I   think   this   report   is   a   little   over   due   but   the   fact   is   there is   not   that   much   going   on   to   report,   and   in   any   case   most of the information I have is covered on our website. Our   running   season   started   on   the   5th   April   2015   and seemed    to    be    starting    very    well,    so    far    as    passenger numbers   were   concerned,   and   indeed   the   impression   I had   was   that   it   continued   to   be   so   up   to   the   writing   of this    report,    but    an    analysis    of    the    actual    numbers compared   to   the   previous   year   shows   that   up   to   the   end of   July   we   had   carried   around   150   less   passengers   than the   same   period   last   year   (   a   reduction   of   around   16%   ) but   by   the   end   of   August   things   had   turned   round   and we   had   carried   more.   We   carried   516   passengers   in   that one   month   alone   which   gave   a   year   to   date   total   of   1356 compared   to   1288   the   previous   year.   I   would   like   to   think that   the   new   facilities   that   have   recently   opened   up   in   the park   have   attracted   new   visitors   and   this   has   benefited     our   operation   as   well. All   in   all   a   satisfactory   year   I   think, but   of   course   at   the   time   of   writing   we   still   have   two months to go before our winter shut down period. The    children's    parties    that    we    run    have    been    a    great success   this   year   with   12   being   held   up   to   mid   September and    three    more    to    follow.    We    have    had    no    serious incidents   I   am   pleased   to   say.   Ensuring   that   children   do not   hurt   themselves   at   these   events   is   the   biggest   concern we   have   and   is   the   main   reason   we   ask   for   not   less   than five   society   members   to   be   present.   We   have   run   parties on   the   same   day   as   our   regular   Sunday   running   without any   conflict   of   interests   and   on   these   occasions   it   is   of course    easier    to    get    more    members    involved.    It    is possible   we   will   try   to   induce   people   to   hold   their   parties on   Sunday   rather   than   Saturday   next   year   -   perhaps   by   a price    difference    -    as    this    will    enable    us    to    provide sufficient   cover   without   too   much   difficulty   and   without over   taxing   members.   Invariably   party   organisers   say   our parties are excellent value for money. Because   of   the   difficulty   we   have   at   manning   up   outside events   we   have   reduced   the   number   we   attend.   We   will attend   three   this   year   and   probably   reduce   this   to   two next    year.    The    events    we    have    already    attended    are Weston    Park    and    the    Lowedges    Festival    in    Greenhill Park.     Weston     Park     was     a     great     success     with     730 passengers    being    carried,    some    200    more    than    the previous   year.   Lowedges   however   was   a   disappointment, there   was   a   large   crowd   in   attendance   but   for   whatever reason   they   were   not   coming   our   way.   Perhaps   there   was too   many   activities   to   choose   from   or   perhaps   we   were not   ideally   positioned,   who   knows,   but   I   do   know   we had   two,   or   was   it   three,   unexplained   derailments   in   a   10 minute   period   which   did   not   help.   We   started   up   again without    further    incident.    The    committee    running    this festival   do   pay   us   to   attend   so   this,   combined   with   our takings,    do    make    it    financially    attractive    for    us    but whether   or   not   we   continue   to   attend   in   the   future   has yet    to    be    decided.    The    one    remaining    event    is    the Dickensian   Event   in   Rotherham   Town   Centre   on   the   5th December.   Rotherham   is   our   home   town,   therefore   we are   likely   to   continue   to   support   the   event   as   long   as   we are requested to do so. Progress   on   our   new   build   diesel   CO-Co   locomotive   has been   slow,   partly   as   a   result   of   other   priorities,   partly   as   a result   of   re-doing   previously   completed   work.   In   the   past I   have   reported   that   we   were   not   totally   happy   with   the speed    that    the    loco    was    giving    us    on    its    trial    runs. Analysis    of    the    flow    rates    at    different    parts    of    the hydraulic    circuit    indicated    that    the    flow    control    valve was   diverting   fluid   directly   back   to   tank,   as   opposed   to flowing   through   the   motors   and   back   to   tank,   even   when the   valve   was   fully   open   and   maximum   speed   was   being demanded.   The   problem   turned   out   to   be   that   a   spool within   the   valve   was   only   capable   of   passing   60   litres   per minute   when   our   setup   required   it   to   pass   80   litres   per minute.   A   new   spool   of   the   requisite   size   was   obtained and   fitted   (thanks   to   all   concerned)   and   the   valve   block reassembled    on    the    loco.    Unfortunately,    the    hydraulic pipes   to   the   valve   block   were   not   coupled   to   the   correct ports   resulting   in   the   hydraulic   pump   sheering   its   input shaft.   Despite   the   pump   being   19   years   old   a   new   shaft was   found   and   the   pump   was   repaired   and   refitted.   The repaired   and   modified   setup   has   been   tested   again   on our     track     and     the     speed     was     now     found     to     be satisfactory,   the   new   spool   allowing   more   hydraulic   fluid to   flow   to   the   motors   at   full   movement   of   the   control lever.   A   good   start   has   been   made   on   the   braking   system with   the   drums   now   mounted   on   two   of   the   axles.   The shoes    which    will    clamp    around    the    drums    have    been made   a   long   while   now   and   should   be   fitted   in   the   next few    weeks.    The    brakes    will    be    hand    operated    from    a lever   near   the   drivers   right   hand.   We   still   have   all   the bodywork   to   design   and   build   before   the   loco.   is   ready for service. Work   continues   on   the   overhaul   and   repainting   of   Dr. Paul's   Wren. All   of   the   parts   have   been   painted   and   many items   have   been   put   back   together.   It   is   now   ready   to have    its    boiler    put    back    on    following    a    successful hydraulic   test.   The   loco   should   be   ready   for   steaming before the start of next the season. I    know    of    a    number    of    members    who    are    making progress     on     their     own     projects     or     have     recently completed    models,    so    if    they    would    like    to    submit photos.    of    their    work    I'm    sure    the    editor    would    be pleased    to    include    them    in    a    future    news    letter    or elsewhere on our web site. Although    it    is    recorded    elsewhere    on    our    site    and elsewhere   in   this   newsbrief,   it   would   be   remiss   of   me   if   I did   not   mention   the   passing   of   Dave   Batchford.   Dave was   a   good   friend   of   mine   as   well   as   a   most   respected member   of   our   society.   He   died   on   the   1st   September following   an   extended   illness.   He   was   one   of   the   most enthusiastic    members    of    our    society    and    he    will    be greatly   missed.   Our   thoughts   are   with   his   family   and friends. We   are   also   sorry   to   report   the   death   of   Frank   Hepworth following   an   extended   period   of   ill   health.   Frank   was   a member   of   the   Society   for   many   years   and   though   he supported   us   he   was   not   a   modeller   .   His   interest   in   the Society's        activities        came    probably    from    his    former employment   as   a   guard   on   British   Railways.     At   this   time we   have   no   further   information   on   his   passing   but   our thoughts   are   with   his   family   and   friends   at   this   difficult and sad time. Dennis Meares Chairman