This page lists forthcoming meetings, exhibitions and courses.
Keen House is the headquarters of The Model Railway Club. It is located just off Pentonville Road at 4, Calshot Street, Kings Cross, London N1, which is about 10 minutes walk from Kings Cross station or 15 minutes from the Angel. Details on other venues can be obtained by clicking the venue link.
MERG Meeting Programme
Prospective new members are welcome to attend any of the following meetings to discuss MERG and meet those involved.
| June 2020 | ||
| 3rd Time: 10:00 |
MERG Grand Tour - June An introduction to MERG for new members. Welcome and Introduction What is MERG? The Community - Local Area Groups - The Forum Publications - Journal including repository - Newsletter Kits for Sale My Kit Won’t Work On-Line Resources - Web pages - Technical Bulletins - Forum - MERG TV Any Questions? What Next? A reminder with joining instructions will be sent before the call. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 5th Time: 19:30 |
South Hants Area Group weekly zoom meeting This is another online meeting. The meeting will be open from 7pm onwards for set up and log in. |
Venue: On line zoom meeting |
| 6th Time: 10:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Meeting M6456 Malcolm Asker will give a presentation 'A smarter way of working with Fusion 360' part 1. M1925 Paul Howes will present how to add to the MSAG mini-wiki site followed by explaining what is required for the forthcoming "Focus on a circuit" series.To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 9th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group John Gowers will share his thoughts on mimic panel design. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 9th Time: 19:00 |
North East AG June Zoom Meeting This is the second Zoom meeting of the North East Area Group and we hope to have one or more presentation shown |
Venue: MERG Zoom Server |
| 9th Time: 20:00 |
Virtual Tayside Area Group General get together. Discussion of MERG kits, layouts, presentations |
Venue: ZOOM Call |
| 10th Time: 19:00 |
Warwickshire, North Oxfordshire VIRTUAL Area Group meeting Agenda to be announced |
Venue: Zoom Virtual Meeting |
| 11th Time: 19:30 |
South Hants Area Group meeting This is our regular monthly Thursday evening meeting. Any MERG members are welcome to attend. |
Venue: Zoom Video Call |
| 12th Time: 11:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Virtual Coffee Break This is the fifth online coffee break where members can relax and chat among themselves about Project, Progress, Problems and successes. To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 13th Time: 13:30 |
Members Meeting in London |
Venue: Keen House, Kings Cross |
| 16th Time: 12:30 |
Virtual Area Group Martin Perry will select a current MERG kit and explain how it works using the circuit diagram and the components on the printed circuit board. This week Martin will deconstruct the Hector train detector board. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 20th Time: 10:00 |
Basic(ish) Electronics Part 4 MERG Somerset Area Group meeting - M6487 Ron Pluck will present the fourth in the series "Basic(ish) Electronics". To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 23rd Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Allan Geekie will demonstrate how zoom can make use of multiple cameras and windows to provide a seamless demonstration and diagnostic capability. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 24th Time: 19:00 |
Warwickshire, North Oxfordshire VIRTUAL Area Group meeting Agenda to be determined |
Venue: Zoom Virtual Meeting |
| 26th Time: 11:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Virtual Coffee Break This is the sixth online coffee break where members can relax and chat among themselves about Project, Progress, Problems and successes. To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 27th Time: 14:00 |
East of Scotland General discussion |
Venue: Zoom meeting |
| 28th Time: 10:00 |
MERG East Midlands Area group meeting - NOW ONLINE This area group meeting will be held online using the Zoom teleconferencing system. Agenda to follow. |
Venue: ZOOM ONLINE |
| 30th Time: 18:30 |
Virtual Area Group Dave McCabe will follow through on his earlier overview of the Universal Formware by going through step by step of how to configure a CANMIO, CANv* or CANUIO to move a servo. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| July 2020 | ||
| 4th Time: 10:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Meeting M4418 Tony Braithwaite will give a presentation 'Introduction to programming'. M6456 Malcolm Asker will give a presentation 'A smarter way of working with Fusion 360' part 2 To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 7th Time: 18:30 |
