The Buffers
Founded by Les Torrens (1923 - 2000)
Established in 1982, the Buffers is a group of transport enthusiasts living in Southern Ontario, which meets for their enjoyment of British railway and other transport modelling.
NEWSLETTER
February 2000
edited and condensed from the print version
During the January meeting, we filled the following posts by acclaimation:
- Joe Belecky - Treasurer
- Geoff Chandler - Secreatay / Coordinator.
We are also in the process of purchasing name tags for members, they may have a new group logo.
A number of books are available in the Buffers Library on the subject of transportation and modelling. The titles will be listed in a future edition of the newsletter.
At the meeting we enjoyed a slide presentaion of a very diverse nature provided by Roy Hopkins from his collection of "Colour Rail" slides.
We were also updated by John Riley on the matters of Corgi and general developments from Bachman. John, who imports models from the UK found a customer for the new Bachman WD 2-8-0. 737 of this type saw service with BR and a further 25 of the 2-10-0 version were based in Scotland.
At the December meeting we discussed card kits from the Superquick and Metcalfe ranges. The latest issue from Metcalfe is an engine shed, simillar in size to the Superquick version but with finer detail on the inside and the roof area.
Sadly , Les Torrens, the founding member of our group, passed away in the early hours of January 27th, 2000.
Over the years Les was a friend to all of us, and along with his wife Dorothy was a fine host to many of our modellers nights and many meetings and backyard BBQ s.
It is noted that Les along with John Riley sat down in the early 1980s to discuss the possibility of the formation of a club whose interests were directed at the British railway scene. In the spring of 1982 during the LMRA open house weekend Les left a list for people to sign........
The Buffers had their first meeting of October of that year.
Les was able to take many trips to England to visit model shops and take many photographs and videos. He was publisher of the newsletter for many years and was allways there for us all to share in his vast amounts of knowledge.
Les had built many layouts over the years.....often making incredible progress. He had recently liquidated all his modern image OO and was building an indoor G Scale layout, scratch-building much rolling stock and lineside features. He was looking for planning permission to extend his layout from within his railway room and into the laundry area !
Les was a printer by trade and also was a prolific author, having wrtitten and published volumes on the London and Port Stanley Railway and others based on his experience in the RCAF during WW II.
Les will be sadly missed by the members of the club and all that knew him.
NEWSLETTER RELATED LINKS
NEWSLETTER LINKS OF THE MONTH
Home of the famous "Chee-Tor"
Pictures and links including the Great Central Railway .
Please note: Some or all of the images in the links above are copyright the photographer. Use discretion and common sense and do NOT duplicate them. It is, I believe, common practice on the internet, to store pictures for you own personal use. Please let me know if there is a problem, and I will remove any offending links or images.
-Andrew.
Please E-mail me your comments.
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