About the Society
The RCTS is Britain’s leading organisation for people interested in all aspects of railways past, present and future and is highly regarded by both professional railway people and enthusiasts, a position it has held since its formation in 1928.
Click the image to view a sample edition
The Railway Observer
All members receive the Society's magazine online, and a print edition (usually 72 pages) is posted to those choosing a "Printed" membership category.
The magazine covers the current railway scene, including extensive coverage of significant and interesting movements, plus an infrastructure and events update. Urban, Irish and International news is included, together with the latest news from Heritage lines.
Society activities, branch meetings, outdoor visits and rail tours are well represented, as are reviews of the latest publications.
Membership rates for new joiners
Printed RO Membership includes posting of the print edition of The Railway Observer
| Online RO | £9.50 |
| Printed RO UK | £16.50 |
| Printed RO Europe | £26.00 |
| Printed RO Rest of World | £31.00 |
New joiners are benefiting from a "Welcome" discount of 50%.
Guests
Try out the Society as a guest. Most of the meetings and events are open to visitors.
Donations appreciated.
Volunteering
The Society is run entirely by volunteers, at branch level and nationally. If you have some spare time, and maybe some specialist skills, there are many ways you can help
- Publishing
- Image preparation
- Archiving
- Speaking
- Managing events
- Software development
- Administration
- Research
- Authorship
- Librarianship
Members' survey
The Society is conducting a survey of its members, closing 31st July 2022. The link to take part is below.
The survey asks questions about members' interests, media used, and engagement with the RCTS. Non-members are welcome to take part.
We expect it will take around 15 minutes to complete. You can pause and resume, but you need to complete and submit the survey before any information is recorded by the Society.
News
Members’ Day and AGM 9th April 2022
We are delighted to be able to hold a face-to-face Members’ Day and AGM this year. Please read the special AGM Supplement for full details of the day. AGM Supplement…
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Photograph archiving
January’s National Zoom meeting was a wonderful presentation by The Center for Railroad Photography & Art. Using the Zoom platform meant that the CRPA team could join us from Madison,…
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Website relaunched
The Society has had a website for about 20 years. It has grown from being a simple advertisement to being the main way for many members to interact with the…
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COP26 and the RCTS
RCTS member David Cross was involved with a three-day event at Mossend, timed to coincide with COP26 in nearby Glasgow. The event was showcasing alternative lower-carbon locomotive fuels, and was…
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National meeting 30 Sep 21
Presenter: Derek Huntriss One of the legendary “Master Neverers“, who produced outstanding photographs of British Railways Steam in its last decade, Derek Huntriss is an excellent photographer with many years’…
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RCTS News 21 Sep 21
A monthly newsletter is sent to all members (that supply an email address) to coincide with publication online of the Railway Observer. The September 2021 edition can be viewed here. …
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New pictorial album published
Michael Mensing was one of the most prolific railway photographers from the mid-1950s onwards. He had several books published and his photographs appeared widely in magazines. Following his death in…
Read MoreUpcoming events
Virtual events coming up...
There is programme of National events held online, typically monthly. Some branches run them too. Members from any branch may attend and guests are very welcome. There is no charge but donations would be appreciated to help defray the costs.
Pre-registration (on Zoom) is required. Open the event to find the registration link, and the donations link.
Meeting attendances are normally limited to 100.
On today
- No events scheduled for 25-Jun-2022. Jump to the next upcoming events.
- No events scheduled for 25-Jun-2022. Jump to the next upcoming events.
Society full calendar
Visit the branch pages to discover upcoming events in your specific area.
Calendar of Events
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Over Half a Century has Passed
Over Half a Century has Passed
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Geoff May. Just in time, Geoff May was fortunate enough to capture on camera the final years of the steam age…
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Archive and Library Open Day – CANCELLED
Archive and Library Open Day – CANCELLED
This open day is CANCELLED due to builders woring ing the building roof space.
