Another Western European Miscellany
2024-07-30 14:00 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by Rob Freeman.
I will be showing a variety of themes from various countries from my collection of modern traction photos that I have been taking for the last 40 years or so. There will be scenes from France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland. There are also sections on liveries, Eurosheds, unusual workings and number curiosities. Exact topics shown will depend on the time and the wishes of the audience!
The picture shows CC1451 at Richemont doing the sort of job it was designed for, hauling a heavy train of iron ore in 1990. The 102 locos of this class were very powerful, but had a maximum speed of only 60 kph, which was their downfall in later years.
Rob Freeman
Doors open 13:30

That Was The Year That Was - 1973
2024-07-25 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 taking us through 1973 (is that really over half a century ago?). We start the year with East to West cross-border German steam around Bebra in January, moving on to Austria for snowy scenes on the Erzbergbahn (Iron Mountain Railway) in the depths of winter, followed by a short visit to the Steyrtalbahn. The Whitby area is the next port of call in April/May, with the Royal opening of the NYMR. A few shots to mark the centenary of the ‘Marlow Donkey’ are followed by the main event – the World Steam tour to Java plus a bit of Singapore and Malaysia, in July and August. This tour covered most of the island, featuring Mallets of various sizes, steam tram engines, 0-4-0 and 2-4-0 tender engines and some sugar cane lines – a railway feast! We finish off with a few shots of mainline steam back in Blighty, a further short visit to the NYMR and ‘Flying Scotsman’ on the Paignton to Kingswear line.

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 & Library Open Day
2024-07-25 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-20 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-07-09 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

Observation Day - Cardiff & the Valleys
2024-07-24 | Cardiff Station, Central Square,, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 1EP, United Kingdom
Observation of railway activity at Cardiff & the Valleys
We shall be catching 1F06 Portsmouth to Cardiff and return on 1D91 Cardiff to Portsmouth.
We shall use an Explore Cardiff and the Valleys day rover.

"Steam Day Rails in the South Pennines" - Presenter Steve Armitage
2024-07-18 19:30 - 21:30 | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom

Observation Afternoon and Evening - Banbury Station
2024-07-16 14:00 - 19:00 | Banbury Station

Colchester in the Age of Steam
2024-07-15 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall also available via Zoom as a Hybrid
Colchester is a major railway junction in Essex with much to interest the railway enthusiast. This talk will cover the period up to September 1962 when steam operation ceased through the town. The railway infrastructure in the town included three stations, all with goods facilities, a major locomotive depot, a quay tramway and even a laundry. The area enjoyed a few years of concurrent steam, diesel and electric operation, during which a major station reconstruction was completed.
David Goodyear has lived in Essex for most of his life and inherited his love of railways from his father, who was a Senior Marine Engineer based at Parkeston Quay. Although living in Dovercourt David attended secondary school in Colchester and has maintained an interest in the railways of both the Harwich and Colchester areas. His career as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer started at Paxman in Colchester working on the HST Valenta engine, but rapidly moved on to automotive engines at Perkins Peterborough, and then returning to Essex to work at Ford’s Dunton engineering centre for 25 years before taking early retirement. He now lives near Saffron Walden with his wife, two horses and a sixteenth century house, which leaves a little time for continuing to pursue his interest in railways

Visit to the Northampton & Lamport Railway
2024-07-14 10:00 - 16:00 | Northampton & Lamport Railway, Pitsford & Brampton Station, Pitsford Road, Chapel Brampton, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN6 8BA, United Kingdom
MILTON KEYNES BRANCH 2024 VISIT
Sunday 14th July 2024
Northampton & Lamport Railway
Itinerary
· Travel by own transport to Pitsford & Brampton Station – meet on the platform 10:00
· Travel by train to new station at Boughton – visit to signal box ex Betley Road
· Return to Pitsford & Brampton station by train.
· Brake van ride for one round trip of the line (limited availability).
· Cab rides also on offer (limited availability).

