The evening began with the Branch AGM, the business, as usual, being conducted quickly and efficiently.  All members of the committee were willing to stand again and were re-elected accordingly,…

Alex began by introducing himself and providing an outline of his background in railways from when he started in the 1980s.  He joined the railways at the same time as…

Andrew began by highlighting that this was a huge year for the railway and he hoped to give a flavour of the celebrations and the background.  He would cover Railway…

Jim started his career as an engine cleaner at Nine Elms in 1957, taking us through his progress, through the ranks of passed cleaner, passed fireman and, eventually, when he…

The presentation started with a statement from Karl that he is still passionate about railways even after 47 years as a railwayman and this enthusiasm was clearly evidenced throughout. Karl…

Many have heard of Colonel Stephens but not many know exactly how much work he did on railways.  Our speaker Chris began with an outline of what would be covered…

Stewart started by emphasising that these were his personal thoughts and no-one else’s.  Why 1923 to 1973?  The creation of the Big Four grouping in 1923 was a pivotal moment…

Steve very kindly stepped in when our advertised speaker from SWR had to pull out and a replacement from the company was not available at such short notice. A regular…

Julian introduced himself – he has 45 years experience on the railway most of it working in the freight sector except for 2 months of clerical work dealing with passengers. …

The evening began with the Branch AGM with business being conducted quickly and efficiently, all members of the committee willing to stand again and being re-elected accordingly.  The committee seeks…

Alan is a well qualified practicing civil engineer and we were delighted to welcome him for a full length presentation at the Branch having been impressed with a short impromptu…

Rebecca introduced herself with a brief outline of her career to date as she is very new to railways.  She started working with industrial heritage and was at the Science…

Jim was born in Chertsey in 1942 within the Surrey Branch area, and has always been very interested in railways, from trainspotting in his early days particularly covering Weybridge, Guildford…

Matthew began with a brief outline of what he would be covering ie the Plan, Background, Conventional Signalling, why ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System), and the GB roll out,…

Nicolas began with a brief personal introduction and how he had first become interested in funeral trains.  A solicitor by trade, he has worked for the GLC and in private…

Steve began with a short tour around heritage railways (HRs), defining what constitutes a heritage railway and where it all began around 400 years ago circa 1604 with waggon ways,…

The business of the Surrey Branch AGM was completed quickly and efficiently with the reports and accounts being accepted unanimously.  One member of the committee stepped down and another who…

The most famous steam locomotive in the World, and it’s her one hundredth birthday!  Whilst RCTS members need no introduction to LNER loco number 4472, she is the one steam…

Steve started by giving a brief outline of his role regarding  train planning and performance, operational readiness, industry partnerships and operations projects, before moving on to describe his team and…

Over the Alps from Alton!  You have to be well into your eighth decade to be able to remember taking that mysterious cross-country route west from Alton, over the Hampshire…

Chris briefly introduced himself and his railway credentials.  He began his railway career at age 16 and already has 21 years experience.  He is not a signalling engineer himself but…

Geoff Burch grew up beside the Portsmouth main line.  Like many of his school peers he started trainspotting, got hold of a cheap Ian Allan ABC spotters book and took…

The presentation began with a ‘journey planner’ mapping out what Colin would cover in his talk, from the introduction and origins, through expansion and electrification, and suburban development, right up…

Tim Shoveller is still quite a young man but, in his working life as a railwayman, he has not only got to the top but packed in an incredible amount…

Paul introduced himself and his involvement with the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) currently as Vice-Chair of the DHR Society.  He explained the reasons for having the hill stations during the…

It is winter, and the Gilbert and Sullivan season.  In ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ (a well-known Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera) a constable bewails the challenges of his professional life…

A potentially exciting new Title, but as Fraser Pithie explained in an electrifying lecture, the launch of Great British Railways, having recently been put on hold, may not now happen. …

Our first meeting of the 2022-2023 season began with a minute’s silence out of respect for her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The chairman welcomed all to the meeting and…

South Western Railway; An Update Speakers: Andrew Ardley and David Wilby Date: 19 May 2022 It’s a generally improving picture announced Andrew Ardley, who with his colleague David Wilby gave…

An evening with Gordon Pettitt Part 2 Speaker:         Gordon Pettitt Date:         21 April 2022 This was the second of a two part presentation originally scheduled for December 2020 but inevitably…

