AGM/Members Presentations
2024-03-21 19:30 - 21:30 (Europe/London) | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom

Members and visitors slides (35mm, no digital please)
2024-03-22 19:30 - 22:00 | LNW Preston, Fulwood Lawn Tennis Club, Watling Street Road, Preston, PR2 8DY, United Kingdom

Kings Cross to York by Stephen Gay
2024-03-25 14:00 - 16:30 | NHN Northampton – Weston Favell, Weston Favell Parish Hall, Booth Lane South, Northampton, NN3 3EP, United Kingdom

Building Britain's Most Powerful Steam Locomotive
2024-03-25 19:30 - 22:00 | MHD Cox Green, Cox Green Community Centre, Highfield Lane, Cox Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3AX, United Kingdom
After the success of Tornado, the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is now working on a new build P2 class locomotive. Chris comes to tell us about the project and its progress

Tunnel Vision - The History of the Metropolitan Railway
2024-03-26 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation.
Presenter: Colin Brading.
The story of the Metropolitan, the world’s first underground railway. Less than four miles long when it opened – to great acclaim – in January 1863, this ‘little acorn’ grew as a proud independent company to spread many branches and ‘the Met’ has shaped and served London’s metropolis with great distinction and character ever since.
Doors open: 13:30

An A to Z guide to GCR locomotives - Bob Gellatly
2024-03-26 19:30 - 21:30 | EMD Nottingham, The New Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham, NG1 4EZ, United Kingdom

Eastleigh from Railway Junction to Railway Centre
2024-03-27 19:15 - 21:30 | CHR Bassil Shippam Centre, Tozer Way, St Pancras, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 7LG, United Kingdom
The history of the town from the opening of the Railway Station, Carriage Works and Locomotive Works. Following this there will be a look at the combining of the Carriage works and the Loco works in the 1960’s followed by privatisation and closure to the current operations as Arlington Fleet Services.

A 1968 Jet Search for Steam
2024-03-28 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
The introduction of “Pacesetter” fares for under-26-year-olds in 1968 made international air travel much more affordable, and Frank Stamford – our regular Australian attendee – took advantage of them to make a fifteen-week round the world trip in search of steam, visiting Indonesia, the British Isles, Western Europe (from Portugal to West Germany), and South Africa, at a time when such long distance international travel was something exceptional. His presentation will include some industrial railways as well as public railways. And there will be very few diesel locomotives!

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.

Archive and Library Open Day
2024-03-30 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-04-04 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-04-10 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-04-16 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

Branch AGM, followed by 'The Story of the Travelling Post Office' by Roland Gillott
2024-04-02 18:45 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
The Watford Branch AGM will commence at 18:45 (please note this is earlier than our usual start time) and we hope to conclude that by 19:00. This will be followed by Roland Gillott’s presentation on ‘The Story of the Travelling Post Office’. This includes the inception of the TPO service in 1838 and its continuation until the TPO service was brought to an end in 2004. The talk also includes references to TPOs preserved in the heritage sector and to Mail Rail, the preservation of part of the Post Office Railway as a visitor attraction.
Please note that this is a physical meeting at our usual venue at Beechen Grove Baptist Church.

London Midland Region - Review of the 1950s/1960s
2024-04-03 13:45 - 15:45 | MCN Liverpool, Haig House Social Club, Woolton Road, Garston, Liverpool, L19 5NQ, United Kingdom
Please note that this is a change of subject and speaker because the intended speaker, Paul Shackcloth, is unwell.

LMS Patriot project
2024-04-03 19:30 - 21:30
colin hall will give a sesssion on how this remarkeable project is progressing

Great Central Railway - Re-Unification
2024-04-04 19:30 - 22:00 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Tom Ingall from the Great Central Railway gives a talk on possibly the UK’s biggest heritage railway project, the re-unification of the two halves of the preserved section of the Great Central and the connection with Network Rail.

'East Coast Main Line part 2 - North From York' by Stephen Gay
2024-04-05 19:30 - 22:00 | BTL North Filton, St Teresa’s Church Hall, 71 Gloucester Road, North Filton, BS34 7PL, United Kingdom
Following the East Coast Main Line North from York to Edinburgh Waverly this 205 mile journey calls off at the principal stations en-route. The show uses Stephen’s recently taken slides complemented with a sprinkling of his own poetry.

Interrailing for the Older Crowd by Dave Hepper.
2024-04-08 19:15 - 21:45 | Greenfinch Hall,Greenfinch Avenue Ipswich IP2 0SQ

John Day "East Anglian Railways in Transition".
2024-04-09 14:00 - 16:00 | SFD Sheffield Farm Road Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield, S2 2TP, United Kingdom
From BR through Sectorisation to Privatisation – 1980s to date.

