About the Society
The RCTS is Britain’s leading organisation for people interested in all aspects of railways past, present and future and is highly regarded by both professional railway people and enthusiasts, a position it has held since its formation in 1928.
The RCTS is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, number 1169995. Our VAT number is GB197343335. More about Governance of the Society.
Click the image to view a sample edition from January 2024
Guests
Try out the Society as a guest. Most of the meetings and events are open to visitors.
Donations appreciated.
The Railway Observer
All members receive the Society's magazine online, and a print edition (usually 72 pages) is posted to those choosing a "Printed" membership category.
The magazine covers the current railway scene, including extensive coverage of significant and interesting movements, plus an infrastructure and events update. Urban, Irish and International news is included, together with the latest news from Heritage lines.
Society activities, branch meetings, outdoor visits and rail tours are well represented, as are reviews of the latest publications.
A PDF download
Membership rates for new joiners
Printed RO Membership includes posting of the print edition of The Railway Observer
| Online RO | £10.00 |
| Printed RO UK | £28.00 |
| Printed RO Europe | £52.00 |
| Printed RO Rest of World | £71.00 |
New joiners are benefiting from a "Welcome" discount of £10. Sign up with Direct Debit and save a further £1.
Volunteering
The Society is run entirely by volunteers, at branch level and nationally. If you have some spare time, and maybe some specialist skills, there are many ways you can help
- Publishing
- Image preparation
- Archiving
- Speaking
- Managing events
- Software development
- Administration
- Research
- Authorship
- Librarianship
News
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Upcoming events
Virtual events coming up...
There is programme of National events held online, typically monthly. Some branches run them too. Members from any branch may attend and guests are very welcome. For National Meetings, there is no charge for members but donations would be appreciated to help defray the costs. Some branches make a charge because venue hire costs still have to be covered.
A ticket is required. Open the event to find the registration link, and the donations link.
For 2023-24 we have a 500-seat Zoom licence.
On today
- No events scheduled for 08-Sep-2024. Jump to the next upcoming events.
- No events scheduled for 08-Sep-2024. Jump to the next upcoming events.
Please always use https://rcts.org.uk. Users of https://www.rcts.org.uk cannot advance the month.
A fix will be applied at a quiet time for the website.
Society full calendar
Visit the branch pages to discover upcoming events in your specific area.
Calendar of Events
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Transforming the West Highland Line
Transforming the West Highland Line
Former Society Chairman and British Rail Business Manager Highland Callum MacLeod joins us to tell of the challenges that faced the West Highland Line in the early 1980s, and the…
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‘Those Were the Years Those Were’ Part 2, by Michael Reade, 3rd September 2024
‘Those Were the Years Those Were’ Part 2, by Michael Reade, 3rd September 2024
Please note there is no meeting in August! 'Those Were the Years Those Were' Part 2 (With Apologies to Geoff Plumb). Michael was able, during extensive business travel by rail…
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Varamis Rail ‘Faster, Cheaper, Greener’
Varamis Rail ‘Faster, Cheaper, Greener’
Phil Read, Chief Executive Officer of Varamis Rail, gives a talk about The UK’s first high speed rail logistics company, providing fast, zero emission linehaul logistics services.
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‘The End of Steam on British Railways 1966-67’ by Michael Smyth.
‘The End of Steam on British Railways 1966-67’ by Michael Smyth.
Michael Smyth's presentation covers steam in the Leeds, Bradford, and Wakefield areas plus the North East. Featured are the last working examples of many classes eg Jubilees, B1s, 2-6-4Ts, WDs,…
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Observations at Tamworth & Water Orton
Please note change of venue from the planned Heart of Wales Rover.
