AGM and Members' Presentations
2025-04-10 19:30 - 21:30 (Europe/London) | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom

RCTS WEN Branch Meeting Bernard Mills - Title to be confirmed
2025-04-12 19:00 - 21:30
Our final meeting of the 2024/25 season sees the welcome return of our friend Bernard Mills. It will be an evening of classic Mills entertainment, with a varied selection of images from Bernards extensive collection

Narrow Gauge Railways in Saxony - Dave Coxon
2025-04-14 14:00 - 16:00
Dave Coxon worked for the railway for 50 years starting at Derby Locomotive Works and finishing at Derby Litchurch Lane Works.
During his long career he worked for the Research Division, the DM&EE Testing Section , The Commissioning Section and later for Serco. He was fortunate to undertake a number of trips abroad and later joined Bombardier from where he retired in 2018.

Dave’s talk concerns a rail tour in 2015 which he was very fortunate to join.
It encompassed a trip by rail from London to Dresden, visits to various narrow gauge steam lines in the area, a visit to the main steam shed at Bahnbetriebswerk Dresden-Altstadt and to a preserved tramway system. Unfortunately the steam paddle steamers were not operating due to the very low water levels in the Elbe but nevertheless this was a trip of a lifetime!

Addicted to Interrailing by Dave Hepper.
2025-04-14 19:15 - 21:45 | Greenfinch Hall,Greenfinch Avenue Ipswich IP2 0SQ

Archive And Library Open Day
2025-04-15 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-04-19 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-04-24 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-04-30 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-05-06 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

Roaming around London with a Camera
2025-04-15 19:00 - 21:30 | TVY Didcot, Didcot Civic Hall, Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN, United Kingdom
Geoff’s slide show covers specifically what can be seen on the railways of London. The slide show contains a brief selection of older shots but is largely up to date, covering the last 2½ years. The emphasis being on the new and unusual workings.

HSD branch - Yorkshire diesels Pt 2,1996 onwards
2025-04-15 19:30 - 22:00 | HSD Hull, The Highway, Willerby Road, Hull, HU5 5LH, United Kingdom
Peter Holden – “Yorkshire diesels Pt 2,1996 onwards.”

The Great Train Robbery
2025-04-16 19:30 - 22:00 | SOE Eastleigh, Junction Church (formerly Eastleigh Railway Institute), 2 Romsey Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9FE, United Kingdom

North East Branch - An Evening with Father's slides
2025-04-17 19:00 - 21:30 | NEA Darlington, Darlington Cricket Club, South Terrace, Darlington, DL1 5JD, United Kingdom
Society Trustee David Cross travels up from Essex to bring us an evening with the slides from the collection of his Father, Derek – a very well known railway photographer.

The Railways of Colonel Holman Stephens.
2025-04-17 19:15 - 21:30 | SRY Woking, Woking United Reform Church, White Rose Lane, Woking, GU22 7HA, United Kingdom
The Railways of Colonel Holman Stephens.
By Chris Jackson – Hon Editor, The Colonel. Colonel Stephens Society.

No Meeting - There is no meeting in April due to the Easter Bank Holiday
2025-04-21 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom

CHR Branch Meeting
2025-04-22 19:15 - 21:30
Details to Follow

The North London Line
2025-04-23 19:15 - 21:30 | CHR Bassil Shippam Centre, Tozer Way, St Pancras, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 7LG, United Kingdom
“The North London Railway began as little more than an attenuated siding giving the London & Birmingham Railway access to the East End’s docks, then developed into one of Britain’s busiest steam-operated commuter routes. After the LNWR took over operation it was one of the first to be electrified, but succumbed to road competition and was closure-listed in Beeching’s ‘Reshaping’ – yet still thrives. The presentation explores the North London’s fluctuating history and includes a photographic journey from Richmond to the former grand terminus at Broad Street.”

Two Decades Ago...
2025-04-24 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
A look back at what I was photographing at the start of this century, now over 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.

Eastleigh from Railway Junction to Railway Centre
2025-04-28 19:30 - 22:00 | MHD Cox Green, Cox Green Community Centre, Highfield Lane, Cox Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3AX, United Kingdom
Gordon visits the branch with a fascinating presentation covering the story of Eastleigh- the town, the station and the works.

Sir Nigel Gresley, His Life and Work
2025-04-29 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Simon Martin.
Following on from last year’s lecture on Edward Thompson, we now turn our attention to his predecessor’s work and designs, using fresh sources of primary information compared alongside previously conceived and published research. We can review his work and see in a fresh light with better understanding the real achievements and innovations Sir Nigel Gresley led the way in for the railway industry as a whole. In addition, we examine all of Gresley’s designs and those of other engineers he modified during his tenure, and how he encouraged and nurtured others who would ultimately succeed him.
All of this is fully supported with a wealth of references, tables, graphs and a fabulous array of photographs, many of which have never been in print before, as we utilise the resources and archives of the Gresley Society.
Simon Martin
Doors open at 13:00 for a 14:00 start.

GW route from Penzance to Padstow - Richard Binding
2025-04-29 19:00 - 21:30 | EMD Nottingham, The New Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham, NG1 4EZ, United Kingdom
A return visit from Richard who will enlighten us about the Great Western route from Penzance to Padstow

Milton Keynes Branch Meeting - ‘On the route of ‘The South Yorkshireman’
2025-05-01 19:30 - 21:30 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Rail campaigner and former Chairman of the Bedford – Bletchley Rail Users Association, Richard Crane, presents a pictorial journey over the years from Bradford to London Marylebone.

