10 April 2026, The Bill Potter Collection – A Classic Rail Archive 1938 to 1988

Bristol  On 10th April Chris Brown presented a slide show from the Bill Potter Collection.  The evening started with a USA tank at Southampton Docks and in 1934 a B17 was seen at Edgehill.  Over the years many photos were taken at Gloucester featuring locos such as a GWR Prairie, Hall No 7928 and an ex GWR railcar. Another venue was around Ashchurch where LMS 3F No 41900 was recorded with an ex GWR pannier tank on a single coach followed by a LMS 4F No 44092 on a freight.

Various visits over the years were made to Swindon works, showing several ex GWR locos under various stages of overhaul. Hall No 4900 ‘St Martin’ was outside the works as well as ‘Pendennis Castle’ in 1963.  A couple of photos were taken at Doncaster works showing many stripped-down locos.

We then travelled to Eastleigh where SR Lord Nelson No 30855 and SR Schools No 30925 were recorded. At Crewe LMS ‘Princess Class 46211 together with a new Peak No 97 were seen.

By 1967 steam was on the way out and diesel locos were the order of the day with Class 42 ‘Warships’, Class 52 ‘Westerns’ on the Western region.  By the 1980s steam locos were only seen on the mainline on rail tours.  The presentation was drawn to a close with a photo taken in 1983 of Std 4 No 80079 and LMS No 43106 at Hereford.  An evening of top-quality pictures was enjoyed by an audience of 46.