Steam in Pakistan & The Hedjaz Railway
RCTS – West Midlands Branch Meeting Report
19th January 2026
On Monday 17th November 2025 at 2.00pm our speaker was Derek Huntriss (Branch Secretary) with his presentation - Steam in Pakistan & The Hedjaz Railway. Derek, a frequent traveller abroad, ventured to Pakistan in 1984 and to the Hedjaz Railway in 1997. (What a load of Crap !). This is Derek’s favourite terminology but no seriously we were treated to dramatic images of veteran steam locomotives, mostly in arid landscapes, but always with plenty of clag from the oil burning locos.
Maps of each country were traced along with some unpronounceable place names. It was interesting to see British type signalling with British built locos in the ‘Old Colonial’ settings. A few pictures of diesels were included which were mainly operating on tanker trains.
Derek is one of the most accomplished of photographers whose show entertained us with anecdotes of his adventures as he travelled through these countries.
We thanked him for his very entertaining show and expect to see more in due course.