‘A Broad Gauge Journey from Paddington to the West – Part 1’, by Brian Arman
‘A Broad Gauge Journey from Paddington to the West – Part 1’, by Brian Arman
The Society’s President, the Reverend Canon Brian Arman, visits the Watford Branch for the first time to present the first of his acclaimed series of talks on the Great Western…
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The Broad Gauge Part III
The Broad Gauge Part III
by Brian Arman This is the Rowland Pittard Memorial Lecture and before Brian's talk there will be a short appreciation of Rowland's life and his massive contribution to the RCTS…
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East West Rail Project Update
East West Rail Project Update
A member of the East West Rail Project team will give us an update on the exciting scheme to reinstate the much lamented link between Oxford and Cambridge, via Bletchley…
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Passenger Services Across the UK During the Past Decades
Passenger Services Across the UK During the Past Decades
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by Paul Chancellor. Paul is the proprietor of Colour-Rail and author of rail related books and articles. He promises us a talk…
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Gresley and the A4s
Gresley and the A4s
Our annual joint meeting with the Marlow & District Railway Society This is the story of the man, the locomotive, and the Class of A4s with special reference to the…
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Visit & Guided Tour of Volks Electric Railway, Brighton (Postponed due to National Rail strike)
Visit & Guided Tour of Volks Electric Railway, Brighton (Postponed due to National Rail strike)
The management of the Volks Electric have agreed to an escorted visit and tour of the Railway by RCTS members. You must book in advance if you wish to join…
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Observation Day at Westbury (Cancelled due to Rail Strike)
Observation afternoon and evening at Westbury Station (Cancelled due to Rail Strike)
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Construction of HS1 – The Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Construction of HS1 – The Channel Tunnel Rail Link
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by David Kelso. How our high-speed link to France was achieved. David manages photographic images submitted for the Railway Observer. Doors open…
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‘Twixt War and Grouping
‘Twixt War and Grouping
A selection of images of Britain's Railways between 1919 and 1922 - the period between the Armistice and the Grouping, now a century ago - drawn from the Ken Nunn…
Visit to Mangapps Railway Museum
Visit to Mangapps Railway Museum
This is a joint visit with the South East Essex Railway Society (SEERs) who are allowing South Essex RCTS members to join their visit to Mangapps. The cost is £12…
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Members' area
The latest edition of The Railway Observer, plus back copies from 2012
Details of benefits available to RCTS members
The directory of Society officers
Officers' administration tools
RCTS-branded clothing sales
Membership renewals for 2023 [opens October 2022]
Renewals for 2022
Access to the Members' Area is not available to lapsed members. Please renew here.
Branches
The Society has a national network of 28 branches. Each branch has its own committee and operates its own programme of events. Members are assigned to a home branch but are welcome to take part in other branches' activities.
Guests are always welcome.
Venues
Some branches have more than one regular meeting venue. Click any of the dots on the map to visit the branch page which contains details of contacts, venues, and events.
The map is interactive. You can pan and zoom to see more. Press the green Reset button to start again.
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Features
The Society has several online information services maintained by our dedicated and knowledgeable members. The various features are regularly updated, and we welcome contributions from members and non-members alike.
Each feature has a editor. Click the images to explore.
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Diesel Dilemmas
Mysteries and anomalies in the modification and disposal history of British Railways diesel locomotives.
Carriage Conundrums
Mysteries and anomalies in the modification and disposal history of British Railways locomotive hauled coaching stock.
Preserved Coaches
Additions, deletions, movements and modifications to lists of preserved railway rolling stock, regularly updated.
Haulage Highlights
Seasonal services, relief trains, special events and unusual routes, mostly with diesel traction.
East Coast Main Line
Some of the more unusual passenger train workings on the East Coast Main Line
Query Corner
Written queries and answers are published here and in The Railway Observer
“Our” Locos
A number of locomotives have proudly carried The Railway Observer nameplate or been associated with the Society. No, we don't own these locomotives, but they are thought of as "ours".
TOPS Reference Data
The Society maintains several datasets of TOPS data for Cl.01/5, Cl.89, Cl.97 and Cl.98 Locomotives, Depot Codes and Locomotive Pool Codes, all of which are regularly updated.
NEW - John Knight's Database of Railway Photography
John Knight is a picture researcher. His database of southern and western England records details of 172,000 images published in 6,500 books.
This RCTS Feature initially opens on an interactive map. When you zoom in, each yellow dot represents a camera location. The background can be changed between contemporary maps, satellite images, and historical Ordnance Survey maps - including the detailed 1:10,560 Series. The dot has a reference number for subsequent searches. Please allow a few seconds for the map to load fully.
There are several other tabs alongside the map. One is the User Guide which explains what data is available and how to undertake searches.
Other tabs are lists of books, authors, photographers, railway companies, locomotive classes, and the like. All are searchable.
NB. The database is an index only. For copyright reasons, the photographs are not reproduced, but there are live links to where each book is currently available to purchase. Usually these are second-hand booksellers.
Photographic archive
Over 50,000 images are available to purchase as prints or as digital downloads.
Purchases are managed by our service provider, Zenfolio.
Shop
The items listed below are currently available to purchase, some at sale prices. Click on the product images to read full details of each item.
RCTS members are advised to use the Shop pages in the Member's Area to gain access to exclusive products and special discounts.
Shipping is charged on the whole order. There is a flat rate of £3 for UK addresses, a percentage of the order value for non-UK address, calculated as the basket is added to.
Payment can be made by credit/debit card into the Society's Paypal account. You do not need your own Paypal account to use this service.
Second-hand books are sold by the Library. The list of books available is updated regularly, and is not limited to RCTS publications.
RCTS Publications
RCTS has been a renowned publisher of definitive books on locomotives and other railway subjects since 1935. The books are available online and trade enquiries are welcome. Many are now out of print but you can find a bibliography of all books by following More about RCTS Publications below.
Become an author? Click the button to find out more.
New printing technology means that it has become economic to republish some of the back catalogue, a process that is underway. If you cannot wait, copies are available to view at the Society's library at Leatherhead and second-hand copies may be available to purchase from there.
