NORTH WEST MECCANO GUILD


Clicking on many of the pictures enlarges them and provides extra information. The models are usually attributed to the builder.

The Guild is always interested in preventing good Meccano going to waste. If you have any Meccano to re-cycle, please contact the Secretary or a member at one of our events.

Click  “Exhibitions” for a calendar of our events. Or “Event Details” for information about individual ones.

Click “North West” for information about Meccano on display and  Meccano related locations in the North West of England.

News Early 2018

Guild Meeting, 5th. May 2018.

  The meeting had to be postponed because of bad weather. Our hot-pot suppliers went on holiday on the day of the meeting so were unable deliver the hot-pot. However, a member kindly agreed to collect the apple pie on the previous day. Another baker was found who could deliver individual meat pies, which were Ok but not as good as the hot-pot. A  good number of members helped with the tea , coffee and washing-up.

   After lunch, there was  a very successful auction, some of the lots being those left over from a sale of parts at fixed prices. The treasurer had put in a lot of work preparing them, so that the the auction went quite smoothly. A surprisingly large sum was realised for Guild Funds. The auction left little time for a formal meeting and there was only time for a few announcements.

  A good selection of models was displayed and pictures of some are shown below. The auction meant that only a few could be taken.

Trencherfield Mill, Wigan, 7th. May 2018

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    We visited the mill as long ago as 23rd. April 1984, but have only recently returned. We exhibited in a large room next the the splendid 4 cylinder, triple expansion engine which originally powered the mill machinery. For some years, this machinery was in charge of one of our exhibiting members. The organisers were able to find 12 tables for our models. 5 members, none of whom were present in 1984, displayed a large variety of models.  A selection is shown below. Lighting conditions made photography rather difficult.

MakeFest at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester,  26th. & 27th.  May 2018.

   This year the event was held earlier than in previous years but still attracted a large number of visitors. Instead of the Power Hall we were in an exhibition hall in the former Great Western Warehouse.  This gave the Makers much more space but the lighting was rather bizarre, being arranged to light individual exhibits rather than a work area. It had been decided to put more emphasis on actually making things rather than displaying finished results. This meant that we  took kits for making small metal Meccano models and some small plastic  “Connetrix-Mini”  ones. We were ably assisted by some Museum Volunteers. The event was well atended and we had lots of interested visitors. Two Plastic Meccanographs were hard at work, in spite of the competition from the other Mkers, a good number of models were made.

A selection  of photographs taken by Eric Wright and the Webmaster  is shown below.

Colin Reid’s Road Surfacing Machine

(Model10.19 in the set of leaflets issued with the later No. 10 Outfits). It is a complicated model with not very good instructions. It took Colin 4 weeks to build.. There are 4 power driven functions, a drive for the travelling wheels, a conveyor for the surfacing material, a feeder to distribute material and a tamper..

A Display of Assorted Motor Vehicles

A “Martian Marauder” and its Blast Shield.

These are the first two models in the manual for the 1979  “Space 2501” outfit. The rockets work but fortunately have rubber noses.

Built by Chris. Harris


An AEC “Matador” Chassis carrying a Coles Crane built by Geof. Burgess.

These cranes were extensively used by the RAF at aerodromes for maintenance and repair work during WW2.

Roger Marsh’s Pick-up Machine.

This model provided an interesting challenge for the  younger  visitors. The circular table at the right hand end moves about in a seemingly random manner. The operator, standing at the left hand end tries to pick up the small models on the turntable with callipers on the end of the movable arm.

The original designer of the mechanism is not known at present

Roger Marsh’s Plastic Meccano Lorry Crane.

This model is based on a post-war No. 9 model and is built, almost entirely, with the original Plastic Meccano. While this type of Meccano can produce surprisingly large and  interesting models, it rarely manages to produce ones as realistic as this one.

A “County” Tractor by Mark Rolston

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A Veteran Car By Roger Marsh.

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Mark Rolston’s JCB based on a Michael Adler Modelplan

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The Nightingales’ Models.

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Derrick Murdie’s Ball Roller

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Some of Dick Watson’s Models

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Neville Bond and his Models.

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One of the Plastic Meccano Meccanographs.

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Derrick Murdie’s Model of a typical Swing Bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal.

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Dick Watson’s Version of the Blocksetting Crane which featured on the covers of many manuals,

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Derick Murdie’s Model of the  Binns Road Liver Bird and Friends.

The site of the Meccano Factory  on Binns Road in Liverpool has now been redeveloped. In recognition of its former use, an artist was commissioned to design an appropriate sculpture.

She could not resist the temptation of almost entirely using parts which  were never made at Binns Road.