Bristol - 'Every Picture Tells A Story' by John Baxter
2025-05-02 19:30 - 22:00 | BTL North Filton, St Teresa’s Church Hall, 71 Gloucester Road, North Filton, BS34 7PL, United Kingdom
John Baxter, Secretary of The Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust promises an evening of mystery and intrigue in which, ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’.

WFD Branch - 'Reminiscenses and Thoughts of a Retired Railwayman', by John Noorani, 6th May 2025
2025-05-06 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
JOHN NOORANI – ‘Reminiscenses and Thoughts of a Retired Railwayman’.
Throughout his schooldays John had been interested in railways, initially as a trainspotter but then an interest in their history and operation. After leaving school he needed a temporary job for about six months and an opportunity to work on the railway presented itself. The anticipated six months fill-in job became a forty year career which spanned both the nationalised and privatised railway in equal measure. John will talk about various incidents which he was involved in as well as reminisce over some of the ways his career developed and the changes he has seen. 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.

The life and times of Stanier 8F 48773
2025-05-07 19:30 - 21:30 | FLL Carnforth, Royal Station Hotel, Market Street, Carnforth, LA5 9BT, United Kingdom
this loco had had a very illustrious career travelling to Egypt and Iran and featured in several films and is of course now preserved at the Severn Valley Railway,Ian chapman is going to tell us much more about its interesting life

Visit to Ashington
2025-05-13

Cambridge Area Railways, Yesterday & Today (Part 2)
2025-05-13 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 Dave Scudamore.
Cambridge Area Railways, Yesterday & Today (Part 2) starts back at Cambridge and following another look around the station area heads north to Chesterton Junction where we follow the route of the St Ives line (now misguided busway).
Next we look at the Mildenhall line as far as Fordham & then to Soham. Back at Cambridge our next journey is to Newmarket before returning to Cambridge for a shed visit before, time permitting, heading south via the goods line towards Audley End.
Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.

Chris Booth - By Great Central Railway from Sheffield to Gainsborough.
2025-05-13 19:00 - 21:00 | SFD Sheffield Farm Road Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield, S2 2TP, United Kingdom

"Roger Harrison’s East Anglian Railways" by Dave Pearce
2025-05-13 19:30 - 22:00 | CBR Fulbourn, Cambridge, The Swifts, Haggis Gap, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5HD, United Kingdom
For our final meeting of the 2024/25 season, we are delighted to welcome Dave Pearce who will be presenting ‘Roger Harrison’s East Anglian Railways’.
Roger Harrison was an avid and loyal member of the Norfolk Railway Society from its inception in 1955 until he passed away in 2010. He was extraordinarily generous to the Society in his will, not only with a sizeable donation to Society funds, but also in making a bequest of his LNER photos and negatives to the club’s archive. In 2012 David and his friend and fellow member, Richard Adderson, were asked to compile a book of Roger’s images, funded by his bequest, so that all the then members could benefit from Roger’s generosity. The show is a slightly abridged version of the book, but, nonetheless, illustrates Roger’s eye for detail alongside his ability to capture and record the general scene up to the end of GE steam in 1962. He was, in some ways, fairly parochial in his coverage of East Anglia, favouring a few locations and ignoring many, so it was quite a challenge to create a logical narrative from his somewhat disparate range of images. Nonetheless, the book was well received by the membership and considered to be a worthy tribute to Roger and the memories evoked by his pictures.
David was born in Suffolk, brought up in the East Midlands, went to college in the North East, and spent his working life as an itinerant teacher in Norfolk and Suffolk, ending up dealing with permanently excluded pupils in Norfolk for the local authority. He took early retirement in 2011 but returned to part-time work in late 2015.
He has always had an interest in railways, and photography became equally as absorbing in 1962 when he was given his first camera. Since then, via various cameras, and an embrace of digital photography, he has accumulated a substantial catalogue of his own images. He has also always taken an interest in images from other photographers, particularly those with a shared affinity for locations, aesthetics, and a healthy disregard for convention. This additional collection has become something of an indulgence (wife would say obsession!), aided and abetted, initially, by a collection of negatives left in his care, then by ‘negatives sent on approval’ but, ultimately, by the internet!
David is also presently Chairman of the ‘Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership’ and Co-Chair of Community Rail Norfolk and belongs to two railway photographic circles, together with umpteen railway societies. He has produced several books and articles, especially on the former Great Central London extension. He has four sons, none of whom has the remotest interest in railways or photography!

Croydon & SL Branch AGM and Members’ Images
2025-05-13 19:30 - 22:00 | CSL Croydon, East Croydon United Reformed Church, Addiscombe Grove, Croydon, CR0 5LP, United Kingdom
Our Annual General Meeting, to be followed by Members’ Images. Your chance to speak up and show off!
Since our last AGM a year ago, at which both our long serving Chairman and Secretary stood down, it is fair to say the Branch has had a rather problematic year, struggling to keep going, with only a couple of active committe members. So I would urge you all to attend, to discuss the future of the branch. While the two active committee members – Rob Burridge and Jeremy Harrison – are both willing to continue as Branch officers, subject to your approval, we really need some new blood on the committee to help take the branch forward. As Rob has put it:
PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT THE BRANCH. BRING YOUR IDEAS, AND HELP IT GO FORWARD.
Following the business part of the meeting, there will be a presentation of members’ images – an opportunity for you to contribute, and show off what you have done. Both conventional 35mm slide and digital projectors will be available.
