The Railway Correspondence & Travel Society

WFD Branch - Potential Outside Visit, 23rd September 2025 - Postponed to 29th October 2025 - Now CANCELLED
2025-10-29 15:00 - 17:00 (Europe/London) | https://maps.app.goo.gl/YbJUqoQUhmpxgNU28, Avanti West Coast Training Academy Tatton House, Crewe Business Park, Westmere Dr, Crewe CW1 6ZD
Sadly, this visit has had to be cancelled, but we may try again at some time during 2026 – watch this space!

A visit has been organised to the Avanti West Coast Training Academy in Crewe for Wednesday 29th October 2025, from 15:00 to 17:00 hours, to see the facilities there. As well as the normal training spaces (office based) they also have driver training simulators. Also on site are two of the vehicles from Pendolino set 390 033, also used for training purposes. The driving power car and a trailer are from the set involved in the dreadful Grayrigg accident in February 2007.

The Academy is about ten minutes walk from Crewe station, and car parking may also be available. As far as I’m aware, there is no charge for the visit, though some sort of charitable donation may be appropriate. This would be on an individual basis rather than from the branch – as the RCTS is a charity it is unable to donate to another charity unless its aims are similar.

It is rather a long way to go for just a couple of hours, but the visit could, of course, be combined with an observation session on Crewe station or just a day out by train (unfortunately, the Crewe Heritage Centre is not open on a Wednesday).

It will be up to individuals to make their way to Crewe and book any accommodation if required. The visit is open to members of any branch.

The maximum number of attendees will be ten people and on a first come, first served basis, so if you fancy the idea, please get back to me ASAP! Preferred contact is by email to:

geoffplumb1949@gmail.com

Further details will be sent out nearer the day.

Address of the location is: Avanti West Coast Training Academy
Tatton House, Crewe Business Park, Westmere Dr, Crewe CW1 6ZD

My Special Year: 2017
2025-10-30 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
2017 was a Special Year for Robin Patrick, and tonight he looks back at it. His presentation covers a whole year of photography, featuring both steam & modern traction, including three Overseas visits, to South Africa, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
For this virtual event, you will require a ticket. Free for RCTS members, but a £2.00 donation will be requested at the checkout. Non-member tickets are £2.00. (Or you can join the Society in the same transaction to take advantage of members’ benefits). Note that with the the new season, the price for Zoom meetings has been reduced. Rather than than making individual donations for each meeting, members may prefer to make a bulk donation at https://rcts.org.uk/product/donation-society/.
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.

"Freedom of Scotland 1961" Part 1 by John Sloane
2025-10-31 19:30 - 22:00 | Fulwood Lawn Tennis club Highgate Ave Preston PR2 8DY, Highgate Ave, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 8DY

Cardiff Model Railway Show
2025-11-01 - 2025-11-02 | Sophia Gardens, Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground, Cardiff, CF11 9XR, United Kingdom
Members of the RCTS South Wales branch will be taking our preloved book stall to the 37th Cardiff Model Railway show, held this year over the first weekend in November at Sophia Gardens, home of the newly promoted Glamorgan Cricket Club. Why not come along, say hello and see some excellent model railways.
Opening hours: 10am-5pm Saturday & 10am-4pm Sunday
Admission £10.00 under 15’s free but have to be accompanied by an adult.
Discount if you book online up to a week before the show.

Archive And Library Open Day - CANCELLED
2025-11-01 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-11-06 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-11-12 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-11-18 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom
Archive And Library Open Day- CANCELLED
Cancelled due to ongoing interior works by Govia Thameslink Railway.

WFD Branch - 'My Life on the Railways', by Dennis Clarke, 4th November 2025
2025-11-04 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
‘My life on the railways, from Willesden and Wembley, to North Pole and Temple Mills.’
This will be a presentation of how I got interested in the railways at a young age and went on to have a 41-year career on British Rail and Eurostar. There are plenty of pictures in the presentation.
Please note this is a physical meeting, doors open from 18:30 for 19:00 commencement of proceedings.

Milton Keynes Branch Meeting - ‘25 Years of Derek Cross Diesels 1959 - 1984’
2025-11-06 19:30 - 21:30 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
David Cross presents a selection of his late father Derek’s excellent images, depicting diesels over a 25 year period. This is sure to be an excellent evening of diesel nostalgia!
Note: This presentation is that which was postponed from the March 2025 Milton Keynes Branch meeting.

