 17.20
Heuston arr. 17.38 19.54
Connolly dep. 19.00 20.50
Central arr. 21.10 23.03
RETURN VIA SLIGO /DERRY/LONDONDERRY.
Galway bus station dep. Service 64 (Derry) 14.10
Sligo arr. (change of coach) 16.55
Sligo dep. 17.10
Derry Foyle Street Bus Centre arr. 19.45
Rail Link bus depart. 20.15
NIR dep. 20.38
Central arr. 22.39
Central dep. For Bangor at 22.40 and 23.20, and for Portadown at 22.59.
As ever, please contact Ken Harte for more information.
Membership
If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2018/19, you will find enclosed a new membership form – please complete and return it to Andy as soon as possible.
Please remember, we can no longer accept payment in Euros.
