"12th Colour Rail Journey" by Paul Chancellor
2025-05-15 19:30 - 21:30 (Europe/London) | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom

Archive And Library Open Day - CANCELLED
2025-05-17 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-22 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-28 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-06-03 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-06-14 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom
Network Rail and Govia Thameslink (GTR) have now undertaken additional works which, we hope, will cure the damp problems at the Stationmaster’s House. GTR’s contractors are rectifying the damp areas internally so we are moving some shelving and dust covering all other shelves while that work is undertaken. It is not therefore practical ot open the Archive to visitors on this day.
Our apologies for any inconvenience, please attend at an open day later in the summer.

Railway Advertising & Posters - Michael Willmot
2025-05-19 14:00 - 16:00 | Cheylesmore Community Centre, Poitiers Road, Coventry 5JX, Poitiers Road, Cheylesmore,, Coventry, CV3 5JX
From the earliest days of rail travel, poster advertising was used to encourage people to take the train. Through the artwork of, and captions on, such posters we can catch a glimpse of not just the advances in engineering and in design, but also the contemporary social concerns addressed in the advertising slogans. But if you are not so interested in the history there is much to admire in the work of a glittering array of artists and poster designers stretching over a 200 year period.

The Stainmore Route by Chris Rowley, Northampton Branch Meeting
2025-05-19 19:00 - 21:30 | NHN Northampton – Weston Favell, Weston Favell Parish Hall, Booth Lane South, Northampton, NN3 3EP, United Kingdom
This event is not at the usual time, it is an evening meeting starting at 7pm.

Edward Thompson, Wartime CME
2025-05-19 19:30 - 22:00 | MHD Cox Green, Cox Green Community Centre, Highfield Lane, Cox Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3AX, United Kingdom
The class act of Nigel Gresley to follow – how did Thompson take over and survive?
Further to previous information, this meeting will now be available to join on Zoom as well at Cox Green

The North Eastern Railway from Stockton and Darlington to the ECML
2025-05-19 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall which will also be available on Zoom as a Hybrid Meeting.
The history of the NER was made-up of several earlier and smaller individual railways. The Tanfield Railway, originally a wagonway dating from as early as 1725, the iconic Stockton and Darlington Railway, the Clarence Railway, Stanhope & Tyne Railway, Newcastle & Carlisle Railway, the Leeds & Selby and more, made the ultimate NER and the first East Coast Main Line.
The contribution of the latterly-discredited George Hudson, The Railway King, with was his foresight and ambition led to the establishment of that first route. All of the many changes from the first to the current East Coast main line via Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle to connect with the North British Railway at Berwick-on-Tweed are illustrated.
The NER also set the standard for early electrification, a standard initially adopted by BR, this too is illustrated.

With Lance King in Ireland 1958-1963
2025-05-20 19:00 - 21:30 | TVY Didcot, Didcot Civic Hall, Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN, United Kingdom
Leslie McAllister offers a first selection of colour photographs taken by the late Lance King in the Republic of Ireland in the last years of steam. Lance was a skilled photographer and left a fine record of steam in the Dublin area and on the fondly remembered branches such as Kenmare, Loughrea, Ballaghadereen, Edenderry, Tullow, Clara and Youghal. Steam and diesel in daily service on the Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway feature, as does the memorable railtour with the last “Bandon tank”. The early days of silver and “black and tan” liveried diesels can be glimpsed along the way. A time of great change.”
This talk was first given to the Irish Railway Record Society in 2019, to whom Lance bequeathed his Irish photographic collection and is one of three talks covering the period from 1957 to 1970, when steam ended in Northern Ireland.

Railtours, Specials and Unusual Workings – Part 1
2025-05-21 19:30 - 22:00 | SOE Eastleigh, Junction Church (formerly Eastleigh Railway Institute), 2 Romsey Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9FE, United Kingdom

Observation Day Swindon Station
2025-05-22 10:00 - 17:00 | Swindon Station
Come and join Brian Arman, Stewart Jolly, and hopefully Arthur Turner for a day of observing the variety of freight and passenger trains to be sen at Swindon Station.

That Was The Year That Was 1972
2025-05-27 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Geoff Plumb.
Geoff Plumb returns with another of his popular “That Was the Year That Was” series of presentations. With his usual excellent standard of railway photography, this time it’s the turn of 1972 and we can expect the presentation to include more of Geoff’s many days out around and about, including UK scenes in Brighton, Bristol and the London area, among others.
This time the presentation also features West Germany quite strongly, but the main event sees a visit to South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique for a feast of steam, in repose and in action!
Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.