Price: Bargain £5 per person
_______________________________________________

Please book your place with the committee by Wednesday 10th July
email: miltonkeynes@rcts.org.uk

BRANCH SOCIAL MEETING
2024-07-10 19:00 - 22:00 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
THE ANNUAL BRANCH SOCIAL WITH MEMBERS’ PICTURES AND SLIDES AND THE TRADITIONAL QUIZ, WITH REFRESHMENTS AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHAT WITH, AND MEET YOUR FELLOW ENTHUSIASTS

The Deltics - Worthy Successors to the A4s ?
2024-07-09 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 by Michael Smyth.
The Deltics and the A4s have a common background in that both were the result of developments of Germany diesel engine technology in the 1930s. This talk explains how this came about and then continues with the story of Deltics in mainline service to their withdrawal at the end of 1981. It concludes with a summary of their subsequent use in preservation up to the present day. It is illustrated with photographs from the 1960s onwards, all taken by the speaker and unpublished. Ideally it will stir memories of these exceptional machines and provoke comment and discussion.
Doors open at 19:00

Visit to Central Scotland
2024-07-09

Railways at a Junction
2024-07-04 19:30 - 22:00 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Fraser Pithie gives a reflection on British Railways, privatisation and a look at where today’s railway is and which route it is likely to take over the next decade.

Observation Day
2024-07-04 11:00 - 16:00 | Nuneaton Station, Nuneaton Station
Observation of railway activiety at Nuneaton Station.

Archive and Library Open Day
2024-07-03 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-06-27 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-06-22 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

'1960s East Midlands Stills and Ciné', by Michael Clemens
2024-07-02 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
Michael Clemens visits the Watford Branch to give us a presentation on the East Midlands in the 1960s with a mix of ciné film and stills – more details to be added if they become available.
Please note this is a physical meeting to be held at our usual venue at Beechen Grove Baptist Church, doors open from 18:30.

Günter Oczko and friends - Steam Worldwide between 1970 and 2024
2024-06-27 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
Günter is promising a further selection of excellent Steam photography from around the world, featuring both his own work, and of his friends Bernhard Haseneder and Dirk Hoellerhage. Countries featured include Germany (both West and East), Czechoslovakia, Turkey, India, South Africa and China, over the last half century (and a bit). An event to bring back memories for those who witnessed it themselves, and regrets for those who didn’t.
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.

Volks Railway Brighton - Outdoor Visit
2024-06-26 10:30 - 13:00
Members visit to the Volks Railway, Brighton to include escorted tour of shed and workshops.
You must book this event in advance as numbers are limited.
Further details and bookings at chichester@rcts.org.uk

The History of the 125 High Speed Train 1975-2023
2024-06-25 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by Richard Morris.
The Inter City 125 High Speed Trains were introduced to the Great British public in 1975 after the Advanced Passenger Train project stalled a bit. The HSTs were intended to be a stop-gap, but ended up forming the core Inter City fleet for Britain’s Railways for more than 40 years, serving the Western Region, Eastern Region and Midland Main line, along with Cross Country services. The programme will take a look back from the early days and bring us up to 2023.
The image is of Great Western’s 43094 – at Casnewydd (otherwise known as Newport, South Wales) on 23rd October 2006. The power car was recently outshopped in the, then, latest FGW livery and had also just been fitted with an MTU 16V4000 power unit.
Doors open 13:30.

Looking Back: An Enthusiast’s Journey Through The Last 60 Years
2024-06-20 19:30 - 22:00
Our annual joint meeting with the Marlow Railway Society, to be held at Bourne End Community Centre.
In this presentation Tim will take us on an autobiographical journey in pictures through 60 years of enthusiasm.
Primarily a ‘loco’ man but with very widespread interests, there will also be photos of other forms of transport, not just trains.
Please visit the Marlow Railway Society’s website, mdrs.org.uk for more details.

"A Colour Rail Journey" - Presenter Paul Chancellor
2024-06-20 19:30 - 21:30 | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom
Please note this a change of presenter to that previously advertised.

