The Railway Correspondence & Travel Society

Journey from Kings Cross to York, with Stephen Gay
2023-05-04 19:30 - 22:00 (Europe/London) | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Stephen Gay makes a welcome return to take us on a journey on the East Coast Main Line from Kings Cross to York, with images from 40 years ago to the present day.

The Great Train Robbery
2023-05-05 19:30 - 22:00 | BTL North Filton, St Teresa’s Church Hall, 71 Gloucester Road, North Filton, BS34 7PL, United Kingdom
Ian’s talk on the robbery is the result of years of research and fact finding together with his personal goal being, how on earth do you stop a express train doing 95 miles per hour in the middle of nowhere and drive it yourself ?? Ian brings a 1960’s colour light signal with him to demonstrate how it was rigged to stop the train.

Visit to Newcastle
2023-05-09

Aspects of Southern Steam
2023-05-09 19:30 - 22:00 | CBR Fulbourn, Cambridge, The Swifts, Haggis Gap, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5HD, United Kingdom
For out last meeting of the 2022/23 season we are delighted to welcome Brian Benford for his talk on ‘Aspects of Southern Steam’.

Sir Nigel Gresley: The LNER's First C.M.E.
2023-05-09 19:30 - 22:00 | CSL Croydon, East Croydon United Reformed Church, Addiscombe Grove, Croydon, CR0 5LP, United Kingdom
Having previously given us a presentation on Edward Thompson, Gresley Society member Simon A. C. Martin returns to tell us about his predecessor, Sir Nigel Gresley, who he has been researching for a coming book. In the course of thirty years as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Northern Railway, and then after the grouping the London & North Eastern Railway, he was responsible for 25 new locomotive designs, and 11 more modified designs totaling nearly 3000 locomotives, including 114 Pacifics. In the course of his career he established a reputation as one of the greatest locomotive engineers, especially as his output included the world’s fastest steam locomotive, No. 4468 Mallard.

Archive and Library Open Day
2023-05-10 11:00 - 16:00, 2023-05-16 11:00 - 16:00, 2023-05-27 11:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-01 11:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-07 11:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-13 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

Railways Around Radyr
2023-05-10 19:00 - 22:00 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
A TfW Class 150 heads into Radyr past Radyr Weir in January 2023. The masts for the electrification of the Core Valley Network will finish Jeremy Segrott and Peter Fortune’s presentation, which will start with the opoening of the Taff Vale railway in 1840

Diesels in the Peak District - Phil Lockwood & Enid Vincent
2023-05-10 19:30 - 21:30 | SFD Sheffield Farm Road Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield, S2 2TP, United Kingdom
Peak District photos and stories from Phil and Enid from the period 1975-2019. Also includes rail connected cement works and quarries
Recommended Donations:- RCTS Members £3, Guests £4

The John Wells Collection - Part 1 - 1952/ 1958 - Chris Berridge / Bryan Acford
2023-05-15 14:00 - 16:00 | WMD Coventry, Cheylesmore Community Centre, Arundel/Poitiers Road, Coventry, CV3 5JX, United Kingdom
John Wells was born in 1935 and having been evacuated to Sandy, Bedfordshire, during the 2nd World War lived there for many years. After school he worked for a large insurance company so commuted daily to London, often carrying his camera. He held a lineside permit and photographed widely on the southern section of the ECML as well as on sections of the GE, Midland & LNW mainlines which were within easy travelling distance of his home. There are also visits to locations such as Tonbridge, Basingstoke & Sonning as well as pictures taken on family holidays. The show is totally B&W and covers the period from his earliest photos until the end of 1958. It’s a reminder of the huge variety of locos, including pre-grouping varieties, which could still be seen in a day at that time by spending a day at the Lineside. John also enjoyed good relations with many local railway staff which assisted his endeavours and gave him advance notice of rare workings.

Railtours and Specials-The last forty years by John Day.
2023-05-15 19:15 - 21:45 | IPS Ipswich, Greenfinch Church Hall, Greenfinch Avenue, Ipswich, IP2 0SQ, United Kingdom
Owing to our booked speaker being unavailable John will present the above from his extensive collection.

The Great Eastern Railway: ‘Rarely other than Idiosynchratic’
2023-05-15 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Following the openings, in successive years, of the significant London main line stations at London Bridge, Euston and then Paddington, there followed a minor station in Mile End as the terminus of a railway planned to link the capital to Norwich via Colchester and Ipswich. Another early railway was to use the same terminus, but connect London to York via Cambridge and Lincoln. This second line ground to a halt halfway to Cambridge, but was piggy-backed by the first, who used it to gain Norwich via Cambridge and Ely, so deserting the shorter route via Ipswich. A rival concern from Ipswich then rapidly completed the direct route. Not only did East Anglia then have two disjointed main line routes to Norwich, but also other independent connections and a plethora of idiosyncratic rural branch lines, all of which amalgamated to form the Great Eastern who soon after opened a prominent terminus in the City. The story is told, and many of the routes are travelled in this presentation, one of a trilogy railways in the ‘Eastern Region’. Ray is a retired Chartered Engineer who has undertaken some rail tour management for both LCGB & a worldwide rail travel company. Widely travelled, much of which has been independent, around the 5 continents of the world plus Aus and NZ. Visited parts that most others haven’t e.g., North Korea, Pakistan, Eritrea, Paraguay, Syria & Ukraine. His talks use both his own photo material plus items from a photo collection and research from his own comprehensive specialised library.

