Ten and a quarter inch gauge was first used as the basis for a garden railway before 1900. Since then several other gauge/scale combinations have been used with varying degrees of success- but 10 ¼” gauge railways have continued to be popular, being well suited to reliable, practical and stable operation on commercial passenger railways by the seaside, as well as highly detailed fine scale models on private garden railways.

While the number of 10 ¼“ gauge railways is on the increase, it seems that many enthusiasts find they are struggling in isolation with little information, and frequently ‘re-inventing the wheel’.

It therefore seemed to us that the time was right for a society dedicated to larger scale railways - to include all those larger than 7 1/4" gauge - along the lines of the excellent 7 ¼” Gauge Society, to act as a forum for the sharing of ideas, experience and expertise.

The aims of the society are:-

1/ To publish a regular magazine containing articles and letters discussing all aspects of building, operation and maintenance of larger scale railways.
2/ To encourage safe practice, the adoption of engineering standards, and professionalism of operation.
3/ To communicate ideas, information and techniques for the building, management, maintenance and repair of Locos and stock.
4/ To promote best practice in enginemanship and boiler management.
5/ To arrange hands-on visits to other railways and facilitate visiting engines.
6/ To hold social gatherings for further “networking”
7/ To present 10 ¼” gauge railways at exhibitions around the UK, with displays of locos and rolling stock.

We envisage that the Society will not be railway specific, but rather complementary to existing railway groups and clubs.

The Society is non-profit making, and for an initial subscription of £10 per year, we hope to publish two magazines within the first year, together with a Members Directory, of which more below.

We already have an invitation to present a display at Alexandra Palace next winter; it has been suggested that Harrogate, Thornbury and Leamington Spa may also be within our reach.
We will be investigating the possibility of affiliating the Society to the Southern Federation of Model Engineering Societies.
All subscribing members are cordially invited to submit, with their membership details, a brief (say 50 words or less) C.V. of their particular interests and expertise, and if they are prepared to make this available to other members. We would very much like to create a classified directory of members who are willing to share information with other members, over the phone or by mail (electronic or snail). For the purposes of the Data Protection Act, this information would be stored, with the agreement of the provider, on a computer with restricted access.

For the first year, the society will be run by the founding members, as listed below. At the end of the first year, we propose to open the various positions to the membership by ballot.

If you are interested in joining the 10 ¼” Society, please contact one of us:-

Chairman Aidan Favell
Secretary Chris Knibbs
Treasurer Barry Metcalf
Magazine Secretary Nikki Favell
Technical Officers Giles Favell & Barry Metcalf

e-mails to: tenandaquarter@aol.com

Or post to:
Chris Knibbs
62 Acorn Avenue
Cowfold Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 8RT

aidanfavel@aol.com
gfavell@gilesfavell.seriouslyinternet.com
chris.knibbs@bluebell-railway.co.uk

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