The Railway Correspondence & Travel Society

On Great Eastern Metals From 1991 to Date
2024-09-16 19:30 - 22:30 (Europe/London) | ESX Shenfield, Shenfield Parish Hall, 60 Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8LB, United Kingdom
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall
Our member, Geoff Brocket, is a prolific photographer, who always seems to be able to get the photos that no one else can. This outing covers photos on the Great Eastern Railway from 1991 to the present day. Like many of us, Geoff prefers locos to multiple units so expect to see the whole range of motive power used on this line over the last 25 years or so.
As these images are on 35mm slides, it is not possible to offer this talk via Zoom.

The Ivatt LMS 10000 Recreation Project
2024-09-17 19:00 - 21:30 | TVY Didcot, Didcot Civic Hall, Britwell Road, Didcot, OX11 7JN, United Kingdom
The Ivatt Diesel Re-creation Society plan to recreate, and operate 10000.
In the first half of this presentation we look at the original twins LMS 10000 and 10001 (the first British mainline diesel electric locomotives), and their place in history. 10000 and 10001 were designed by H.G. Ivatt and built by the LMS at their Derby Loco Works in 1947 / 48. These locos proved many parts and concepts that are still in use on the railway network today. However before the preservation movement had started to take notice of historically important diesel locomotives, 10000 was scrapped in 1968.
In the second half of this presentation we look at the current project which is planning to recreate 10000. In recent years this has progressed to the construction of a locomotive chassis in 2022.

HSD branch - My medium format in the 90s
2024-09-17 19:30 - 22:00 | HSD Hull, The Highway, Willerby Road, Hull, HU5 5LH, United Kingdom
Eddie Parker- “My medium format in the 90s”

Changing Trains in the 1980's
2024-09-18 19:30 - 22:00 | SOE Eastleigh, Junction Church (formerly Eastleigh Railway Institute), 2 Romsey Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9FE, United Kingdom

Archive & Library Open Day
2024-09-19 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-09-25 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-10-01 11:00 - 16:00, 2024-10-12 11:00 - 16:00 | RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead, KT22 7SQ, United Kingdom

CHM Branch - An 11th Colour-Rail journey - 1964 - an interesting year
2024-09-19 19:00 - 22:00 | CHM Cheltenham, Victory Club, Burlington House, Lypiatt Road, Cheltenham, GL50 2SY, United Kingdom
For the first meeting of our 2024/25 season we welcome Paul Chancellor back to present the 11th iteration of his ‘A Colour-Rail Journey. This will focus on 1964 – an interesting year. The gloom hanging over the country’s railway system following publication of the report The Reshaping of Britain’s Railways had yet to completely descend, so there was much for enthusiasts to still enjoy and photograph. We see the fruits of their labours collected and remastered by the Colour-Rail team.

SRY Branch - Railwayman - Man and Boy
2024-09-19 19:15 - 21:30 | SRY Woking, Woking United Reform Church, White Rose Lane, Woking, GU22 7HA, United Kingdom
Railwayman – Man and Boy
By Jim Lester who was a Passed Driver on steam who fired on Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral train and drove the last steam trains from Waterloo.

How We Built The Watercress Line
2024-09-23 19:30 - 22:00 | MHD Cox Green, Cox Green Community Centre, Highfield Lane, Cox Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3AX, United Kingdom
The early preservation years and the Alton extension 1973 – 85

Through Kirton Tunnel - Sheffield to Cleethorpes
2024-09-24 14:00 - 16:30 | HTC Welwyn, Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 0DH, United Kingdom
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Stephen Gay.
Our annual presentation from Stephen. Expect to hear the story behind each of the photos. Also expect to hear his poetry.
Doors open 13:30

'On and off the footplate' by Bill Davies
2024-09-25 14:00 - 16:30 | NHN Roade, Roade Village Hall, Bailey Brooks Lane, Roade, Northampton, NN7 2LS, United Kingdom

Watercress Line Film Unit
2024-09-25 19:15 - 21:30 | CHR Bassil Shippam Centre, Tozer Way, St Pancras, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 7LG, United Kingdom
From ‘History’ to ‘How it works’, the Watercress Films Unit only formally came into existence a few years ago. Since creation Will and his team have boosted the railway’s publicity on youtube with followers regularly tuning in to find out more about the Watercress Line. In this talk Will takes us through the creation of the film unit, some notable projects and dives into the behind the scenes magic that goes into making an episode.

"A West Riding Roundabout"
2024-09-26 19:30 - 21:30 | WRD Shipley, Saltaire Methodist Church, Saltaire Road, Shipley, BD18 3HJ, United Kingdom

Steam in Romania and Elsewhere
2024-09-26 19:30 - 22:00 | Virtual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom
A two part presentation, by two of our German stalwarts.
In the first half, Helmut Dahlhaus will show photos by his late brother Hans Dieter Dahlhaus of steam on Căile Ferate Române (Romanian Railways) between 1968 and 1980, to be followed from some his own images of steam in Czechoslovakia.
For a more powerful express loco in the 1930s, CFR chose the impressive Austrian 214 (later 12) class 2-8-4 design, seen here as 142 044 works a photograhic charter near Negreni in September 1998. Photo credit: Günter Oczko
For the second half, Günter Oczko will show images from charters he ran in Romania between 1995 and 1999, together with some of steam in China to round off the evening.
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 Weekend 2024
2024-09-27 - 2024-09-29 | The Royal Maritime Hotel, 75-80 Queen Street, Portsmouth, PO1 3HS, United Kingdom
Members Weekend 2024 based in Portsmouth.
Including the RCTS Officers Conference on Sunday 29th September. Full details are to be found at https://rcts.org.uk/members-weekend-2024-news/
The Harbour & Spinnaker Tower

WFD Branch - 'Memories are Made of These!', by Phil Darlaston, 1st October 2024
2024-10-01 19:00 - 21:30 | WFD Watford, Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JJ, United Kingdom
‘Memories are made of these!’ – a kind of photographic reminiscence looking back over approx. 50 years at the big railway, main line steam, the maturing preservation scene and perhaps a little infrastructure and overseas thrown into the mix. Commence 19:00.
Please note this is a physical meeting to be held at our usual venue at Beechen Grove Baptist Church, doors open from 18:30.

