Archive and Library Open Day
2024-06-22 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-06-27 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-03 11:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

The History of the 125 High Speed Train 1975-2023
2024-06-25 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.
The Inter City 125 High Speed Trains were introduced to the Great British public in 1975 after the Advanced Passenger Train project stalled a bit. The HSTs were intended to be a stop-gap, but ended up forming the core Inter City fleet for Britain’s Railways for more than 40 years, serving the Western Region, Eastern Region and Midland Main line, along with Cross Country services. The programme will take a look back from the early days and bring us up to 2023.
The image is of Great Western’s 43094 – at Casnewydd (otherwise known as Newport, South Wales) on 23rd October 2006. The power car was recently outshopped in the, then, latest FGW livery and had also just been fitted with an MTU 16V4000 power unit.
Doors open 13:30.

Volks Railway Brighton - Outdoor Visit
2024-06-26 10:30 - 13:00
Members visit to the Volks Railway, Brighton to include escorted tour of shed and workshops.
You must book this event in advance as numbers are limited.
Further details and bookings at chichester@rcts.org.uk

Günter Oczko and friends - Steam Worldwide between 1970 and 2024
2024-06-27 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
Günter is promising a further selection of excellent Steam photography from around the world, featuring both his own work, and of his friends Bernhard Haseneder and Dirk Hoellerhage. Countries featured include Germany (both West and East), Czechoslovakia, Turkey, India, South Africa and China, over the last half century (and a bit). An event to bring back memories for those who witnessed it themselves, and regrets for those who didn’t.
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.

'1960s East Midlands Stills and Ciné', by Michael Clemens
2024-07-02 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
Michael Clemens visits the Watford Branch to give us a presentation on the East Midlands in the 1960s with a mix of ciné film and stills – more details to be added if they become available.
Please note this is a physical meeting to be held at our usual venue at Beechen Grove Baptist Church, doors open from 18:30.

Observation Day
2024-07-04 11:00 - 16:00 | Nuneaton Station, Nuneaton Station
Observation of railway activiety at Nuneaton Station.

Railways at a Junction
2024-07-04 19:30 - 22:00 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Fraser Pithie gives a reflection on British Railways, privatisation and a look at where today’s railway is and which route it is likely to take over the next decade.

Visit to Central Scotland
2024-07-09

Archive & Library Open Day
2024-07-09 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-20 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-25 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-31 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-08-06 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

The Deltics - Worthy Successors to the A4s ?
2024-07-09 19:30 - 22:00 | HTC Hitchin, St Mark's Church, St Mark's Close, Lancaster Avenue, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 1UR, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by Michael Smyth.
The Deltics and the A4s have a common background in that both were the result of developments of Germany diesel engine technology in the 1930s. This talk explains how this came about and then continues with the story of Deltics in mainline service to their withdrawal at the end of 1981. It concludes with a summary of their subsequent use in preservation up to the present day. It is illustrated with photographs from the 1960s onwards, all taken by the speaker and unpublished. Ideally it will stir memories of these exceptional machines and provoke comment and discussion.
Doors open at 19:00

BRANCH SOCIAL MEETING
2024-07-10 19:00 - 22:00 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
THE ANNUAL BRANCH SOCIAL WITH MEMBERS’ PICTURES AND SLIDES AND THE TRADITIONAL QUIZ, WITH REFRESHMENTS AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHAT WITH, AND MEET YOUR FELLOW ENTHUSIASTS

Visit to the Northampton & Lamport Railway
2024-07-14 10:00 - 16:00 | Northampton & Lamport Railway, Pitsford & Brampton Station, Pitsford Road, Chapel Brampton, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN6 8BA, United Kingdom
MILTON KEYNES BRANCH 2024 VISIT
Sunday 14th July 2024
Northampton & Lamport Railway
Itinerary
· Travel by own transport to Pitsford & Brampton Station – meet on the platform 10:00
· Travel by train to new station at Boughton – visit to signal box ex Betley Road
· Return to Pitsford & Brampton station by train.
· Brake van ride for one round trip of the line (limited availability).
· Cab rides also on offer (limited availability).

