Ipswich [IPS]
Welcome to the RCTS Ipswich Branch founded in 1981. The branch meets every month between
September and May on a Monday afternoon or evening depending on the time of year.
Entrance to meetings is free for members(discretionary donation appreciated)and an invited
donation of £3.50 for non members. Free light refreshements are available during the interval and
a raffle is held. The branch sales stand will also be present. There is limited parking at our meeting
venue but alternative parking is available on adjacent streets.
The branch sales stand also attends local exhibitions and toyfairs.
Everyone will be made very welcome at all our meetings.
What's on
Venues
Click the venue name to see more
Contacts
email: ipswich.branch@rcts.org.uk
Chairman
Dave Beecroft 48 Cloverlands, COLCHESTER, Essex CO4 0QE
Meeting reports
A life in Railways by Colin Fisher.
Colin Fisher spoke about his interesting career in “A Life on the Railway” having joined the British Railways as young man in 1978. He started at Harwich Parkstone Quay, which…
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Heinikin Days Part One by Andy Grimmet
Our guest at the October meeting was retired train driver Andy Grimmett to present Heinekin Days Part One. Andy had recently retired from Ilford Depot and presented a railway miscellany…
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Lost Railways of Suffolk
On 11 September our guest was Nathan Dodd who presented Lost Railways of Suffolk. From the Sudbury to Haverhill Stour Valley route in the south to the Waveney Valley Tivetshall…
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Railtours and Specials-The last forty years
On 13 May our booked speaker was unable to attend so John Day stepped in to present Rail tours and Specials-the past forty years part one. The first special showed…
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East Anglian Railways-The last Twenty Years.
On April 3rd our guest was local photographer Ian Scotchman to present East Anglian Railways-20 years of change. Starting in 2004 after the change over between Anglia Railways and ONE,…
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Swindon Works.The Hawksworth Years 1941 until closure.
On 13 March Society President,Canon Reverend Brian Arman presented Swindon Works-The Hawksworth Years until closure. Frederick Hawksworth succeeded Charles Collett as CME at Swindon Works in 1941 until 1949 and…
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A View from the Route
On 13 February our guests were Sarah-Jane Crawford and Charles Baker from Network Rail to present A View from the Route. The Anglia area was described in detail together with…
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AGM and Making Tracks in Mid Norfolk
The branch held its AGM on December 12th and after the usual formalities the committee were re elected unanimously to serve another year although our chairman gave notice that he…
Read MoreThe Epping and Ongar Railway
On 14 November our guest was Rodger Green to describe The Epping and Ongar Railway. The story of the line includes the relationship of nineteenth century railway civil engineers,George Bidder,…
Read MoreThe Borders Railway
On 10 October Dave Pearce presented Over the Border or Ramble around The Cheviots. He described the history and route of the former North British line from Hexham on the…
Read MoreA Railway Quiz
On 9 May we welcomed branch member Glen Richards to present his Railway Quiz. This was a series of ninety six questions in eight categories based on his nationwide travels…
Read MoreThe HST 125 Story
Our guest speaker on 11 April was John Zabernick to present The HST125 Story. The history of the project was outlined from original concept in 1969,the design and construction of…
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Tebay from E Bay
At our February meeting we welcomed Dave Pearce to present more Tebay from Ebay images. This was a selection of the above purchased from the online auction site and featured…
Read MoreAGM followed by Member`s Choices
On December 15th the Branch held its AGM which was combined with the previous AGM which had been postponed owing to the pandemic. The Branch committee were re elected en…
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A DMU Miscellany
10 November 2021 On November 10th our guest was Robert Warburton to present a DMU Miscellany. The original units were introduced by the Great Western in the thirties but under…
Read MorePreserved Railways.Past,Present and Future
11 October 2021 Our guest on October 11th was Peter Smyth to present Preserved Railways, Past, Present and Future. The origins of the Railway Preservation Movement were described including pioneers…
Read MoreNorthern Rails Past and Present
Our branch meetings recommenced on 13th September with Steve Batty presenting Northern Rails Past and Present. Starting our journey at Selby we saw a wide variety of workings across Yorkshire…
Read MoreSwindon Works-The Collett Era Part 2
9 March 2020 On 9 March we welcomed Society President Brain Arman to present Swindon Works The Collett Era Part 2. Having been appointed CME in 1922 to succeed Churchward,…
Read MoreThe Alan Valentine Collection
10 February 2020 On February 10th our guest was Brian Dyes from the Ipswich Transport Museum to present The Alan Valentine Collection. Alan was a native of Ipswich and a…
Read MoreModern Traction in the 1960`s
5 February 2020 On February 5th our guest was David Percival to present Modern Traction in the 1960s. This was a selection of images taken nationwide featuring a wide variety…
Read More13th January 2020 · ‘The Harwich Branch’
Presenter: Dave Goodyear On January 13th our guest was Dave Goodyear to present The Harwich Branch. The eleven mile route from Manningtree to Harwich, now promoted as ‘The Mayflower Line’…
Read More9th December 2019 · ‘Branch AGM & Members’ Presentations’
On 9 December the branch held its AGM and the treasurer reported a healthy set of accounts and recommended that membership donations at meetings be reduced. This was accepted and…
Read More4th December 2019 · ‘East Midlands Memories Collection’
Presenter: Geoff King Our speaker on 4 December was Geoff King to present East Midlands Memories Collection. The history and development of the routes in the Leicester Area was described…
Read More11th November 2019 · ’50 Years of Scottish Railways – Part 3′
Presenter: David MacLean Our guest on November 11th David MacLean, a retired senior signalling engineer, presented 50 years of Scottish Railways Part 3. The History of the Highland main line…
Read More6th November 2019 · ‘Lt. Col. Holman F. Stevens – The Man and His Empire’
Presenter: Hugh Smith On 6th November our guest was Hugh Smith to present Lt. Col Holman F. Stephens-The Man and his Empire. He was born in 1868 and trained as…
Read More14th October 2019 · ‘T’ebay – Part 2’
Presenter: Dave Pearce On 14th October we welcome back Dave Pearce from Norwich for the second instalment of his T’eBay presentations. All the images were sourced from the web-based eBay…
Read More9th September 2019 · ‘That Was the Week, That Was – 1963’
Presenter: Geoff Plumb On 9 September our guest was Geoff Plumb to present ‘That Was the Year That Was-1963′. After seeing childhood family images, it was clear how his enthusiasm…
Read More8th April 2019 · ‘West Country in 1960s and1970s’
Presenter: John Cashen On April 8th , John Cashen presented his talk “West Country in 1960s and 1970s” comprising steam and diesel in black and white and colour. His talk…
Read More4th April 2019 · ‘A Tribute to the Late Hugh Ballentyne’
Presenter: John Chalcraft The images were mainly black and white from 1952 to the mid-sixties and showed the rail network countrywide, including some of the secondary and rural routes such…
Read More11th March 2019 · Swindon Works -The Golden Years- Plus [From 1914]
Rev Canon Brian Arman (Bristol) On March 11th Society President Brian Arman paid a return visit to present Swindon Works-The Golden Years plus(1914 onwards) . We started with The Trip,…
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