The Life and Times of Edward Thompson - Simon Martin
2025-09-09 14:00 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | EMD Nottingham, The New Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham, NG1 4EZ, United Kingdom
“I have much to do, gentlemen, and little time in which to do it”. These words are attributed to Edward Thompson and have been taken in the past as meaning little time in which to enact change, specifically to the work of his predecessor, Sir Nigel Gresley. How far was this true, was the question posed by Simon A.C. Martin when he started his research on the L.N.E.R.’s second C.M.E. over a decade and a half ago.

The Midland Main Line - Bedford to St Pancras
2025-09-09 14:00 - 16:30 | 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, from the Peter Bland Collection, by Bryan Cross.
A digital presentation of images mostly scanned directly from the negatives of Peter Bland & Harold Clements.
We will travel along the ex-Midland Main Line, Bedford to St Pancras & Moorgate. Looking at the early history, aided by maps & diagrams but mostly photographs covering the period mid 1950’s to 1961 and the end steam hauled suburban services.
Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.

Visit to Llandudno & the Great Orme Tramway
2025-09-09
Please note change of venue

Archive And Library Open Day - CANCELLED
2025-09-06 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom
Archive And Library Open Day – CANCELLED
Cancelled due to the interior works by Govia Thameslink Railway’s contractors still being incomplete.

Bristol Meeting - 'South Wales Railways in the 21st Century' by Stuart Warr.
2025-09-05 19:30 - 22:00 | BTL North Filton, St Teresa’s Church Hall, 71 Gloucester Road, North Filton, BS34 7PL, United Kingdom
Prolific and accomplished photographer Stuart Warr will be showing us a selection of his recent work.

Milton Keynes Branch Meeting - '40 Years of Deltic Preservation'
2025-09-04 19:30 - 21:30 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Murray Brown, former editor of ‘Rail Enthusiast’ and ‘Rail’ magazines and Chairman of the Deltic Preservation Society, gives a talk on the highs and lows of looking after these iconic locomotives.

CHR Test Meeting
2025-09-04 14:00 - 16:30 | https://rcts.org.uk/event/chr-test-meeting-2/
This is a test meeting for Chichester Branch members by invitation only

WFD Branch - 'Through Kirton Tunnel Part 1', A railway journey from Sheffield Victoria to Kirton Lindsey, by Stephen Gay, 2nd September 2025
2025-09-02 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
We welcome back the ever-popular Stephen Gay for another visit and more excellent photography, this time with a journey from Sheffield Victoria to Kirton Lindsey, doubtless with some poetic interludes!
Please note this is a physical meeting, doors open from 18:30 for 19:00 commencement of proceedings.
Please note also that there is no meeting in August as we take a summer break.

Cardiff Central Station and Valley Lines Observation
2025-09-02 11:00 - 17:00 | Cardiff Station, Central Square,, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 1EP, United Kingdom
For those interested we are intending to travel on a number of Branches in the afternoon using a ” Explore Cardiff and the Valleys Ticket”. Meet on platform 3 at 13:00 near the steps up from the subway.

Britain's Railways In The 1950s and 60s
2025-08-28 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
Black & White Photos from the Restoration & Archiving Trust Collection, presented by Mike Dodd.
Every region is covered, including GWR, LMS, LNER and Southern ranging across Scotland, England and Wales. The images to be shown this evening come from a few of the negatives held at the archive, from the collections of five photographers: Patrick Kingston, Neville Simms, Peter Skelton, Gordon England and Roger Wales.
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 - CANCELLED
2025-08-26 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-20 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom
Archive And Library Open Day – Cancelled
Unfortunately GTR have still not completed interior remedial works at the Stationmaster’s House. We are therefore unable to open the Archive & Library.

Outside Visit - TBA
2025-08-21 00:00, 2025-07-17 00:00

No Meeting - There is no meeting in August
2025-08-18 19:30 - 22:30 | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom

Archive And Library Open Day - CANCELLED
2025-08-14 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-09 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom
This Archive And Library Open Day is cancelled as we are still awiting completion of works by GTR’s Contractors.

Visit to the Great Central Railway
2025-08-14
Please note change of date.

Eastleigh Station Observation
2025-08-12 13:00 - 17:00 | Eastleigh Station, United Kingdom

Sheffield Branch : Observation at Chesterfield Station
2025-08-12 12:00 - 16:00 | Chesterfield Station, United Kingdom
You are welcome to join members of the Sheffield Branch at Platform 2/3 from 12:00.

The Annual August Outing
2025-08-10 | Mid Suffolk Light Railway, Wetheringsett, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5PW
BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW
The Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch outing for 2025 is on 10th August to the Mid Suffolk Light Railway, at Brockford Station, Wetheringsett, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5PW – AND – to the Big Bus Show at Stonham Barns, Pettaugh Road, Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, IP14 6AT
(These locationa are approx 6 miles apart.)
The visit is expected to start at Stonham Barns and we will be using the heritage bus service from Stonham to and from the MSLR.
Special prices have been obtained for this visit and places must be pre-booked with our Branch Secretary.

Milton Keynes Branch Lineside Observation - Bletchley Station
2025-08-07 18:30 - 21:00 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Join us for an evening of lineside observation at Bletchley station from 18:00hrs. Hopefully there will be plenty to see, from the recently introduced London Northwestern Railway Class 730/2 units, to the return run of a new intermodal freight flow from the newly opened Northampton Gateway.

That Was The Year That Was 1965
2025-07-31 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
Geoff Plumb returns with another presentation of his excellent photography, this time looking back at 1965. Steam was still in evidence on his local line, the Metropolitan and Great Central Joint, while he also made many visits to the South Western Mainline, the Isle of Wight, North Wales, and other steam strongholds round the country, including many shed and works visits. Steam specials also feature strongly, not only various Society (and other) railtours, but also Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral train. But in many areas, diesel traction was to the fore, and is included in Geoff’s show.
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.

UK Railways in the 21st Century
2025-07-29 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by John Day.
A presentation taken year on year for the first 25 years of the 21st Century looking at everyday service trains, passenger, freight, locomotive units, both diesel and electric multiple units that run regularly in public and freight timetabled service.
Livery and franchise changes will feature without delving into statistical analysis. Special liveries will feature where appropriate and space within each year allow. The images featured will be from personal travels around the UK, especially as the network moved from loco hauled passenger trains to set formations built around the InterCity 125 staple. It is hoped you will enjoy the variety presented and my apologies if I might have missed, or not photographed one of your favourites. So much has changed this century, with much more to come as the Department for Transport take the franchised railway back into public ownership.
John Day
Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.

Archive And Library Open Day - CANCELLED
2025-07-29 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-07-23 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-07-17 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom
Archive And Library Open Day CANCELLED due to awaiting completion of interior works in The Stationmaster’s House.

The Settle and Carlisle Line - The 1960's to the present day
2025-07-21 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.
This presentation explains and records the changing fortunes of the Settle and Carlisle line from the last days of steam in the 1960s, through the years of decline towards expected closure, its reprieve in 1989 and subsequent resurgence.
100 pictures illustrate the variety of steam and diesel workings to be seen over the decades. All of these are set against the backdrop of the structures and scenery of this most scenic of routes, as well as the ever changing and sometimes extreme weather.

Observation Day - Cardiff and the Valleys
2025-07-16 06:30 - 22:00 | 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 1F31 Cardiff to Portsmouth.
We shall use an Explore Cardiff and the Valleys day rover.

Banbury Station Observation
2025-07-15 14:00 - 19:00 | Banbury Station
