The Railway Correspondence & Travel Society

China steam in the enthusiast era - Robin Gibbons
2025-02-25 14:00 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | EMD Nottingham, The New Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham, NG1 4EZ, United Kingdom
In a change to the advertised programme Robin will present his talk
It is an augmented slide show with plenty of images but with a lot of information. It covers mainly the enthusiast era (roughly 1976 – 2012) but with a little bit of more historic information to put things in context.

Remembering my Lines
2025-02-25 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Colin Brading.
‘Remembering My Lines’ is a personal ‘photographic potpourri’ of many and varied railway themes. On a wide-ranging journey, Colin will share favourite scenes, places and images that span from his early years with notebooks on platforms to the present-day, reflecting a life-long passion for railways and a fifty-year career as a professional railway engineer.
Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.

Railways Remembered in North East England
2025-02-26 19:15 - 22:15 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
Recently published by Crécy is Railways Remembered: North East England. This full colour volume covers the area from the Scottish Border to the Tees, and inland to the North Pennines. All facets of railway operations are covered: steam, diesel and electric; town and country; freight and passenger; BR and industry. One of the co-authors, Charles Roberts, tells how the project came to fruition, illustrating his talk with a series of images and maps, many of which didn’t quite make the cut for the finished product.

Railways before (and during) the War – that’s the Great War! (Part 3)
2025-02-27 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
A further presentation of Black and White images, drawn from the Ken Nunn collection and scanned from glass plates, illustrating railways in Britain before the Great War. Tonight’s is the final part, featuring Welsh railways, ventures to Belgium and France, and then a wider look at British railways in 1914 and 1915, when it was still ‘business as usual, before concluding with few shots of the ROD in France in 1918. The Ken Nunn collection was acquired by the LCGB after Ken’s death, and although it has now been transferred to the NRM, ‘showing rights’ to the scanned images were retained, and Jeremy Harrison is making this presentation wearing his LCGB hat.
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.

Members digital images (jpeg files no slides)
2025-02-28 19:30 - 22:00 | Fulwood Lawn Tennis club Highgate Ave Preston PR2 8DY, Highgate Ave, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 8DY

Archive And Library Open Day
2025-03-01 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-06 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-12 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-18 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

WFD Branch - 'War and Peace', by Simon Colbeck, 4th March 2025
2025-03-04 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
SIMON COLBECK – WAR AND PEACE
The railways of Bosnia and Sweden. Preserved and real steam in both countries, with plenty of archive images to add to the interest. Further details may be available nearer the date.
Please note this is a physical meeting, doors open from 18:30 for 19:00 commencement of proceedings.

Kents Bank a hidden gem
2025-03-05 19:30 - 21:30
paul salvesen who many of you will know will outline the fantastic changes he and his team have made since he purchased Kent Bank old railway station building

Milton Keynes Branch Meeting - ‘Members Presentations’
2025-03-06 19:30 - 21:30 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Join us for our first face to face meeting of the year. Unfortunately our booked speaker from East West Rail is now unable to attend, so we will be enjoying and evening of members presentations.

Bristol - 'LOCOMOTION & The Stockton & Darlington Railway 200' by SLS President Dr Michael Bailey
2025-03-07 19:30 - 22:00 | BTL North Filton, St Teresa’s Church Hall, 71 Gloucester Road, North Filton, BS34 7PL, United Kingdom
SLS President Dr Michael Bailey will be presenting the results of recent research into the historic locomotive LOCOMOTION and the history of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

RCTS WEN Branch Meeting : Chris Holland - A Railway Life
2025-03-08 19:00 - 21:30 | WEN Exeter [Mint Methodist Church], Fore Street, Exeter, EX4 3AT, United Kingdom
For our March meeting we welcome Chris Holland a career railwayman who many will know for his work with Class 50s / Preservation and the Class 57 project for FGW. An accomplished photographer Chris will be entertaining us with a talk about his railway career

The Vintage Trains Story by Mike Corbett, Northampton Branch Meeting
2025-03-10 14:00 - 16:30 | NHN Northampton – Weston Favell, Weston Favell Parish Hall, Booth Lane South, Northampton, NN3 3EP, United Kingdom

CHR Private Test Event
2025-03-10 14:30 - 16:30
This is a private event not open to the public

Not so much a hobby-but a way of life by Jim Connor.
2025-03-10 19:15 - 21:45 | Greenfinch Hall,Greenfinch Avenue Ipswich IP2 0SQ
An affectionate look at Railway Enthusiasm over the years from the early twentieth Century.This presentation replaces that of Society President Brian Arman who is unable to visit us because of sickness.