Virtual Area Group Pete Brownlow will give us an update on what is happening in the worlds of CBUS and JMRI. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 7th Time: 19:00 |
MERG Thames Valley Area Group (TVAG) meeting Click for more details |
Venue: Grazeley Village Hall, Church Lane, Grazeley, Reading, Berkshire RG7 1LD |
| 9th Time: 19:30 |
South Hants Area Group meeting This is our regular monthly Thursday evening meeting. Any MERG members are welcome to attend. |
Venue: Zoom Video Call |
| 10th Time: 11:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Virtual Coffee Break This is an online coffee break where members can relax and chat among themselves about Project, Progress, Problems and successes. To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 12th Time: 10:00 |
West Midlands Area Group Meeting 12 July 2020 Click for more details |
Venue: Titford Pump House, Engine Street, OLDBURY, West Midlands B69 4NL. |
| 14th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Allan Geekie will encourage members to discuss developments in the control of DC power to a model railway track. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 15th Time: 19:30 |
Cardiff Area Group Meeting Seminar – Overview of DDC standards and DDC block control Using block control on DCC systems Presented by Philip Silver |
Venue: |
| 18th Time: 10:00 |
MERG East Midlands Area group ONLINE meeting This area group meeting will be held online using the Zoom teleconferencing system. Agenda to follow. |
Venue: ZOOM ONLINE |
| 18th Time: 10:00 |
Basic(ish) Electronics Part 5 MERG Somerset Area Group meeting - M6487 Ron Pluck will present the fifth in the series "Basic(ish) Electronics". To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom Video Conference Call |
| 21st Time: 12:30 |
Virtual Area Group Martin Perry will select a current MERG kit and explain how it works using the circuit diagram and the components on the printed circuit board. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 24th Time: 11:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Virtual Coffee Break This is an online coffee break where members can relax and chat among themselves about Project, Progress, Problems and successes. To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 28th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Dave McCabe will present a CBUS wiring strategy for a large club O gauge layout. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| August 2020 | ||
| 1st Time: 10:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Meeting M6487 Ron Pluck will present "How Servos work". To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 4th Time: 18:30 |
Virtual Area Group Ron Pluck will describe his own individual approach to programming Arduino modules. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom conference call |
| 4th Time: 19:00 |
MERG Thames Valley Area Group (TVAG) meeting Click for more details |
Venue: Grazeley Village Hall, Church Lane, Grazeley, Reading, Berkshire RG7 1LD |
| 7th Time: 11:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Virtual Coffee Break This is an online coffee break where members can relax and chat among themselves about Project, Progress, Problems and successes. To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 11th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Judi Rastall and Paul Tomkins will give an update on all things kit related in another episode of Tales from the Kitlocker. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 13th Time: 19:30 |
South Hants Area Group meeting This is our regular monthly meeting. |
Venue: Southampton Model Railway Society clubroom |
| 18th Time: 12:30 |
Virtual Area Group Martin Perry will select a current MERG kit and explain how it works using the circuit diagram and the components on the printed circuit board. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 21st Time: 11:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Virtual Coffee Break This is an online coffee break where members can relax and chat among themselves about Project, Progress, Problems and successes. To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 25th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Fraser Smith will be describing how Just Another Language (JAL) is used to program the microprocessors in a number of the pocket money kits. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 28th Time: 11:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Virtual Coffee Break This is an online coffee break where members can relax and chat among themselves about Project, Progress, Problems and successes. To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 29th Time: 10:00 |