Bristol Meeting - 'That Was The Year That Was 1966' by Geoff Plumb.
2025-11-07 19:00 - 22:00 | BTL North Filton, St Teresa’s Church Hall, 71 Gloucester Road, North Filton, BS34 7PL, United Kingdom
“Geoff Plumb – ‘That Was the Year That Was – 1966’. Geoff goes back almost sixty years to 1966 with travels around the UK in chronological order. Included are Ffestiniog Railway working parties, several visits to Crewe Works, RCTS railtours for the last day of the Somerset & Dorset, Longmoor Military Railway tours, scenes on the Southern and a trip to Chester and Birkenhead. North Wales narrow gauge lines and the Cambrian Coast, steam in Northwest England, London Transport steam and lines from Marylebone. A few odds and ends plus early preservation scenes are also featured.”

The End of Steam 1966-68 Part 2 by Michael Smyth, Northampton Branch Meeting
2025-11-10 14:00 - 16:30 | NHN Northampton – Weston Favell, Weston Favell Parish Hall, Booth Lane South, Northampton, NN3 3EP, United Kingdom

Station observations at Reading
2025-11-11

Colin Boocock - Railway photography through the decades - 1980 to 2025
2025-11-11 14:00 - 16:00 | SFD Sheffield Farm Road Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield, S2 2TP, United Kingdom
Colin makes a welcome return to Sheffield branch with more fabulous photos from his vast collection.

From Litchurch Lane to Temple Mills via Paris - A working life on the rails.
2025-11-11 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Hitchin, St Mark's Church, St Mark's Close, Lancaster Avenue, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 1UR, United Kingdom
A Hitchin and Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by Hugh Driscoll.
(This replaces the previously advertised presentation)
Hugh will be describing his railway career, from his initial training at Derby Carriage Works
through varied BR engineering training scheme placements, then on to working in depots for
BR, Intercity and Eurostar in a variety of roles.
Hugh will also describe time he spent working for Network Rail on the Anglia Zone, dealing
with infrastructure specialists and train operators.
Doors open 13:30, presentation starts 14:00.

Railway people - 26 years at the NRM - Bob Gwynne
2025-11-11 14:00 - 16:30 | EMD Nottingham, The New Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham, NG1 4EZ, United Kingdom
This talk introduces who Bob is, the railway history he has worked on and the (mostly) railway people he has met through work.

26 years at the National Railway Museum - Bob Gywnne
2025-11-11 14:00 - 16:30 | EMD Nottingham, The New Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham, NG1 4EZ, United Kingdom
Details to follow

Leatherhead Station: The Stationmaster's House
2025-11-11 19:30 - 22:00 | CSL Croydon, East Croydon United Reformed Church, Addiscombe Grove, Croydon, CR0 5LP, United Kingdom
Society Archivist and Trustee Andy Davies comes to tell the history of the stations at Leatherhead from 1859, including the Stationmaster’s house and it’s new use as the RCTS Archive and Library.

"Modern Railway Signalling" by Clive Feather
2025-11-11 19:30 - 22:00 | CBR Fulbourn, Cambridge, The Swifts, Haggis Gap, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5HD, United Kingdom
On Tuesday November 11th 2025 we are delighted to welcome Clive Feather who will take us through some of the marvels of modern railway signalling and its development over several decades. This is sure to be a fantastic evening, that will give many insights into an aspect of railway operation that can be quite difficult to see at first hand in power boxes and regional operating centres.

Over the years at The Tremorfa and Castle works
2025-11-12 19:00 - 22:00 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
The RCTS South Wales branch are proud to announce that Brian Rolley will be presenting what promises to be a fascinating talk on the internal system at the Tremorfa and Castle Steel works in Cardiff. Expect plenty of images from a railway that is not normally accessible or even visible to the general public.
Doors open at 7pm for a 7:30 start, our preloved bookstall will be available for your perusal and our complimentary tea and coffee will be available at half time, along with our competitively priced KitKats

The Atlantic Railway - A look back at the Campbeltown & Macrihanish Light Railway
2025-11-13 14:30 - 16:30 | SCT Edinburgh, Scots Guards Club, 2 Clifton Terrace,, Edinburgh, EH12 5DR, United Kingdom
This illustrated presentation contains examples of all known images that have been taken of this line.
Our speaker, Gordon Casely, would be pleased to learn of any other photographs that might exist. Please advise the Branch Secretary if you think you can assist ahead of the meeting.