1960's Cine Miscellany
2025-03-11 14:00 - 16:30 | St Marks Church Hall, Hitchin SG5 1UR, St Mark's Close, Lancaster Avenue, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 1UR
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by David Percival.
Details to follow.
Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.

Rhys Jones. Steam in Scotland
2025-03-11 19:00 - 21:00 | SFD Sheffield Farm Road Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield, S2 2TP, United Kingdom
Rhys presents photos from the mid-1950s to the present day depicting steam traction in action across Scotland.

That was the year that was - 1962 - Geoff Plumb
2025-03-11 19:00 - 21:30 | EMD Nottingham, The New Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham, NG1 4EZ, United Kingdom
A look at the UK railway scene in 1962

"A wee look around Scotland" by Robin Mathams
2025-03-11 19:30 - 22:00 | CBR Fulbourn, Cambridge, The Swifts, Haggis Gap, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5HD, United Kingdom

Swanning Around in the 1990s
2025-03-11 19:30 - 22:00 | CSL Croydon, East Croydon United Reformed Church, Addiscombe Grove, Croydon, CR0 5LP, United Kingdom
A look back at London’s Railways some thirty years ago, as the Network South East era gave way to Privatisation. A chance to see how things were, and how much has changed (or not) since. Just what I was able to get out, swan around and photograph…

A Tale of Two Continents
2025-03-12 19:00 - 22:00 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
Dave Waldron will make a welcome return to the Branch with a photographic selection of images, particularly from the USA

A Tale of Two Continents David Waldron
2025-03-12 19:00 - 22:00 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
Dave Waldron will return to the Branch to present a post-COVID five day test-trip to The Netherlands featuring steam trains and trams followed by two adventures in the NW USA which included ‘trains, planes and automobiles ‘- plus a few boats.

"Railways in the 1960s and 1970s" by Hamish Stevenson (assisted by Davie Hall)
2025-03-13 14:00 - 16:30 | SCT Edinburgh, Scots Guards Club, 2 Clifton Terrace,, Edinburgh, EH12 5DR, United Kingdom
Local member Hamish Stevenson (assisted by his friend Davie Hall) will present images collected from the archives of the late Ian R. Gordon and David Hume.

The legacy of Eric Oldham
2025-03-13 19:00 - 21:30 | PBR Peterborough, St Luke’s Church, Mayor's Walk, Peterborough, PE3 6EZ, United Kingdom
A presentation on the legacy of Eric Oldham, a photographer and painter active from the 1940s to the 1980s..

CHR Test Meeting
2025-03-14 21:00 - 22:00
Private Test Meeting

On-Line Transport Association (OTA) Images by Charles Roberts
2025-03-17 13:30 - 15:45 | MCN Bromborough, The Bromborough Suite. The Merebrook, Greenfields Avenue, Bromborough, Wirral, Merseyside, CH62 6DD, United Kingdom
Please note change of time from evening to afternoon

Railways in and around WW2 - The SCRS Moseley Collection - Robin Mathams
2025-03-17 14:00 - 16:00 | Cheylesmore Community Centre, Poitiers Road, Coventry 5JX, Poitiers Road, Cheylesmore,, Coventry, CV3 5JX

25 Years of Derek Cross Diesels 1959 to 1984
2025-03-17 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.
David Cross will present some more of his father’s slides which this time will feature diesels photographed in England between the years 1959 and 1984.
Derek was a prolific photographer in the sixties and seventies but unlike many of his peers, he continued to take railway pictures after 1968 despite the demise of steam. The early 1960’s saw large numbers of very short life diesels and photos of many of these long forgotten classes are included in David’s presentation showing them at work and not just in a rusting line awaiting the cutter’s torch! Diesel locos really got into their groove in the late 1960s and were to be found on all freight workings and away from the electrified lines, pretty much all long distance passenger services. Whilst many of the small BR modernisation prototype fleets were withdrawn by the 1970s, a great number of classes survived into the 1980s amd 1990s with some classes, all be it with new engines, still to be found on the network today.
