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  • WFD Branch – Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Visit, 1st June 2025

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    Sunday 1st June 2025 - A visit to The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway. Five days after the end of the Annual Steam Gala, we visit this Heritage Railway where we will travel over all of the line, getting off at most of the stations. We will visit the steam shed and diesel shed at Toddington,…

  • WFD Branch – ‘​The Southern End of the WCML, 1930s to Present Day’, by Rob Freeman, 3rd June 2025

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    ROB FREEMAN - '​The Southern End of the WCML 1930s to Present Day'. From the 1930s to the present, featuring the work of local photographers such as H C Casserley for the steam era and my own work for the modern era, where I will be concentrating on the more unusual of my sightings. Further…

  • WFD Branch – ‘That Was the Year That Was – 1972’, by Geoff Plumb, 1st July 2025

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    GEOFF PLUMB - 'That Was the Year That Was - 1972'. More of Geoff's many days out around and about, including UK scenes and West Germany. The main event sees a visit to South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique for a feast of steam. Nostalgia rules, OK! Please note this is a physical meeting, doors open from…

  • WFD Branch – ‘Through Kirton Tunnel Part 1’, A railway journey from Sheffield Victoria to Kirton Lindsey, by Stephen Gay, 2nd September 2025

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    We welcome back the ever-popular Stephen Gay for another visit and more excellent photography, this time with a journey from Sheffield Victoria to Kirton Lindsey, doubtless with some poetic interludes! Please note this is a physical meeting, doors open from 18:30 for 19:00 commencement of proceedings. Please note also that there is no meeting in August as we…

  • WFD Branch – ‘The Forgotten Standard’, by Ian Crowder, 7th October 2025

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    IAN CROWDER - “The Forgotten Standard”. Ian Crowder is Marketing Director of Toddington Standard Locomotive Ltd (TSLL), owners of Standard Class 4 2-6-0 No. 76077 and which is nearing the end of its restoration for use on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.  In this two-part lavishly-illustrated presentation, he firstly describes the development of the Standard…

  • WFD Branch – Potential Outside Visit, 23rd September 2025 – Postponed to 29th October 2025 – Now CANCELLED

    https://maps.app.goo.gl/YbJUqoQUhmpxgNU28 Avanti West Coast Training Academy Tatton House, Crewe Business Park, Westmere Dr, Crewe CW1 6ZD

    Sadly, this visit has had to be cancelled, but we may try again at some time during 2026 - watch this space! A visit has been organised to the Avanti West Coast Training Academy in Crewe for Wednesday 29th October  2025, from 15:00 to 17:00 hours, to see the facilities there. As well as the…

  • WFD Branch – ‘My Life on the Railways’, by Dennis Clarke, 4th November 2025

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    'My life on the railways, from Willesden and Wembley, to North Pole and Temple Mills.' This will be a presentation of how I got interested in the railways at a young age and went on to have a 41-year career on British Rail and Eurostar.  There are plenty of pictures in the presentation. Please note…

  • WFD Branch – ‘Members’ Presentations’, plus Lizzie’s Mince Pies and Sausage Rolls! 2nd December 2025

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    Another chance for Watford Branch members to show off your prowess with a camera (but don’t worry about the quality, feel the width!) – stills or videos, film or digital *. Please bring along some 35mm slides or image files on a memory stick or DVD disc and we’ll endeavour to treat everyone to your…

  • WFD Branch Zoom Meeting, ‘The Ramblings of a Railwayman’, by Geoff Burch, 6th January 2026

    Virtual Meeting Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom

    ‘The Ramblings of a Railwayman’, an Illustrated Talk by Geoff Burch. During ‘The Ramblings of a Railwayman’ Geoff initially talks about his first interest in railways as a train spotter at various locations including London Motive Power Depots. Following his first visit to a footplate of a steam locomotive and having spoken to the crew,…

  • WFD Branch Zoom Meeting, ‘The 14 lines of the Paris Métro – Celebrating 125 years’, by Brian Hardy, 3rd February 2026

    Virtual Meeting Virtual Meeting, United Kingdom

    ‘The 14 lines of the Paris Métro - Celebrating 125 years’, by Brian Hardy. This will show how the Métro has developed over the years, along with its trains and stations. Further details may be added nearer the date. Please note this is a Virtual Zoom Meeting. There is no charge for this meeting, but…

  • WFD Branch Meeting – ‘From the Back of the Cupboard’, by Steve Batty, 3rd March 2026

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    Steve Batty heads south again to present 'From the Back of the Cupboard', because it's made up of B&W shots he has always ignored before when putting a show together, but which he thinks really deserve a viewing. It also made him wonder why B&W gets ignored so much, so made the show entirely B&W. …

  • WFD Branch Meeting – AGM, Followed by ‘Railways from both Sides of the Fence’, by Jason Cross, 7th April 2026

    WFD Watford Beechen Grove Baptist Church, Clarendon Road, Watford, United Kingdom

    Branch AGM, followed by: JASON CROSS - 'Railways from Both Sides of the Fence' - A slide show by a GBRf employee which includes an overview of joining the company, a detailed look at the Old Dalby test track and at other roles performed at other locations. This is then followed by a selection of…