Kings Cross uncrossed
2025-11-13 19:00 - 21:30 | PBR Peterborough, St Luke’s Church, Mayor's Walk, Peterborough, PE3 6EZ, United Kingdom
Sam Savage visits us to talk about the 2021 remodelling of the throat of London Kings Cross station – when Kings Cross was uncrossed.
Learn about how this major civil engineering project was delivered at one of London’s busiest stations

Cardiff Model Engineering Society visit
2025-11-15 10:30 - 13:30 | Cardiff Model Engineering Society, Heath Park, Cardiff, United Kingdom
The South Wales Branch of the RCTS have arranged a visit to the Cardiff Model Engineering Society miniature railway and tramway at Heath Park in Cardiff to take place on Saturday 15th November. The visit will be taking place on a day when the railway is not open to the public and will give our members to see behind the scenes at the CMES headquarters. Spaces are limited for this visit and should you wish to attend we ask that you contact the branch to register your interest by contacting Philip Stallard on (07854) 078032 or by E-Mailing southwales@rcts.org.uk

An Indian Adventure Part 2 by Simon Starr
2025-11-17 13:30 - 15:45 | MCN Bromborough, The Bromborough Suite. The Merebrook, Greenfields Avenue, Bromborough, Wirral, Merseyside, CH62 6DD, United Kingdom

Steam by Night - Joe Connell
2025-11-17 14:00 - 16:00 | Cheylesmore Community Centre, Poitiers Road, Coventry 5JX, Poitiers Road, Cheylesmore,, Coventry, CV3 5JX
Our speaker, Joe Connell, Official Photographer for the Great Central Railway, will explain the procedures and pitfalls of shooting steam at night.

Not So Much a Hobby, More A Way of Life
2025-11-17 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.
Jim grew up in Stepney Green and his love of railways started when his father took him to Kings Cross to ‘watch the trains’. He remembers seeing A3 Pacifics ‘Pretty Polly’ and ‘Blair Athol’. The latter painted in early British Railways express passenger blue at the time, made an impressive start from Platform 10, with her six big driving wheels slipping violently on the wet, greasy rails. Living in East London meant that he was within easy reach of all the main London Termini. His favourite was the ‘old’ Euston and its Princess Royal Pacifics. He joined British Rail on leaving school. With the decline of steam and having little interest in modern traction he developed and interest in passenger stations particularly the wonderfully oversized buildings on the North London Railway which led to Jim founding the North London Railway Historical Society in 1989 of which he is currently the chairman.
Jim’s talk looks at railway enthusiasm, largely in the twentieth century, and includes many of the items which were produced for enthusiasts and budding enthusiasts over the years. These include books, magazines, models, jigsaw puzzles and gramophone records, along with the expensive O-Gauge models offered by Bassett-Lowke tantalisingly displayed in their Holborn showroom. No doubt there will also be a fair selection of contemporary images of locos, trains and stations too.

TVY Branch - The History of the North London Line
2025-11-18 14:00 - 16:30 | TVY Didcot, Didcot Civic Hall, Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN, United Kingdom
The presentation explores the fluctuating history of the North London line and includes a photographic journey from Richmond to the former Terminus of Broad Street.

Railways Around Market Weighton
2025-11-18 19:30 - 22:00 | HSD Hull, The Highway, Willerby Road, Hull, HU5 5LH, United Kingdom

Lynton & Barnstaple Railway
2025-11-19 19:30 - 22:00 | SOE Eastleigh, Junction Church (formerly Eastleigh Railway Institute), 2 Romsey Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9FE, United Kingdom

NEA Branch - Jack Armstrong's Darlington
2025-11-20 19:00 - 21:30 | NEA Darlington, Darlington Cricket Club, South Terrace, Darlington, DL1 5JD, United Kingdom
presented by Dave Dunn
