Furness, Lakes & Lune [FLL]
The Furness Lakes and Lune Branch draws it members from all parts of Cumbria, North Lancashire and even the Isle of Man. Its home is the renowned railway town of Carnforth and meetings take place on the 1st Wednesday of each month between October and May at the Royal Station Hotel which is conveniently located close to Carnforth Railway Station. Attendances over recent years have varied between 25 and 40 but diminished somewhat after the necessary suspension for Covid. However, having resumed in January 2022, they do appear to be on the rise once again.
The meetings enjoy an active and interesting programme to inform and entertain our members about the past, present and future railway scene, locally, nationally and beyond, ranging from North-West based photographers featuring Local and Regional Lines, Heritage Rail lines, New and Restoration Locomotive builders, Continental railways, historic subjects and other regional transport systems. Indeed, the largest attendance in recent years was for a presentation by the Blackpool Tram Company.
The Branch has traditionally organised a summer outing, most recently to the Stainmore railway at Kirkby Stephen with visits to the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway and the Threlkeld Quarry and Mining railway near Keswick.
For historic reasons, the Branch is run by a small voluntary Committee, and unconventionally, does not have a chairman, preferring to share tasks between members.
Visitors are always welcome to meetings, particularly if they are holidaying in the nearby Lake District.
What's on
Venues
Click the venue name to see more
Contacts
tel: 01524 34840
email:Â furnesslakesandlune@rcts.org.uk
49 Sefton Drive, Lancaster, LA1 2QD
Chairman
Minutes Secretary and R.O. (and local media) reporter
Treasurer
Assistant Treasurer and Committee Member
Will Gibson
Newsletter Editor
Publicity Officer
Outdoor Events Organiser
Meeting reports
35mm Gricing, Home & Abroad 1964 – 1972 by Mike Robinson
Wednesday 1st May 2024 At the final meeting of the current season, Mike Robinson, Managing Editor of the Railway Observer entertained the audience with a presentation titled “35mm Gricing, Home…
Read MoreLMS Patriot Project
A keen audience gathered to witness Janet Elson give us a presentation on the LMS Patriot Project of which she is a trustee and director. Its principal aim is to…
Read MoreAn accidental but joyous career on the railways
Our February 2024 meeting brought Eddie Pollock to our branch with a small but select audience to talk about his long illustrious career on the railways. From Carlisle, he was…
Read MoreIsle of man and irish peat bog railways
At the 1st meeting of 2024 on 3rd January the small audience enjoyed 2 video presentations by Colin Kennington. A visit to the Isle of Man began with the boat…
Read MoreMembers presentations dec 2023
Wednesday 6th December 2023 Following the AGM a Members evening was held featuring a picture Quiz kindly compiled by Will Gibson for the Stephen Machell Trophy. The subjects were mainly…
Read MoreVideo miscellany Germany and the Baltic
As our scheduled speaker could not travel due to the rail strike  Colin Kellington kindly provided us with our program for the evening. Our first session covered railways in 1988…
Read MoreKirkby stephen trip
Stainmore railway trip Following Mike Thompson’s outstanding presentation on this railway in May 2023, we were offered the opportunity to make a trip to visit them to see their latest…
Read MoreThe Stainmore Railway
On 3rd May Mike Thompson gave a presentation on the Stainmore Line and the work of the Stainmore Railway Company at Kirkby Stephen. The line was built in the 1850’s…
Read Morethe Railways of Warwickshire
Wednesday 5th April 2023Â Â Â Â Â Our speaker tonight Anthony Hicks travelled over the border from Leeds to give us a presentation on Warwickshire’s railways. Anthony focussed on his home town Leamington…
Read MoreRound Britain preserved lines
Due to the late cancellation of our booked speaker for this event our Committee Member, Will Gibson, stood in having put together a set of videos illustrating a number of…
Read MoreRound Britain film night
Wednesday 8th Feb 2023Â Â Â Â Â Â Â As our original speaker was unable to travel due to the rail strike our own member Will Gibson offered us a different approach, a series of…
Read More24 Hours(A day on the railway)
Wednesday 4th Jan 2023Â Â Â Â Â Â Â It was rewarding to see a larger audience than at our recent meetings to hear one of our members David Bousfield talking about a day on…
Read MoreThe last days of steam in China
For our 2nd session in the new season David Hugill gave us a presentation on the last days of steam in China. David started by giving us a background into…
Read MoreOct 12th Meeting Notes The Clan Project
For our 1st session in the new season Ian Henderson gave a presentation about Hengist Clan no 72010 to a surprisingly small but select audience. Ian outlined his background as…
Read MoreCarnforth to Wennington
Roy Davies visited the Branch to talk about his book, published in Autumn 2021 by Middleton Press, covering the history of the railway network between in the…
Read MoreRails,Railwaymen and literature
RCTS FURNESS, LAKES & LUNE BRANCH Railways, Railwaymen and Literature by Prof. Paul Salveson Wednesday 6th April 2022 At the April meeting of the Branch Professor Paul Salveson entertained the…
Read MoreFurness lakes and lune presentation
RCTS FURNESS, LAKES & LUNE BRANCH Bahamas, the Story of a Locomotive by Peter Skellon Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Peter Skellon of the Bahamas Society presented an illustrated talk on…
Read MoreFurness lakes and lune meeting
On the 5th January 2022 the branch welcomed one of our own members Mike Ellis to give a presentation on “Hest Bank and beyond”. Mike started his talk by outlining…
Read MoreLife on the west coast railway in the 1960s
On the 5th January 2022 the branch welcomed Len Clark to give a presentation on “Life on the West coast railway in the 1960s”. Len gave us a brief outline…
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AGM minutes
MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2021 Held at the Royal Station Hotel, Carnforth Wednesday 1st December 2021 Welcome Alan Sattenstall welcomed members to the meeting Apologies for…
Read MoreColour rail
Furness lakes and lune presentation On the 1st December the branch had its first live meeting since 6th March 2020 so it was a real pleasure to welcome Paul Chancellor…
Read MoreFriday 3rd May 2019 · ‘Sounds like Trains’
Presenter: David Bousfield Our speaker had set himself a tough task as he was attempting to illustrate railway sounds with matching images. David introduced his session by outlining the different…
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