MERG East Midlands Area group ONLINE meeting This area group meeting will be held online using the Zoom teleconferencing system. Agenda to follow. |
Venue: ZOOM ONLINE |
| September 2020 | ||
| 1st Time: 18:30 |
Virtual Area Group Paul Townsend will describe how he has planned the deployment of CBUS on a large P4 layout. Having used my designs of CMOS hard wired logic for decades on my old layout, I wanted to use Merg designs for my new layout to gain sophistication and flexibility for partial automation at reasonable cost. Of the available buses, I will explain why I chose CBus and how I have evolved my implementation both for P4 Broad Gauge Dartmouth and its baby brother, Pseudo-Dartmouth in N Gauge. The presentation will include videos of the installations and operations. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom conference call |
| 1st Time: 19:00 |
MERG Thames Valley Area Group (TVAG) meeting Click for more details |
Venue: Grazeley Village Hall, Church Lane, Grazeley, Reading, Berkshire RG7 1LD |
| 8th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Dave McCabe will take his life into his own hands and attempt to keep order while presenting on the topic of Signalling. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 10th Time: 19:30 |
South Hants Area Group meeting This is our regular monthly meeting. |
Venue: Southampton Model Railway Society clubroom |
| 12 to 14th Time: 09:00 |
JMRI Part 2 weekend course Follow on to JMRI Panel Pro intro course. Scroll to the bottom of the diary page to see details of all courses. Click for more details |
Venue: |
| 12th Time: 10:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Meeting M505 Adrian Henshaw will give a presentation on sound effects. M4848 Alan Wright will give a presentation on sound chips. To get an invite ensure that the Somerset Area Group is in your permitted contact list on your membership page. |
Venue: Zoom video conference call |
| 12th Time: 10:30 |
London Area Group |
Venue: Keen House,Kings Cross |
| 12th Time: 13:30 |
Members Meeting in London Dave McCabe will give a talk on signaling |
Venue: keen House, Kings Cross |
| 15th Time: 12:30 |
Virtual Area Group Martin Perry will select a current MERG kit and explain how it works using the circuit diagram and the components on the printed circuit board. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 16th Time: 19:30 |
Cardiff Area Group Meeting Details To Follow |
Venue: Synod Office of the United Reform Church, Minster Road, Cardiff CF23 5AS. |
| 19th Time: 10:00 |
South Hants Area Group all day Saturday worksho This is our monthly all day Saturday workshop, open to any Merg members. |
Venue: Southampton Model Railway Society clubroom |
| 22nd Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Duncan Greenwood describes how he uses standard kitchen appliances to solder surface mount components onto printed circuit boards. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 29th Time: 18:30 |
Virtual Area Group A show and tell session where members show work-in-progress materials from their workbenches and describe their successes ... and failures. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom conference call |
| October 2020 | ||
| 3rd Time: 10:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Meeting Work will continue on the group projects plus other topics will be covered at some meetings throughout 2020. Anyone wishing to attend a meeting can get directions from the group via the contact form. |
Venue: St James Church Hall, Preston Road, Yeovil |
| 6th Time: 18:30 |
Virtual Area Group TBA Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom conference call |
| 6th Time: 19:00 |
MERG Thames Valley Area Group (TVAG) meeting Click for more details |
Venue: Grazeley Village Hall, Church Lane, Grazeley, Reading, Berkshire RG7 1LD |
| 8th Time: 19:30 |
South Hants Area Group meeting This is our regular monthly meeting. |
Venue: Southampton Model Railway Society clubroom |
| 10th Time: 10:00 |
West Midlands Area Group Meeting 10th October2020 More details to follow Click for more details |
Venue: Titford Pump House, Engine Street, OLDBURY, West Midlands B69 4NL. |
| 13th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Oscilloscopes - Paul Townsend Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 17th Time: 10:00 |
South Hants Area Group all day Saturday worksho This is our monthly all day workshop, open to any Merg members. |
Venue: Southampton Model Railway Society clubroom |
| 20th Time: 12:30 |