Russian & Ukraine Steam
2025-05-28 19:15 - 21:30 | CHR Bassil Shippam Centre, Tozer Way, St Pancras, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 7LG, United Kingdom
Ian Wright’s presentation will consist of a slide show of two charters that he took part in – to Russia and Belarus in 1992 and the Ukraine in 2003.

Two Decades Ago ... A Further Selection
2025-05-29 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
A further look back at what I was photographing in the first decade of this century, now some twenty years ago – so near or so far? A varied mix of steam, diesel and electric, on main, preserved and narrow gauge lines, at home and abroad.
For this virtual event, you will require a ticket. Free for RCTS members, but a £2.50 donation will be requested at the checkout. Non-member tickets are £2.50. (Or you can join the Society in the same transaction to take advantage of members’ benefits)
To receive information on coming National (and other) Zoom meetings, please join the RCTS National Zoom E-mail List (RCTS-National@groups.io) by visiting https://groups.io/g/RCTS-National , or by e-mail to RCTS-National+subscribe@groups.io.

WFD Branch - Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Visit, 1st June 2025
2025-06-01 09:00 - 17:00 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
Sunday 1st June 2025 – A visit to The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.
Five days after the end of the Annual Steam Gala, we visit this Heritage Railway where we will travel over all of the line, getting off at most of the stations. We will visit the steam shed and diesel shed at Toddington, Winchcombe and Cheltenham Race Course Signal Boxes, the Carriage & Wagon Works and also, with kind permission of the owners, Gotherington Station where you will be able to ride on the pump trolley up and down the siding – subject to availability. Bacon rolls on the train too.
Meet at Toddington Station, Platform 1, (Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, Toddington Station, New Town, Cheltenham GL54 5DT) at 09:00.
Email Branch Secretary Rob Davidson at watford@rcts.org.uk to book your place or for more information. The group is usually eligible for a discounted party rate for an all line ticket (normally £28.00) and a donation to the railway is asked for access to the sheds etc.

WFD Branch - '​The Southern End of the WCML, 1930s to Present Day', by Rob Freeman, 3rd June 2025
2025-06-03 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
ROB FREEMAN – ‘​The Southern End of the WCML 1930s to Present Day’.
From the 1930s to the present, featuring the work of local photographers such as H C Casserley for the steam era and my own work for the modern era, where I will be concentrating on the more unusual of my sightings.
Further details may be available nearer the date.
Please note this is a physical meeting, doors open from 18:30 for 19:00 commencement of proceedings.

Milton Keynes Branch Meeting - British Railway Disasters – Hixon and Ladbroke Grove
2025-06-05 19:30 - 21:30 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Fraser Pithie presents on two significant accidents in the history of Britain’s railways – Hixon (6th January1968) and Ladbroke Grove (5th October 1999).

Visit to South Wales
2025-06-10 | Hertfordshire

A 12th Colour Rail Journey
2025-06-10 14:00 - 16:30 | St Marks Church Hall, Hitchin SG5 1UR, St Mark's Close, Lancaster Avenue, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 1UR
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Paul Chancellor.
Our twelfth Colour-Rail Journey will be the last and in a change for those preceding it , it tells about the life of a trainspotter from those first experiences to the twist and turns that led to a keen interest in railway photography , both archive and current. However note that it does not mean that Colour-Rail is closing!
Tales of spotting expeditions that went to plan, but also some that did not, would not be believed possible by today’s younger generations. These are illustrated with pictures from the 1950s to the present day which will stir memories of your own ‘spotting lives.
Paul Chancellor
Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.

The Fourth Rowland Pittard Memorial Lecture: An evening of images from the collection of Bob Masterman
2025-06-11 19:00 - 22:00 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
For the fourth annual Rowland Pittard Memorial Lecture, The RCTS South Wales branch is delighted to welcome Robert Masterman back to The Old Church Rooms in Radyr. Bob is widely regarded as one of the foremost railway photographers of his, or any, generation and is perhaps best known for his work documenting the ever evolving South Wales scene but his archive covers a far wider area, so expect a veritable cornucopia of images from South Wales and further beyond

British Rail 1986 to 1992 - The Evolution of Business Management
2025-06-16 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall which will also be available on Zoom as a Hybrid Meeting.
In 1982 BR created new business units. Passenger Services were split into InterCity, Network SouthEast and Provincial Services, freight was split into Trainload, Speedlink and Freightliner and a parcels sector was created. Mervyn Rogers will explore how this Sectorisation came about and how this affected the run-up to Privatisation.