North Staffordshire Railways (Part 2)
2023-05-16 19:00 - 21:30 | TVY Didcot, Didcot Civic Hall, Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN, United Kingdom
Part II of the North Staffs talk covers the line from Derby to Uttoxeter and then onwards to Stoke. We then continue to Kidsgrove via the Harecastle diversions, and then run via Alsager to Crewe.

Back to where it all started (Southampton to Weybridge)
2023-05-17 19:30 - 22:00 | SOE Eastleigh, Junction Church (formerly Eastleigh Railway Institute), 2 Romsey Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9FE, United Kingdom

An Other Evening with Jim Sedgwick
2023-05-18 19:00 - 21:30 | NEA Darlington, Darlington Cricket Club, South Terrace, Darlington, DL1 5JD, United Kingdom
(Change of speaker)
Jim’s photos are superb and often of unusual locations taken in the 1950’s to early 1960’s.

Eurostar - Signalling High Speed Connections Across Europe
2023-05-18 19:15 - 21:30 | SRY Woking, Woking United Reform Church, White Rose Lane, Woking, GU22 7HA, United Kingdom
Eurostar – Signalling High Speed Connections Across Europe

"NYMR 1969 - 2022" - David Birtle
2023-05-18 19:30 - 21:30 | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom

Railways in the Cambridge Area Part 2 by David Scudamore
2023-05-22 19:30 - 22:00 | NHN Northampton – Weston Favell, Weston Favell Parish Hall, Booth Lane South, Northampton, NN3 3EP, United Kingdom
RCTS member David Scudamore continues with Part 2 of his look at railways in the Cambridge area
[Note – evening meeting]

The 1968 Hixon level crossing disaster
2023-05-22 19:30 - 22:00 | MHD Cox Green, Cox Green Community Centre, Highfield Lane, Cox Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3AX, United Kingdom
Prepare to be shocked tonight when you see the attitude to safety in the 1960s compared with today

Lynton & Barnstaple Railway
2023-05-24 19:15 - 21:30 | CHR Bassil Shippam Centre, Tozer Way, St Pancras, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 7LG, United Kingdom
“The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”. The first half of Mike’s talk covers the period from pre 1898 (when the line opened) to the closure in 1935. The second half covers from 1935 up to the present day plus plans for the future.

That Was The Year That Was – 1974, by Geoff Plumb
2023-05-25 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 covering 1974. While, following the end of steam in Britain, it includes just a smattering of the UK, he did travel abroad, to Europe, visiting West Germany where steam was still very much active, with a few years to go, and also going further, through the Iron Curtain to East Germany and Poland.

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'The Waverley Route'
2023-06-01 19:30 - 22:00 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Dennis Lovett is a former Manager with BR, Silverlink and Virgin Trains and latterly worked for Bachmann. His talk will cover the 98.25 miles of The Waverley Route from Edinburgh to Carlisle, covering all the major stations, infrastructure and depots on both the original line, plus the reopened Borders Railway, which currently terminates at Tweedbank.

Mangapps Railway Museum - The First Thirty Years
2023-06-06 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
John Jolly visits the Watford Branch, for the second time, to tell us more about the first thirty years of the Mangapps Railway. Further information about the museum can be found here:
http://www.mangapps.co.uk/index.html
The meeting will commence at 19:00 with the venue doors open from 18:30, there will be a mid-talk break for refreshments, and the meeting should finish by 21:30. All welcome!

Observation Day at Eastleigh
2023-06-08 | Eastleigh Station, United Kingdom

Visit to Glasgow
2023-06-13
Proposed itinerary….
Warrington B Q D 07.45
Glasgow Central A10.42
Glasgow Queen St D 11.18
Alloa A 12.03
Alloa D 13.45
Glasgow Q St A 14.30
Glasgow Central D 17.30 or 18.40
Warrington B Q A 20.24 or 21.21
Cost; 07.45 North £8.15 (with railcard)
17.30 South £10.00 or 18.40 South £8.15

Alternative proposal….
Warrington B Q D 07.45
Glasgow Central A10.42
Glasgow Queen St D 11.41
Stirling A 12.09
Stirling D 12.29
Alloa A 12.40
Alloa D 12.43
Stirling A 12.51
Stirling D 14.23
Glasgow Q St A 14.54
Glasgow Central D 17.30 or 18.40
Warrington B Q A 20.24 or 21.21
Cost; 07.45 North £8.15
17.30 South £10.00 or 18.40 South £8.15
Day return Queen St – Alloa ; £5.20, Queen St – Stirling £4.80.

A 10th Colour Rail Journey
2023-06-13 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 Paul Chancellor.
Paul tells us that this presentation covers all regions and motive power from 1955 to the present day using over 300 colour and black and white images exploring how different photographers approached the subject of recording the daily railway scene.
Whilst running Colour-Rail Paul also volunteers for the RCTS as a member of the Strategy Committee and the Publications Committee as well as being the minute taker for Trustee meetings and developing a Modern Traction database for the Society.
Doors open at 19:00.
