West of England [WEN]
Welcome to the pages of the West of England Branch of the RCTS, which is a geographically extensive branch, covering the area from Taunton to Penzance, we are based in Exeter, and hold meetings on the Second Saturday of the month, from October to April. Past members of the branch have been Terry Nicholls, Peter Gray who regularly entertained us with excellent presentations and we have many other members who have continued this tradition. If you have any questions feel free to contact the Chair, David Mitchell or Secretary, Charles Woodland
2023-24 Programme of events
| October | 12th October 2024 | David Hunt | Railways in the 1980’s |
| November | 16th November 2024 | Bob Bradley | A Ray Shinn retrospective |
| December | 14th December 2024 | To be Confirmed | |
| January | 11th January 2025 | AGM followed by Alan Hopkins | South African and Zimbabwe Steam in the 1980s |
| February | ***1st February 2025***** Please note change of date | Barry Jones | Devolved Diesels |
| March | 8th March 2025 | Chris Holland | A Railway Life |
| April | 12th April 2025 | Bernard Mills | Title to be confirmed |
What's on
Venues
Click the venue name to see more
Contacts
tel: 07768 662331
email: westofengland@rcts.org.uk
1 Iolanthe Drive Whipton Exeter EX4 9DZ
Chairman
tel: 01392 431264
email: woechair@rcts.org.uk
12 Colleton Mews, St Leonards, Exeter, EX2 4AH
Treasurer
Web Co-ordinator
Meeting reports
John Medley : A Medley Medley 4 09/03/24
In recent years John Medley has presented several traditional slide shows of his own photos to the branch, and at our meeting on 9th March he showed the latest of…
Read MoreDavid Mitchell : The Barnstaple & Okehampton Branches through the years 10/02/24
On 3rd February David Mitchell presented a digital show entitled “The Barnstaple & Okehampton Branches through the Years” which followed the two lines in journey order, with at least one…
Read MoreStuart Hammond : In Search of Steam 13/01/24
Our AGM was held on 13th January with twelve members present. The last year was considered to be reasonably successful with attendances at branch meetings varying in number from thirteen…
Read MoreSteve Crowther : Hydraulic Delights 09/12/23
On 9th December we welcomed Steve Crowther who presented a show of his own slides which focused on the last years of the Class 52 Western diesel-hydraulics, although other contemporary…
Read MoreBernard Mills : Waterloo to the Atlantic Coast in the Diesel Era 11/11/23
On 11th November Bernard Mills presented a show entitled “Waterloo to the Atlantic Coast in the Diesel Era” which comprised his own scanned slides that were mainly taken from the…
Read MoreDavid Hunt : Railways in the 1970s 14/10/23
Our new programme commenced on 14th October with a healthy number in attendance to see a traditional slide show presented by member David Hunt. He revealed that he first started…
Read MoreAGM followed by Alan Hopkins :‘From Euston to the North in the Days of Steam’
On 8th January we held our AGM which 15 members attended; however as it covered a period when there were no branch activities due to the pandemic, there was little…
Read MoreWestcountry Blues, Barry Jones
On 11th December we welcomed Barry Jones who gave us a digital presentation entitled ‘Westcountry Blues’. As suggested by the title, this mainly comprised scans of slides taken of BR…
Read More‘From the River Tamar to Tiverton Junction through the Years’
We held our first meeting since March 2020 on 13th November, and as our previous venue is currently not available we used a new location which proved superior in every…
Read More14th March 2020 · ’49 Not Out’
Presenter: Bob Bradley On the 14th March West of England Branch member Bob Bradley presented a traditional slide show entitled ’49 Not Out’, the title referring to him having taken…
Read More8th February 2020 · ‘Changing Landscapes
Presenter: Barry Jones On the 8 February the West of England Branch welcomed Barry Jones for the first time when he showed a PowerPoint presentation entitled ‘Changing landscapes’. After a…
Read More11th January 2020 · Branch AGM followed by ‘Railways of North Staffordshire’
Presenter: Alan Hopkins The West of England Branch AGM was held on 11 January with ten in attendance. Much of the agenda was followed with relatively little comment though once…
Read More14th December 2019 · ‘Railways in a Yorkshire Landscape’
Presenter: Stephen Gay Stephen Gay is always a welcome visitor to the West of England branch and on 14th December he paid his eighth visit since 2001 to present “Railways…
Read More9th November 2019 · ‘Backtracking around Plymouth’
Presenter: Bernard Mills On 9th November Bernard Mills took the West of England branch ‘Backtracking around Plymouth’, a talk based on one of his books that covers the western side…
Read More12th October 2019 · ‘From Whiteball to the River Tamar’
Presenter: David Mitchell On 12th October David Mitchell presented ‘From Whiteball to the River Tamar’ to the West of England branch. This was a photographic tour along Devon’s main line…
Read More11th May 2019 · ‘Strictly Freight Only Part 2’
Presenter: Brian Ringer On 11th May the West of England branch welcomed the return, after exactly a year, of Brian Ringer with Part 2 of his ‘Strictly Freight Only’ talk…
Read More13th April 2019 · ‘Saltash Auto to HST’
Presenter: Terry Nicholls On 13th April the West of England branch welcomed the return of one of our founding members when Terry Nicholls presented ‘From Saltash Auto to HST’. As…
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