Observation Evening - Eastleigh
2025-06-18 16:00 - 20:00 | Eastleigh Station, United Kingdom

Archive And Library Open Day - CANCELLED
2025-06-19 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom
Network Rail and Govia Thameslink (GTR) have now undertaken additional works which, we hope, will cure the damp problems at the Stationmaster’s House. GTR’s contractors have rectifed the damp areas internally but not completed timber repais as yet. Some shelving is till stored and dust covering on all other shelves while that work is undertaken. It is not therefore practical to open the Archive to visitors on this day.
Our apologies for any inconvenience, please attend at an open day later in the summer.

Reading Station Observation
2025-06-19 17:00 - 20:00 | Reading Station

"Neville Hill - Diary of an Escapee" by Peter Holden
2025-06-19 19:30 - 21:30 | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom

Wickham Trolley Evening, S&D Railway Midsomer Norton
2025-06-20 18:00 - 20:30 | Midsomer Norton Station, Silver Street, Midsomer Norton, BA2 2EY
Come and join our Wickham Trolley Evening at the Somerset & Dorset Railway Station, Midsomer Norton.
6.00pm Pimms Reception, donations to the Railway Children Charity
6.30pm Trolley Rides the length of the line @ £5 a head.
The shop, buffet, book emporium and museum will all be open.

Eastleigh Arlington Works Visit
2025-06-21 09:45 - 12:30 | Arlington Works, Campbell Road, Eastleigh, SO50 5AD, United Kingdom
A visit has been booked for Arlington Works for between 15 and 30 people. Details below, to book and arrange payment, up to 04/06/2025 or until the visit is full, contact
John Godfrey
tel: 07850 220009
email: solent@rcts.org.uk
9 Duddon Close West End Southampton SO18 3QA

Arlington Fleet Services are happy to welcome organised groups of railway enthusiasts and
other interested parties to our site at Eastleigh Works.
Guided tours of our site are available on two Saturdays each month from Spring to Autumn
each year. Parties of 15 to 30 can be accommodated. The cost is £15 per person, paid in cash
to our Guide on the day. All money goes to the Arlington nominated charity which changes
each year. There is a minimum charge of £225 per group (15 x £15).
Tours start at our entrance gate on Campbell Road promptly at 10:00 with a Safety Briefing
from our Lead Guide. Visitors should arrive from 09:30. Minimum age is 12 and anyone under
18 must be accompanied by an adult who agrees to take full responsibility for the young
person. Our yard has 750V electrified 3rd rail which will be on during the tour. Traffic on site
can be busy with many vans and HGVs present. Tours typically last between one and two
hours and can involve walking 3 to 4 miles in total.
All visitors should wear stout footwear and a hi viz jacket. The site will be working during the
tour and all instructions from our guides must be followed without question. Anyone without a
hi viz jacket will be restricted to just the roadways and walking routes. We are unable to supply
hi viz jackets.
Anyone with a health condition (Diabetes, heart problems, breathing problems etc.) should
notify our guides on the day so they can be aware in case of any problems during the tour.
We aim to show visitors as much of the site as possible but we cannot guarantee access to
any particular area or item of rolling stock during the tour. Some of our tenants do not allow
visitors to enter their areas so the guide will show the best viewing points to see as much as
possible in those areas.
Photography for personal use only is allowed for the most part and the Safety Briefing at the
start will identify any rolling stock or areas where photography is not allowed. All photographs
and video taken during the event must be for your own use ONLY and cannot be published in
any media, printed or online.
There is no car parking available on site, except for Disabled badge holders. There are plenty
of car parks in Eastleigh town centre. Just follow the signs. The nearest ones to the Works are
opposite the station and just further down the main road at the Swan Centre. There is also a
small pay and display car park just south of the Campbell Road junction, between the main
road and the railway line.

The West Somerset Railway - Plus More
2025-06-24 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Richard Morris.
Following the opening of the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1845 there were soon thoughts about connecting it to the West Somerset and North Devon coastal towns. These discussions didn’t get very far until Mr Brunel was engaged. In 1862 a railway was constructed and opened between Taunton and Watchet. This was extended to Minehead in 1874. “There were minerals in them therr Zummerzet hills” which were waiting to be mined. Thankfully the West Somerset Railway has survived and we know it now as one of the longest heritage railways in the country.
The second half will be a mix of all sorts of things, modern traction, steam from around the country, a little bit from a European holiday, and from being ‘out and about in 2024.
Richard Morris
Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.
