NEWS AND PLANNED EVENTS

Coming Events

FUNCTIONS

GENERAL AND SOCIAL MEETING NOTICES
There will not be a Society General Meeting/Function in December. The next such function will be in January. This will be on the fourth Wednesday in January 2020 – 22nd – and the Society will run its traditional annual Sunset Bus Tour. The bus – expected to be the Society’s double decker – will leave the Tram Barns at 7:30pm. Your president has decided on a destination – which will be advised when we get there – and which should not require any strenuous walking. The trip will be followed by supper when we get back to the Tram Barn. Please bring $5 as a contribution towards (bus) fuel and supper.

MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS – Stephen Taylor
I would like to remind everyone that membership subscriptions for the next calendar year are again about to fall due. A reminder will be posted out to the most recent postal address we have on file for you – late December or early January. Plus there are a few people who have not paid 2018 subs – and this will which will be included in individual reminders.

BOOK ORDERS
Dave Hinman has now received a supply of Hugh Ballment’s recent Tramway Atlas for sale, as advertised in previous issues of Tracts. At $60.00 plus $7.00 post and packing to any New Zealand address, this is a very good deal indeed. Some 25 copies have already been sold and Dave will be bringing more to the June General Meeting. This will be an excellent opportunity for those who are considering buying a copy to have a look and make their decision. It will also be a good chance to save on postage costs!

Graeme Stewart’s new book is currently also in publication, with arrival anticipated in mid-June. if it arrives in time, Society members will be able to collect their copies at the June Meeting too. This book is only available to those who have pre-ordered a copy.

Available front and orders to:
The Secretary
Tramway Historial Society
PO Bo 1126, Christchurch 8140
or secretary@ferrymeadtramway.org.nz

SOCIETY MEMBER SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2019
As acting membership secretary, Stephen Taylor is pleased to report that following the annual renewal notices being sent out at the end of last year, over 50 members have already renewed their membership for the 2019 year. Remember that generally, renewing before the end of February will get you a discounted renewal. Plus, being a paid-up member of the Society also entitles the member – along with their immediate family – free entrance into Ferrymead Heritage Park.

Stephen is also pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Christchurch Tramway Ltd that they will provide a generous discount on their annual passes to members of the Society. To redeem this offer, you will need to take your current Society membership card to the Christchurch Tramway’s “Tram Stop” shop in Cathedral Junction to purchase your annual pass. We are hopeful thatthis offer will also continue for subsequent years.

A note to all Society members:

Society subscriptions for the 2019 year are due from the start of January. Subscription notices for the 2019 calendar year will be sent out by snail mail at the end of December to all Society members.

For those of you who are not currently not a paid up Society member and want to be, or if you regularly get acomplimentary copy of Tracts by e-mail and want to become a full member, then please download the new member application form from the Society web site: http://ferrymeadtramway.org.nz/applicationform.htm. Then complete the your details on the form, and send the completed form to us along with payment.

The form can be sent by post to the Society’s Membership Secretary at Box 1126, Christchurch 8140, or be scannedand e-mailed to membership@ferrymeadtramway.org.nz. If you cannot get a membership form from the Society’s web site, contact the Membership Secretary by e-mail orpost, or ask for a membership form in Tram Barn 1 at the Ferrymead Tramway.

NEXT WORK PARTY
Formal work parties are held every third Saturday of the month and Alan Roi provides a cooked midday meal.
There are also activities every Saturday and on Monday evenings.

The next scheduled Work Day will be held on Saturday February 16, focussed at the Tram Barns. We had intended to devote this day to repairing and titivating the Trolleybus Shed and its surrounding area, but as this coincides with the park being hired out for the Ferrymead Nostalgia Festival, limiting access at Gate A, the Trolley bus shed focus will be postponed to the next scheduled Work Day on 16 March. All members who are able to do so are invited to come down and lend a hand, even if only for part of the day.

As noted in Graeme Belworthy’s editorial piece, the Society is continuing its regular Saturday Work Days with the goal of having our Ferrymead depot site cleaned up sufficiently for the COTMA Conference in October and the Membership Drive in November. With the Conference coinciding with the third Saturday of October—which would usually be our major Work Day, Alan Roi has informed that there will not be a formal Work Day this October as a result.

Our regular Work Days are not only a means of getting regular maintenance and infrastructure upgrades done around Ferrymead Park and along our tramway, they are a great means of getting together and sharing in a bit of camaraderie and banter. Alan also provides refreshments and a full cooked lunch for all who attend.

TROLLEY BUS SYSTEM
The Trolley Bus system generally operate runs on the first Sunday of each month and on event days. Trolley bus currently in operation is Wellington 103, but is hoped that Christchurch 210 and Dunedin 79 with both
return to service in the near future.

For more on Meetings and Work Parties, please click here.