Deltics: 1965 to the present day - Richard Walsh
2024-04-09 19:30 - 21:30 | EMD Nottingham, The New Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham, NG1 4EZ, United Kingdom

"An Evening with Father's Slides" by David Cross
2024-04-09 19:30 - 22:00 | CBR Fulbourn, Cambridge, The Swifts, Haggis Gap, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5HD, United Kingdom
David presents his father’s (Derek Cross) magnificent photographs in a slide show of mainly steam but with some pictures of early diesels. The West Coast route from London to Carlisle will be followed, albeit with a bias to photographs in the Northern Fells. In addition there are some images from North London, North Wales and also of ex-GWR and LNER locomotives.

Roaming Around London With a Camera
2024-04-09 19:30 - 22:00 | CSL Croydon, East Croydon United Reformed Church, Addiscombe Grove, Croydon, CR0 5LP, United Kingdom
Geoff Brockett brings the results of his photographic roamings, to show us the great diversity of trains and liveries to be seen around the capital in recent years. As he lives in London and so does a lot of his photography there, it seemed a good idea to do a show based specifically on what can be seen in London. This evening’s show contains a brief selection of older shots, but otherwise will feature shots taken in the last 2 – 2½ years.

Cambridge Area Railways - Yesterday & Today (Part 1)
2024-04-09 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.
Presenter: David Scudamore
In this presentation (Part 1 of a series) David will look in detail at all aspects of the Cambridge railway scene including its history, infrastructure, artefacts, trains & locomotives from the steam age to the present day. He will then take us north along the line to Ely and, time permitting, may also look at the Cambridge to St Ives line.
Doors open 19:00

Newport : The South Wales Main Line Recalled
2024-04-10 19:00 - 22:00
Ray Viney
Ray is a very well known and respected authority on railways of South Wales and is the Editor of the Monmouthshire Railway Society Journal

End of Southern Steam - 50 years on
2024-04-11 19:00 - 21:00 | PBR Peterborough, St Luke’s Church, Mayor's Walk, Peterborough, PE3 6EZ, United Kingdom
A look back at the end of steam on the Southern Region.

Diesels Through Devon
2024-04-13 19:00 - 21:30 | WEN Exeter [Mint Methodist Church], Fore Street, Exeter, EX4 3AT, United Kingdom
Amyas Crump returns to the branch with a new talk entitled Diesels Through Devon. This will cover new ground for Amyas as rather than a delve into the past of Steam, it will cover vintage diesels in the county from his extensive collection. It will come with Amyas unique eye for the unusual

A Touch of Eastern Promise
2024-04-15 14:00 - 16:00 | WMD Coventry, Cheylesmore Community Centre, Arundel/Poitiers Road, Coventry, CV3 5JX, United Kingdom
At this meeting Derek Huntriss will present images describing a somewhat adventurous journey made through Java, Sumatra and Malaya with fellow photographer, John Hunt, in July/August 1977.

Inter-railing for the Older Crowd
2024-04-15 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Physical/Hybrid Meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall – This meeting will also be avaialble via Zoom

The title comes from a Facebook page of the same name, which was a helpful resource in planning Dave’s trips. From April to June 2023 Dave spent three months travelling to 25 European countries, using a senior Interrail pass. This was a series of short breaks, 10 in all, rather than one continuous trip. The images are (nearly) all from the modern European railway scene, with maps to help with everyone’s European geographical knowledge.

East Midlands Day Ranger
2024-04-16
Please note that this fixture has been put back one week from its original date of 9th April because of ongoing industrial action.

LMS Patriot Project
2024-04-16 19:00 - 21:30 | TVY Didcot, Didcot Civic Hall, Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN, United Kingdom
We are building a working steam locomotive as a National Memorial Engine, recreating a Remembrance link
established after the Great War and lost in the 1960s.
None of this type of express passenger locomotive – the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) ‘Patriot’
class – survived when steam traction ended in the 60s on British Railways. When complete, it will join a select
family of other LMS express passenger locomotives that still operate on our UK railway.
Inspired by the Great War Centenaries of recent years – Armistice Day and the repatriation of the Unknown
Warrior to Westminster Abbey – the locomotive will be named The Unknown Warrior. This recognizes its
special Remembrance role as a National Memorial Engine, in memory of servicemen and women lost in the
First World War and all subsequent wars. This special role was performed by the first of the original ‘Patriot’
class – named Patriot – in honour of railway employees who fell in the 1914-1918 War.
We believe that this commemorative role, together with the importance of the locomotive type itself in the
development of our railways, brings a special historical dimension to our work. Our Patron is Simon Weston
CBE the well-known Falklands War Veteran.
Our present forecast sees the locomotive completed by 2026, dependent on our donations trend. Thereafter
we intend that the locomotive will be visible as a working memorial on regular display and hauling heritage
trains on tours and at special events for many years to come.
Practically all of the work is new construction, using traditional engineering and manufacturing skills and based
on original drawings. All of the major manufacturing and assembly work is being done in the UK. Our main
assembly base is the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust (PRCLT) works at West Shed, Swanwick, Derbyshire,
