"I have much to do, gentlemen, and little time in which to do it". These words are attributed to Edward Thompson and have been taken in the past as meaning little time in which to enact change, specifically to the work of his predecessor, Sir Nigel Gresley. How far was this true, was the question…
Our 2025/26 season opens with a much-anticipated visit from Raymond Schofield who will take us through the history of the East Coast Main Line. The North-East of England was at the forefront of railway growth, starting some 300 years ago with colliery lines delivering coal to staithes on the Tyne and Tees. Early passenger lines…
A look back at what I was able to photograph in the early years of this century, both on preserved railways and the mainline. (This is a replacement for David Cable's presentation, previously planned for this meeting, which has had to be postponed until 14th April 2026).
In the run up to D-Day many parts of the UK rail network were taken over by the United States Army to prepare the rolling stock that would be needed to run on the railways of France and Europe after the invasio, including the iconic S160 Locomotive, many of which were at Ebbw Junction Shed…
Archive And Library Open Day - CANCELLED Cancelled due to the interior works by GoviaThameslink Railway's contractors still being incomplete.
The Great Train Robbery - What you didn’t hear in the News. A well researched presentation with a more humorous take.
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall which will also be available on Zoom as a Hybrid Meeting. Please note that this talk by Peter Robins replaces the originally listed talk on 21st Century Steam
Richard Antliff (Didcot Railway Centre Civil Engineering Adviser) returns to give us a further insight into some of the recent and future planned projects being undertaken at the Didcot Railway Centre site. In addition, as we celebrate Rail 200 this year, Richard will also show us some of the activities happening at other railway sites…
Archive And Library Open Day - CANCELLED Cancelled due to the interior works by GoviaThameslink Railway's contractors still being incomplete.
East - West Journey (UK)
