Archive and Library Open Day
2024-05-30 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-05-25 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-05-14 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-05-08 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-05-02 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-04-27 11:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

Railtours and Specials (Part 2)
2024-05-28 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation.
Presenter: John Day.
Following on from the May 2023 presentation “Railtours, Specials and Unusual Workings” this second presentation, on the same theme, looks at archive material that didn’t make the cut last time plus additional new material. A lot seems to have happened in the last year with some interesting Railtours and unusual workings! Hopefully something to enthuse everyone!
doors open 13:30

With Lance King in Ulster - The Great Northern Railway Lines: 1957-1965
2024-05-22 19:15 - 21:30 | CHR Bassil Shippam Centre, Tozer Way, St Pancras, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 7LG, United Kingdom
Leslie McAllister pays a tribute to his late friend Lance King, with a selection of Lance’s colour photography taken in the North of Ireland in the last years of steam traction. Leslie witnessed much of what is included, as a schoolboy!
The 1960s saw a halving of the Province’s railway mileage, but not before Lance faithfully recorded train working on the former Great Northern Railway lines. Both the main line from Dublin, the much-lamented route to Derry (which closed in 1965) and several branches will be covered. Steam hauled both passenger and goods trains and saw extensive use at holiday periods – all faithfully recorded. Even a glimpse of the Sligo Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway and the County Donegal narrow gauge lines.
Lance did not ignore modern traction, which appears from time to time during the presentation. A heady mixture of nostalgia at a time of change!

The North Staffordshire Railway Part 3.
2024-05-21 19:00 - 21:30 | TVY Didcot, Didcot Civic Hall, Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN, United Kingdom
Brian Sullivan returns to give us Part III of his North Staffs Railway talk, using historic digitised photos taken by “Tommy” Tomalin. This talk covers the lines that ran to Stone and then onwards to Stoke, with a look at the Trentham Gardens branch. We then turn left at Stoke and run to Market Drayton to meet the GWR. Following this, we then return to Leek Brook Junction and follow the line via Milton Junction into Stoke. Finally, we return to Milton Junction and follow the line to Congleton via the Biddulph Valley.
The attached image shows Black Bull station on the Biddulph Valley line. Tommy had managed to get a brake van ride on a Congleton – Stoke freight on 18th February 1967, and this is the view of the remains of the station looking north.

The Great Central Railway
2024-05-20 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall

Czech Railways Today
2024-05-20 19:30 - 22:00 | MHD Cox Green, Cox Green Community Centre, Highfield Lane, Cox Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3AX, United Kingdom
Robert has travelled extensively in Central Europe and will present the current scene in the Czech Republic

Pure Genius - Irish Railways Part 1 - Derry - Chris Youett
2024-05-20 14:00 - 16:00
Part 1 of this journey – ‘Pure Genius’ – Is a trip around the land of Scholars and Saints taking us initially through Derry.

"60 Years on the Calder Valley"
2024-05-16 19:30 - 21:30 | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom
Please note this is a change of Presenter and presentation.

Reminisces and Thoughts of a Retired Railwayman
2024-05-16 19:15 - 21:30 | SRY Woking, Woking United Reform Church, White Rose Lane, Woking, GU22 7HA, United Kingdom
Reminisces and thoughts of a retired Railwayman
(Change of speaker. Unfortunatly, Chris Loder has had to cancel his attendance at our meeting).

Southern England in the early 90’s
2024-05-15 19:30 - 22:00
Local member Mark Greening give an illustrated presentation of what was happening some 30 years ago!

Memories of a Gorleston Spotter - Part 2
2024-05-14 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: Chris Wright
In part two of his talk, Chris will describe spotting in Hitchin 1962 to 1965, and the many trips he took from Hitchin, in the company of local spotter pals, in pursuit of steam elsewhere. He will also talk about his final forays chasing steam across the Midlands and further north 1965 to 1967.
Doors open 19:00

Croydon & SL Branch AGM and Members' Images
2024-05-14 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 (both digital and conventional slide projectors will be available). Your chance to speak up and show off!
As our long serving Chairman Chris Meredith and Secretary Peter Wilson have both decided to step down, it is essential that people come forward to join the committee and help run the branch, otherwise it will be unable to continue…

"Midsomer Norton - Rising from the Ashes" by John Baxter
2024-05-14 19:30 - 22:00 | CBR Fulbourn, Cambridge, The Swifts, Haggis Gap, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5HD, United Kingdom
John Baxter is the Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust’s Secretary. He gives a ‘warts and all’ story of the trials and tribulations of starting a steam railway from scratch and how attempts to derail the project were dealt with to produce a small part of the former Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway for all to enjoy.

