Milton Keynes [MKY]
Welcome to the Milton Keynes branch pages on the RCTS website. Here you will find details of our meetings held each month from March 2024 at the The Quadrant: MK (Network Rail offices) in Milton Keynes, conveniently sited for the railway station and bus stops and with plenty of free parking. In January and February we host our meetings online on Zoom.
We aim to offer a varied and interesting selection of subjects and speakers throughout the year covering the local railway scene and beyond. We organise outdoor visits during the summer months which have included visits to heritage railways, signal boxes and driver simulators.
Contact details for our Branch Chairman and Secretary are shown below if you have any queries about our branch or meetings.
We are a friendly branch and welcome everyone to our meetings, whether you are an existing RCTS member, interested in joining or just want to see a particular presentation.
What's on
Venue
Our meeting room is located in The Quadrant: MK, the Network Rail building which is located just a short walk from Milton Keynes Central railway station and bus interchange. There is also free parking nearby. The venue provides modern and comfortable facilities and is fully accessible. Please click on the venue name for more info and directions.
Contacts
Secretary / Fixtures Secretary
Tel: 07399 923720
email: miltonkeynes@rcts.org.uk
7, Parkside, Furzton, Milton Keynes. MK4 1BX
Meeting reports
Railway at a Junction
We welcomed Fraser Pithie to our Milton Keynes Branch meeting on 4th July, an auspicious date for also being the date of the UK General Election. For the members that…
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Vintage Trains Story
On the 2nd May the Milton Keynes Branch held a first ever joint meeting with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (I. Mech. E.) at Network Rail’s HQ, the Quadrant, to…
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Britain’s Railways Through the Lens
Our meeting in March was delighted to welcome back, well-known and respected photographer Jack Boskett, whose railway images have graced many of the leading railway magazines as well as national…
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East West Rail and Nobby Newport
We had a double header at our February Zoom meeting with the first half taking us along East West Rail as the section between Bletchley and Oxford near completion, whilst…
Read MoreTravels in 2023
Our first meeting of 2024, on Zoom, was presented by local member John Tigg with his reflections on travels by rail during 2023. This took us across the country, from…
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The Railway Over The Stainmore Pass
We were joined by Chris Rowley, Network Rail’s Capacity Planning Director at our November meeting who took us on an engaging journey on the railway across the north Pennines from…
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Cathedrals of Steam
We welcomed well known transport journalist and commentator, Christian Wolmar, to speak at our October meeting on his 2020 book, Cathedrals of Steam. We were taken on an informed and…
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Midland Main Line Electrification
For the first part of our September meeting we were joined by Gavin Crook (Network Rail Principal Programme Sponsor) and Duncan Cale (Infrastructure Interface Lead East Midlands Railway) to talk…
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92 Squadron – From Rust to Renaissance
On the 6th July Steve Lacey and Kevin Wilkins of the “92 Squadron” Preservation Society gave the Milton Keynes Branch an excellent presentation on the history and work done to…
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The Waverley Route
We were pleased to welcome Dennis Lovett to our June meeting with an illustrated presentation about the Waverley Route, focusing particularly on its latter years and subsequent revival of the…
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London King’s Cross to York
Stephen Gay made a welcome return to the Milton Keynes Branch on 4th May, his sixth presentation to our local members, and again an insightful and colourful evening’s entertainment ensued.…
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Nothing stays the same
We were delighted to welcome 35 members and non-members to our meeting on 6th April to hear from Mike Corbett on his fascinating, varied railway career. We were treated to…
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The LMS Patriot Project
The first indoor meeting of 2023 was held at our new venue of the Network Rail offices at The Quadrant in Milton Keynes. We were pleased to welcome both familiar…
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A Pictorial Journey along the East West Rail Route
A healthy attendance of 65 on Zoom enjoyed a fascinating evening travelling along the route of the East West rail link from Bletchley to Bicester in the company of Milton…
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Northampton Gateway
We started the New Year with a Zoom presentation on the new strategic railfreight terminal being developed at Northampton Gateway adjacent junction 15 of the M1 and the Northampton Loop…
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Freightliner
It was a pleasure to welcome Peter Graham, Head of Policy & Regulatory Affairs for Freightliner, to our meeting on 6th October. Peter’s presentation was split into three themes, starting…
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125 Group – The Inter-City 125 in Preservation
We were delighted to welcome two members of the 125 Group, Alex Wood and John Tattersall, who gave us a thorough presentation on the group, its activities and successes since…
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Three Decades of Change on the Footplate
Lee Davies, a driver for CrossCountry, delivered an entertaining presentation on his 30-year career in the railway to our meeting in July. The journey started with Lee recounting his formative…
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East West Rail Update
We welcomed Stephen Barker (on his fourth visit to the Milton Keynes Branch) and Stuart Edwards (his first) from the East West Rail Company to update us on progress with…
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Roaming the Southern Rails from Portsmouth
Presenter: Mark Richards On the 3rd February the Milton Keynes Branch were educated and enlightened about the history and operation of the rail network around Portsmouth by local member Mark…
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The Metro-Vick Co-Bo Story and East West Rail
Our opening meeting of the new year featured two excellent presentations much enjoyed by an audience of 56 RCTS members from far and wide. Steve Dexter, our chairman, started the…
Read MoreVivarail: designing and building low-emission trains for the UK
Presenter: David Horton Our first indoor meeting for over 18 months saw a healthy attendance of around 20 members enjoy an insightful talk about Vivarail from its Chief Mechanical Engineer,…
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2nd September 2021 · The Great Central Railway – Rapid Travel in Luxury
Presenter: Ray Schofield We were pleased to welcome Ray Schofield to our first meeting after the summer break, attended by an audience of 44 members and non-members over Zoom. Ray…
Read More1st July 2021 · Wolverton Works and its Royal history – behind closed doors
Presenter: Phil Marsh Phil Marsh, railway consultant, journalist and author delighted an audience of 61 with an inside look at Wolverton Works, its Royal visitors, and trains from 1842 to…
Read More3rd June 2021 · Stratford upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway
Presenter: Barry Taylor Barry Taylor adapted and made pictorial additions to his presentation “The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJR)” to deliver a most enjoyable talk via Zoom on 3rd…
Read More6th May 2021 · High Speed Testing in the UK since 1970
Presenter: Dave Coxon We had another healthy attendance of 61 members and non-members at our May meeting to hear from Dave Coxon the fascinating story of high-speed testing on the…
Read More1st April 2021 · Prince of Wales, New Steam for the 21st Century
Presenter: John Rawlinson John Rawlinson from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust entertained an audience of 59 at our April meeting, with the story of the project to build a ‘new’…
Read More4th March 2021 ·
Presenter: Jack Boskett Our March meeting welcomed well-known railway photographer Jack Boskett, who delivered an evening of diverse, interesting, and breath-taking images of the railway and other more esoteric subjects.…
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7th January 2021 ·
Presenters: Steve Dexter, Clive Pepper Our opening meeting of 2021 was attended by an online audience of 36 to receive two excellent presentations. These were delivered by the Branch Chairman,…
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