Introduction to the Office of Rail and Road(ORR) Speaker: Tom Wake Date: 24 March 2022 You may be a little unsure of what the office of Rail and Road actually…

The Art of Railway Timetabling (or How to Plan a Timetable) Speaker:         Stephen Newman, Operational Planning Project Manager – Eastern Region Date:                17 February 2022 This was a virtual only…

Introduction of Class 701 EMUs to South Western Railway Speaker:         Neil Drury, Engineering Director SWR Date:               20 January 2022 The good news – they (701s) are coming, and are in…

The Williams Rail Review by Dick Fearn 28th October 2021 This was an eagerly awaited presentation and Dick began by giving a brief outline of his background within railways from…

Speaker: Chris Loder – MP for West Dorset Chris is unusual as an MP on the Transport Select Committee as he has first-hand experience of working on the railways.  He…

Presenter: Dave Coxon Everyone was welcomed, before a minute’s silence for HRH Prince Philip whilst photographs of the late Prince were shown. Dave introduced himself with a brief outline of…

Presenter: Andrew McLean – Assistant Director and Chief Archivist, National Railway Museum RCTS Surrey Branch organised the evening as a joint meeting with the Southern Friends of the National Railway…

Presenter: Cliff Perry, Railwayman All were welcomed especially our speaker Cliff Perry, who would be talking about railway safety and providing an update since his previous visit to the branch…

Presenter: Paul Seller – Interim PMO Director, HS2 Paul was originally scheduled to talk to the branch in October 2019 but was taken ill at the very last minute so…

Presenter: Andy Davies The business of the Branch AGM went smoothly with the agenda, minutes of the previous AGM, reports and accounts all having been circulated in advance. They were…

Presenter: David Brown After being introduced, David went straight into his presentation. A number of railway companies were experimenting with electrification by the early 20th century and David explained how…

Presenter: Gordon Rushton The presentation started with a question – why restore a 1930s train for 21st century mainline use as this is ‘insanely difficult’? It was said that it…

Presenter: Mark Hopwood, Managing Director (MD), South Western Railway (SWR) We welcomed Mark as the speaker at our first virtual branch meeting. He explained that he was only supposed to…

Presenter: Chris Nettleton, honorary editor of the Gresley Magazine, membership secretary of The Gresley Society Chris briefly introduced himself before going straight into the presentation. Herbert Nigel Gresley was born…

Presenter: Adrian Shooter – CEO Vivarail Long-time career railwayman Adrian Shooter described how he had retired about 8 years ago but quickly became bored after only two weeks of retirement.…

Presenter: Anthony Coulls – Senior Curator, National Railway Museum Our original speaker from the National Railway Museum (NRM) was unable to attend so we welcomed Anthony Coulls, Senior Curator instead.…

Presenter: Gordon Pettitt The meeting held on 17 December 2019 comprised the Branch AGM and ‘An evening with Gordon Pettitt’ separated by an interval for socialising and enjoying some excellent…

Presenter: Andrew Haines – Chief Executive Officer, Network Rail Andrew Haines was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Board member of Network Rail (NR) in August 2018.Prior to this…

Presenter: Alan Nichols, Train Driver retired Alan kindly stepped in at short notice when Andrew Haines advised that he would have to leave early because of his work commitments. He…

Presenter: Paul Seller, Commercial Director, Infrastructure Directorate, HS2 Please note that this did not go ahead for reasons which will be apparent when reading the report Our booked speaker Paul…

Presenter: Mike Corbett, ex Project Manager, Flying Scotsman Mike’s recent involvement with Flying Scotsman (FS) began when First Class Partnerships (FCP) were contracted to manage the project in 2012 after…

Presenter: David Wilby, Regional Development Manager, South Western Railway A relative newcomer to railways, David’s background is in planning, including transport planning in his previous job at Wokingham Borough Council.…

Presenter: John Cartledge – former Head of Policy and Research at London TravelWatch Our booked speaker was unable to attend so John stepped in to tell us about his home…

Presenter: Steve Ollive Steve introduced himself and explained what the talk was about – a railway tour in Europe to celebrate three sixtieth birthdays and a silver wedding anniversary with…

Presenter: Chris Meredith Chris gave a brief outline of his early contact with the Merchant Navy class of steam locomotives as a child living in Broadstairs, before providing an outline…

Presenter: Murray Brown – Deltic Preservation Society Murray began with a brief resumé of his background in railways mentioning that his father used to work for ICI and knew Dr…