Andy Barclay: More slides from the Alan Lovecy collection.
2024-05-14 19:30 - 21:30 | SFD Sheffield Farm Road Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield, S2 2TP, United Kingdom

Visit to South Wales
2024-05-14

Railways in the Cambridge Area - Part 3, by David Scudamore
2024-05-13 19:30 - 21:30 | NHN Northampton – Weston Favell, Weston Favell Parish Hall, Booth Lane South, Northampton, NN3 3EP, United Kingdom

The Deltics-worthy successors to the A4s by Michael Smyth
2024-05-13 19:15 - 21:45 | IPS Ipswich, Greenfinch Church Hall, Greenfinch Avenue, Ipswich, IP2 0SQ, United Kingdom
s

South Wales Railways in the 21st Century
2024-05-08 19:00 - 22:00
Stuart Warr

Stuart is a well known photographer with many images published in the Railway Observer and in his won publication, My Journey.

'Those Were the Years Those Were' Part 1, by Michael Reade (with apologies to Geoff Plumb!)
2024-05-07 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
Michael was able, during extensive business travel by rail and road in the U.K., to capture the rail scene in colour from 1960 to the end of mainline steam in 1968. Opportunities arose during lunchtimes and summer evenings in various industrial locations, and together with a London Midland Southern Area lineside permit used in various exotic locations such as Bushey, he photographed many freight workings as well as the dying embers of steam hauled passenger trips. He eschewed the madding crowds in the North West as he preferred to be the last shutter clicker standing.
Please note this is a physical meeting to be held at our usual venue at Beechen Grove Baptist Church, doors open from 18:45.

Railway Holidays in the West Country - Devon & Somerset by Stuart Warr
2024-05-03 19:30 - 22:00 | BTL North Filton, St Teresa’s Church Hall, 71 Gloucester Road, North Filton, BS34 7PL, United Kingdom
Stuart Warr returns to continue his reminiscences of Railway Holidays in the West Country, this time visiting Devon & Somerset.

The Vintage Trains Story - the rise to a Train Operating Company
2024-05-02 19:30 - 22:00 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Joint meeting with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Mike Corbett gives a talk on the history and development of Birmingham based ‘Vintage Trains’ to Train Operating Company status, together with the Tyseley collection of steam and diesel locomotives, including the application of modern technology to heritage stock to enable main line operation.

35mm gricing home and abroad
2024-05-01 19:30 - 21:30 | FLL Carnforth, Royal Station Hotel, Market Street, Carnforth, LA5 9BT, United Kingdom
Railway Observer editor Mike robinson will show some of his excellent pictures

That Was The Year That Was - 1971
2024-04-30 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation.
Presenter: Geoff Plumb
Geoff returns with another of his popular TWTYTW series.
‘That Was the Year That Was – 1971’. A very busy year covering railways in the UK, including British Railways, industrials, some North Wales narrow gauge, last of steam on London Transport, Humber paddle steamers, and the Bulmer’s Cider Train return to steam. Interspersed with several trips to West Germany and also East Germany.
Doors open: 13:30

Swindon Works and Railway Sites Walkaround Tour
2024-04-30 14:00 - 16:00 | Swindon
We plan to have a walkaround tour of the various remaining railway sites in Swindon. The tour will last approximately two hours and will be led by a former Swindon works employee and lifelong Swindon resident Martin Telling. During the walkaround tour we plan to visit the various workshops that still remain in the former works complex (many now converted for other uses), as well as a number of other GWR buildings in the vicinity of the railway works site.
Our Guide Martin Telling started his railway career in September 1973 aged 16 as an Apprentice in the BREL Swindon Works Training School in Dean Street, Swindon. Martin is proud to say that he is a fifth generation Swindon Railwayman. He served his time inside ‘the wall’ that encompassed Swindon Works, completing his Apprenticeship in refurbishment of Locomotives and Rolling Stock in May 1977. Following this he then worked as a Technical Officer in the Works Drawing Office, working on projects including the re-organisation of the Works, Kent Coast Stock refurbishment, Gloucester Y25 Bogies, Plasser & Theurer Cranes, Gun Boats for Nigeria and a Traversing Turntable for Hong Kong Railways. In 1983 Martin was promoted to the British Rail Western Region CM&EE’s department (still located within the Railway Works) where he worked on a number projects throughout the Western Region, and following privatisation throughout the UK railway industry. Martin retired from the railway industry after over 45 years service in April 2019.
Limited spaces available. Email tv-fixtures@rcts.org.uk to book your place. A £5 per person
donation (in aid of a local charity) will be taken on the day

The Narrow Gauge Railways of France
2024-04-25 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
Tony Bowles brings us another selection from The Restoration & Archiving Trust, this time comprising a mixture of colour and black & white photographs covering the narrow gauge lines in France that were still existed from the mid 1950s onwards, starting in Corsica & finishing on the Reseau Breton.
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.