Observation Evening - Reading Station
2024-06-20 17:00 - 20:00 | Reading Station

THE UNKINDEST CUTS OF ALL
2024-06-19 19:00 - 21:30 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
BRANCH COMMITTEE MEMBER NIGEL WASSELL WILL DELIVER THE THIRD ROWLAND PITYTARD MEMORIAL LECTURE BY LOOKING AT THE LINES AND STATIONS WHICH WERE CLOSED IN JUNE 1964

Observation Evening
2024-06-19 16:30 - 20:30 | Eastleigh Station, United Kingdom
Observation of railway activity at Eastleigh Station

Who uses the railway?
2024-06-17 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall also available via Zoom as a Hybrid
Phil’s presentation will begin by describing the Rail Freight Group, it’s role and membership, and remind everyone that we all use the railway in our daily lives by virtue of the homes we live in, the energy we consume and the products we buy as consumers.
It will expand to cover the features of an ideal railway network for freight and considers some of the challenges that lie ahead. What will ‘rail reform’ look like from a freight perspective? What investments are needed to meet the growth target? What does the rail freight industry need to do to contribute to a decarbonised supply chain and what can be done in the field of innovation to improve efficiency and safety?
Phil joined the Rail Freight Group in April 2021, having spent 16 years with Essex County Council’s education service and prior to that in the fertilizer industry.
His passion for transport policy developed through his 39 years as an elected member with Ipswich Borough Council where he drew up the proposal for the Ipswich Freight Chord for the local plan and helped to initiate the East West Rail Consortium of local councils in the 1990s.
Since joining RFG as the Assistant Policy manager in April 2021, Phil has been working with Sub National Transport Bodies in helping them develop their transport strategies and priorities for investment as well as preparing policy responses on behalf of RGF members. He has written articles on Rail Freight for magazines including Modern Railways and the Scotsman. He also works with sub-national transport bodies as well as with Network Rail’s route investment teams.
He is a member of the Railfuture campaign group.

Eastleigh Arlington Works Visit
2024-06-15 09:45 - 12:30 | Arlington Works, Campbell Road, Eastleigh, SO50 5AD, United Kingdom
A visit has been booked for Arlington Works for between 15 and 30 people. Details below, to book and arrange payment, up to 29/05/2024 or until the visit is full, contact
John Godfrey
tel: 07850 220009
email: solent@rcts.org.uk
9 Duddon Close West End Southampton SO18 3QA
The cost is £15 per person. All money goes to the Arlington nominated charity which changes each year. There is a minimum charge of £225 per group.

Tours start at the new entrance gate on Campbell Road promptly at 10:00 with a Safety Briefing from our Lead Guide. Visitors should arrive at least 15 minutes before. Minimum age is 12 and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult who agrees to take full responsibility for the young person. Our yard has 750V electrified 3rd rail which will be on during the tour. Traffic on site can be busy with many vans and HGVs present. Tours typically last between one and two hours and can involve walking 3 to 4 miles in total.
All visitors should wear stout footwear and a hi viz jacket. The site will be working during the tour and all instructions from our guides must be followed without question. Anyone without a hi viz jacket will be restricted to just the roadways and walking routes. We are unable to supply hi viz jackets.
Anyone with a health condition (Diabetes, heart problems, breathing problems etc.) should notify our guides on the day so they can be aware in case of any problems during the tour.
We aim to show visitors as much of the site as possible but we cannot guarantee access to any particular area or item of rolling stock during the tour. Some of our tenants do not allow visitors to enter their areas so the guide will show the best viewing points to see as much as possible in those areas.
Photography is allowed for the most part and the Safety Briefing at the start will identify any rolling stock or areas where photography is not allowed. All photographs and video taken during the event must be for your own use ONLY and cannot be published in any media, printed or online.
There is no car parking available on site, except for Disabled badge holders. There are plenty of car parks in Eastleigh town centre. Just follow the signs. The nearest ones to the Works are opposite the station and just further down the main road at the Swan Centre. There is also a small pay and display car park just south of the Campbell Road junction, between the main road and the railway line.

A Decade of Change - 2011 Onwards
2024-06-11 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 Peter Robins.
Following my move to digital photography in 2011, this country-wide presentation takes a look over the following decade, including some steam charters, showing that our railways were still undergoing many changes. The subject matter of many of these “modern” 21st century images is now consigned to history.
The photo shows 1A79, 06:47 Penzance – Paddington with HST power car 43162 leading a full rake of FGW blue liveried trailers passing Langstone Rock, Dawlish on 14/05/2019, four days before the end of full HST working on GWR.
The presentation goes up to 2020 and looking at 2021-2024, there has been just as much change so there may be a part 2.
Doors open 19:00