Virtual Area Group Martin Perry will select a current MERG kit and explain how it works using the circuit diagram and the components on the printed circuit board. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 27th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group TBA Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| November 2020 | ||
| 3rd Time: 18:30 |
Virtual Area Group Logic Analysers - Dave McCabe Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom conference call |
| 3rd Time: 19:00 |
MERG Thames Valley Area Group (TVAG) meeting Click for more details |
Venue: Grazeley Village Hall, Church Lane, Grazeley, Reading, Berkshire RG7 1LD |
| 7th Time: 10:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Meeting Work will continue on the group projects plus other topics will be covered at some meetings throughout 2020. Anyone wishing to attend a meeting can get directions from the group via the contact form. |
Venue: St James Church Hall, Preston Road, Yeovil |
| 7th Time: 10:30 |
London Area Group |
Venue: Keen House, Kings Cross |
| 7th Time: 13:30 |
Annual General Meeting The Kings Cross MRC have agreed to open Keen House to everyone after the AGM. They will be on-site, operating their layouts, answervingall questions put to them. Those attending will also be able to bring their own locos or trains, DC or DCC, any gauge and run them on the Kings Cross circular track |
Venue: Keen House |
| 7th Time: 14:30 |
members Meeting in London As per the description on the AGM. There will be no speakers at this event |
Venue: Keen House, Kings Cross |
| 10th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group Paul Townsend will look at how best to deploy CBUS on an N Gauge layout. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 12th Time: 19:30 |
South Hants Area Group meeting This is our regular monthly meeting. |
Venue: Southampton Model Railway Society clubroom |
| 17th Time: 12:30 |
Virtual Area Group Martin Perry will select a current MERG kit and explain how it works using the circuit diagram and the components on the printed circuit board. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 24th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group TBA Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| December 2020 | ||
| 1st Time: 18:30 |
Virtual Area Group TBA Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 1st Time: 19:00 |
MERG Thames Valley Area Group (TVAG) meeting Click for more details |
Venue: Grazeley Village Hall, Church Lane, Grazeley, Reading, Berkshire RG7 1LD |
| 5th Time: 10:00 |
MERG Somerset Area Group Meeting Work will continue on the group projects plus other topics will be covered at some meetings throughout 2020. Anyone wishing to attend a meeting can get directions from the group via the contact form. |
Venue: St James Church Hall, Preston Road, Yeovil |
| 8th Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group TBA Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
| 15th Time: 12:30 |
Virtual Area Group Martin Perry will select a current MERG kit and explain how it works using the circuit diagram and the components on the printed circuit board. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom conference call |
| 22nd Time: 10:00 |
Virtual Area Group show and tell session where members show work-in-progress materials from their workbenches and describe their successes ... and failures. Click for more details |
Venue: Zoom video call |
MERG Attended Shows
| August 2020 | ||
| 29 & 30th |
Ulster Model Railway Club Show - CANCELLED Many layouts spread over a space for three basketball courts. |
Venue: Sports Hall, Methodist College, Belfast |
| September 2020 | ||
| 26 & 27th |
Worthing Model Railway Club exhibition This is Worthing Model Railway Club's annual exhibitions. |
Venue: Durrington High School |
| October 2020 | ||
| 3 & 4th |
Fareham Model Railway club Exhibition This is the Fareham Model Railway Club's annual exhibition. |
Venue: Fareham Leisure Center. Fareham, Hampshire. |
| 10 & 11th |
Farnham and District MRC Annual Exhibition The MERG South Hants Area Group will be in attendance. Click for more details |
Venue: Alderwood Leisure Centre, Tongham Road, Aldershot, GU12 4AS |
| November 2020 | ||
| 7th |
Cultra Model Railway Exhibition This show provides a mix of layouts in and around the 12" to ft displays of the museum. |
Venue: Folk &Transport Museum, Cultra, North Down |
Training courses
| September 2020 | ||
| 12 to 14th |
JMRI Part 2 weekend course JMRI Panel Pro Part 2 – Blocks, Routing, Logic and Signalling. A follow on from the intro course to tackle more topics. Click for more details |
Venue: Rushden Transport Museum |