Scenes from the 1960s
2024-10-02 13:30 - 15:45 | MCN Liverpool, Haig House Social Club, Woolton Road, Garston, Liverpool, L19 5NQ, United Kingdom

Trains and Travel in Thailand
2024-10-02 19:30 - 21:30
our very own member David Bousfield has extensively travelled in this country and will give his usual excellent presentation,not to be missed

Work of the RAIB
2024-10-03 19:30 - 22:00 | MKY Milton Keynes, Network Rail - The Quadrant: MK, Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK9 1EN, United Kingdom
Simon Lomax, Principal Inspector of Rail Accidents at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, joins us to explain the work of the RAIB.

'The View from the North' illustrated by Steve Batty.
2024-10-04 19:30 - 22:00 | BTL North Filton, St Teresa’s Church Hall, 71 Gloucester Road, North Filton, BS34 7PL, United Kingdom
Steve Batty from Selby North Yorkshire is visiting us to present ‘The View from the North’.

Visit to Doncaster
2024-10-08

Railways in the Cornish Landscape – part 2. by Stephen Gay
2024-10-08 19:00 - 21:15 | SFD Sheffield Farm Road Sports & Social Club, Farm Road, Sheffield, S2 2TP, United Kingdom
Stephen makes a welcome return to the Sheffield branch, continuing his trip west on the Cornish Main Line, this time from Par to Penzance while also taking in the Cornish branch lines.

"34081 92 Squadron – from Rust to Renaissance" by Steve Lacey on behalf of the Battle of Britain Locomotive Society
2024-10-08 19:30 - 22:00 | CBR Fulbourn, Cambridge, The Swifts, Haggis Gap, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5HD, United Kingdom
Based on his own involvement with the locomotive, Steve Lacey describes her rescue and restoration from Barry and the complexities of keeping 34081 in working order on the Nene Valley Railway.

Mandarin Madness - Solo Travels in China
2024-10-08 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 David Longman.
What do you do if you want to photograph steam in China but don’t speak the language, can’t afford a guide or an interpreter and dislike big groups? In a moment of ‘Mandarin Madness’ you decide to go it alone of course! Dave Longman recalls the pitfalls and the pleasures of solo travel in a country in the throws of radical change.
Doors open 19:00.

Stuart Underdown’s Southern Memories - Part 2
2024-10-08 19:30 - 22:00 | CSL Croydon, East Croydon United Reformed Church, Addiscombe Grove, Croydon, CR0 5LP, United Kingdom
The late Stuart Underdown was a Society member and an accomplished photographer, who put together a number of presentations, including this one, of his ‘Southern Memories’, of his own photographs covering the period from the early 1960s through the 1970s, together with some much older images that he had collected, and ranging from Kent to the ‘withered arm’ lines in Devon and Cornwall. We much enjoyed Part 1 last December, with much discussion of what we saw, and remembered: so much so that we only saw a small part of what Stuart has assembled. So tonight we shall continue from where we left off…

From West to East and Back Again
2024-10-09 19:00 - 21:30 | SWL Radyr, Cardiff, Old Church Rooms / Hen Ysgoldy'r Eglwys, Park Road, Radyr, Cardiff, CF15 8DF, United Kingdom
On 9th October 2024, Steve Rickett will take us on a journey from Pembrokeshire to Essex, avoiding London, using secondary routes where possible and going down branch line rabbit holes and visiting lesser-known freight lines. After a relocation to Lincolnshire, we will journey westwards to North Wales, across the Pennines and with detours via some great cities in the north of England. The traction on offer will be varied – diesels will dominate, with some electric traction and a sprinkling of steam.
The image is of 60100 passing Haverfordwest with empty bogie tanks forming 6B41 Westerleigh Puma DBC to Robeston Sidings on 18th April 2017.

Scottish Branch: "To Scotland for Steam (Part 2)" by Rev'd Canon Brian Arman, RCTS President
2024-10-10 14:30 - 16:30 | SCT Edinburgh, Scots Guards Club, 2 Clifton Terrace,, Edinburgh, EH12 5DR, United Kingdom
This will be the first meeting to be held by the Scottish Branch at its splendid new venue which is directly opposite Haymarket station.
Brian returns to continue his illustrated story of touring Scotland in the days of steam. This time he will be involving the WCML, plus the ex-Caledonian and GSWR lines around Glasgow and will be including many historical images from his private collection.
A local train departs Glasgow Central in the 1950s.

Farnham & District MRC Exhibition
2024-10-12 10:00 - 17:00 | Alderwood Leisure Centre, Tongham Road, Aldershot, GU12 4AS, Alderwood Leisure Centre, Tongham Road, Aldershot,, GU12 4AS, United Kingdom
Surrey Branch will be attending the Farnham & District MRC Exhibition at Aldershot. We will have Society publications and second hand books for sale.
