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History

My name is Ian Wilson and I live in Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland. I am an avid collector and builder; a fascination which started around the age of about 4. When I was about 38/40, I started to put together a Meccano funfair and other models. In 2003, I showed some of my models under the wing of a railway club in Bangor, N.I. There, I met one of our club members (Frank Murphy). We talked about Meccano as we both shared a passion for it.

The trail went cold for several years until one day Selwyn Johnston was asked to find someone with Meccano models for another railway exhibition in Enniskillen. Under their wing, Selwyn was given my contact details and after a long and lengthy conversation I agreed to put some models together for an exhibition on the 20th September 2008. From March until September the planning and model building started and we advertised in the local papers trying to track down other Meccano enthusiasts. So, for the 1st exhibition, we were not a club, but we were a small group; Selwyn Johnston, Francie Birney, and Ian Wilson. During the exhibition, word got out and interest grew. At this time, we fell in with Frank Murphy and asked him if he would come on board. At this time, we noted that interest in Meccano was growing and we decided to put on our own exhibition on the 1st November 2008 in Enniskillen Library with the help of friends, family, and the media. The small group has grown from three to five who were exhibiting on 1st November (See Exhibit '08 photos). During the exhibition, we picked up another two members of the group and unfortunately we lost one due to other commitments. The exhibition went well with over 150 models on display and other attractions.

After the packing away of all the models, there was a short discussion of how well it had all went and some of the exhibitors came up with the idea of a club. Between Frank and myself, we got together with the contacts that were made and let them know what plans we were trying to put together. Surprisingly, all that we contacted agreed on a meeting towards forming a club.

On Friday, 12th December, 2008, five enthusiasts met at Ian's house to discuss the plans and the club. So, on 12th Dec. the Corlust Meccano Club officially started!
Corlust Meccano Club Logo
The aim of our club is to promote Meccano, share ideas and model building techniques. Basically, to have a good time; we aim to flush out any other Meccano enthusiasts that might be interested in joining the club, both young and old, and put together an organised Meccano exhibition on a yearly basis in different locations both North and South.

The following is a group picture (click to enlarge) of the club as of Friday, 23rd Feb. 2009:

Back row (l to r): Mark Wilson, Ian Wilson (chair person), Stuart Judd
Front row (l to r): Samuel Burrows, Frank Murphy (secretary), Ron Corry.