Price: Bargain £5 per person
_______________________________________________

Please book your place with the committee by Wednesday 10th July
email: miltonkeynes@rcts.org.uk

Colchester in the Age of Steam
2024-07-15 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall also available via Zoom as a Hybrid
Colchester is a major railway junction in Essex with much to interest the railway enthusiast. This talk will cover the period up to September 1962 when steam operation ceased through the town. The railway infrastructure in the town included three stations, all with goods facilities, a major locomotive depot, a quay tramway and even a laundry. The area enjoyed a few years of concurrent steam, diesel and electric operation, during which a major station reconstruction was completed.
David Goodyear has lived in Essex for most of his life and inherited his love of railways from his father, who was a Senior Marine Engineer based at Parkeston Quay. Although living in Dovercourt David attended secondary school in Colchester and has maintained an interest in the railways of both the Harwich and Colchester areas. His career as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer started at Paxman in Colchester working on the HST Valenta engine, but rapidly moved on to automotive engines at Perkins Peterborough, and then returning to Essex to work at Ford’s Dunton engineering centre for 25 years before taking early retirement. He now lives near Saffron Walden with his wife, two horses and a sixteenth century house, which leaves a little time for continuing to pursue his interest in railways

Observation Afternoon and Evening - Banbury Station
2024-07-16 14:00 - 19:00 | Banbury Station

"Steam Day Rails in the South Pennines" - Presenter Steve Armitage
2024-07-18 19:30 - 21:30 | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom

Observation Day - Cardiff & the Valleys
2024-07-24 | Cardiff Station, Central Square,, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 1EP, United Kingdom
Observation of railway activity at Cardiff & the Valleys
We shall be catching 1F06 Portsmouth to Cardiff and return on 1D91 Cardiff to Portsmouth.
We shall use an Explore Cardiff and the Valleys day rover.

That Was The Year That Was - 1973
2024-07-25 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
Geoff Plumb (Watford Branch Chairman) returns to present another of his popular ‘That Was The Year That Was’ series, this time taking us through 1973 (is that really over half a century ago?). We start the year with East to West cross-border German steam around Bebra in January, moving on to Austria for snowy scenes on the Erzbergbahn (Iron Mountain Railway) in the depths of winter, followed by a short visit to the Steyrtalbahn. The Whitby area is the next port of call in April/May, with the Royal opening of the NYMR. A few shots to mark the centenary of the ‘Marlow Donkey’ are followed by the main event – the World Steam tour to Java plus a bit of Singapore and Malaysia, in July and August. This tour covered most of the island, featuring Mallets of various sizes, steam tram engines, 0-4-0 and 2-4-0 tender engines and some sugar cane lines – a railway feast! We finish off with a few shots of mainline steam back in Blighty, a further short visit to the NYMR and ‘Flying Scotsman’ on the Paignton to Kingswear line.

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.

Another Western European Miscellany
2024-07-30 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by Rob Freeman.
I will be showing a variety of themes from various countries from my collection of modern traction photos that I have been taking for the last 40 years or so. There will be scenes from France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland. There are also sections on liveries, Eurosheds, unusual workings and number curiosities. Exact topics shown will depend on the time and the wishes of the audience!
The picture shows CC1451 at Richemont doing the sort of job it was designed for, hauling a heavy train of iron ore in 1990. The 102 locos of this class were very powerful, but had a maximum speed of only 60 kph, which was their downfall in later years.
Rob Freeman
Doors open 13:30

Lineside Observation Bletchley Station
2024-08-01 18:00 - 21:00 | Bletchley Station, Sherwood Drive, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK3 6DZ, United Kingdom
Thursday 1st August 2024
Lineside Observation Bletchley Station
Itinerary

Travel by own transport to Bletchley station and meet on the platform from 18:00 for a couple of hours lineside observation.

Visit to the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway
2024-08-11 | Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway
This is the Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch summer outing.
An all-day visit to the C&PRR with added “extras” including the opportunity to visit the Princes Risborough North Signal Box. This is a “red timetable” day with both steam and diesel services operating. Currently the plan is to meet at Chinnor about 10:00-10:15 in order to take the 10:45 service to Princes Risborough. If travelling by national rail services it is also practicable to join the group at Princes Risborough – let the Branch Secretary know when making your booking. Latest date for confirming and paying for your booking – 30 July.
Places must be booked in advance – no on-the-day participation. Payment details are shown in the July issue of “Railway Ramblings” (the branch newsletter).
Confirm your place(s) with the Branch Secretary, Dave Elsdon, by phone (01438 714277) or email to Hitchin@rcts.org.uk.

Afternoon Observation Meeting - Eastleigh Station
2024-08-13 13:00 - 18:00 | Eastleigh Station, United Kingdom

Sheffield Branch : Observation at Chesterfield
2024-08-14 12:00 - 16:00 | Chesterfield Station, United Kingdom
You are welcome to join members of the Sheffield Branch at Platform 2/3 from 12:00.

Visit to Bradford Model Engineers
2024-08-14 18:30 - 20:30

Visit to the East Lancashire Railway
2024-08-15
Please note the change of date.