Pictures from the Harold Clements Collection, Part 1
Pictures from the Harold Clements Collection, Part 1
Bryan Cross comes to present a selection of monochrome images, all scanned directly from the Harold Clements collection of original Lantern slides, Glass plates and large format negatives. These were…
“Britain’s Military Railways” by Clive Pepper
“Britain’s Military Railways” by Clive Pepper
Many Military sites in Britain once had, and in a few instances still have, internal railway systems. Illustrated by visits made between 1970 and 2000, this presentation provides a rare…
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Welsh Narrow Gauge Railways : A Personal View 1990 – 2024
Welsh Narrow Gauge Railways : A Personal View 1990 – 2024
Alan Williams has been taking photos of the Welsh narrow gauge since I was a young lad, but it became a serious endeavour during the 1990s and since then I…
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Images from Glass Plate Negatives – David Postle – Kidderminster Railway Museum
Images from Glass Plate Negatives – David Postle – Kidderminster Railway Museum
Our good friend, David Postle, from the Kidderminster Railway Museum will be presenting a selection of images scanned from original glass plate negatives. These images from the Museum's archive have…
On Great Eastern Metals From 1991 to Date
On Great Eastern Metals From 1991 to Date
Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall Our member, Geoff Brocket, is a prolific photographer, who always seems to be able to get the photos that no one else can. This…
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The Ivatt LMS 10000 Recreation Project
The Ivatt LMS 10000 Recreation Project
The Ivatt Diesel Re-creation Society plan to recreate, and operate 10000. In the first half of this presentation we look at the original twins LMS 10000 and 10001 (the…
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CHM Branch – An 11th Colour-Rail journey – 1964 – an interesting year
CHM Branch – An 11th Colour-Rail journey – 1964 – an interesting year
For the first meeting of our 2024/25 season we welcome Paul Chancellor back to present the 11th iteration of his 'A Colour-Rail Journey. This will focus on 1964 - an…
SRY Branch – Railwayman – Man and Boy
SRY Branch – Railwayman – Man and Boy
Railwayman - Man and Boy By Jim Lester who was a Passed Driver on steam who fired on Sir Winston Churchill's funeral train and drove the last steam trains from…
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How We Built The Watercress Line
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Through Kirton Tunnel – Sheffield to Cleethorpes
Through Kirton Tunnel – Sheffield to Cleethorpes
A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Stephen Gay. Our annual presentation from Stephen. Expect to hear the story behind each of the photos. Also expect to hear…
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Watercress Line Film Unit
Watercress Line Film Unit
From 'History' to 'How it works', the Watercress Films Unit only formally came into existence a few years ago. Since creation Will and his team have boosted the railway's publicity…
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Members Weekend 2024
Members Weekend 2024 based in Portsmouth. Including the RCTS Officers Conference on Sunday 29th September. Full details are to be found at https://rcts.org.uk/members-weekend-2024-news/ The Harbour & Spinnaker Tower
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Trains and Travel in Thailand
Trains and Travel in Thailand
our very own member David Bousfield has extensively travelled in this country and will give his usual excellent presentation,not to be missed
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Work of the RAIB
Work of the RAIB
Simon Lomax, Principal Inspector of Rail Accidents at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, joins us to explain the work of the RAIB.
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‘The View from the North’ illustrated by Steve Batty.
‘The View from the North’ illustrated by Steve Batty.
Steve Batty from Selby North Yorkshire is visiting us to present 'The View from the North'.
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Transforming the West Highland Line
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Members' area
The latest edition of The Railway Observer, plus back copies from 2012
Details of benefits available to RCTS members
The directory of Society officers
Officers' administration tools
RCTS-branded clothing sales
Membership renewals for 2024 [opens November 2023]
Branches
The Society has a national network of 28 branches. Each branch has its own committee and operates its own programme of events. Members are assigned to a home branch but are welcome to take part in other branches' activities.
Guests are always welcome.
Features
The Society has several online information services maintained by our dedicated and knowledgeable members. The various features are regularly updated, and we welcome contributions from members and non-members alike.
Each feature has a editor. Click the images to explore.
Diesel Dilemmas
Mysteries and anomalies in the modification and disposal history of British Railways diesel locomotives.
Carriage Conundrums
Mysteries and anomalies in the modification and disposal history of British Railways locomotive hauled coaching stock.
Preserved Coaches
Additions, deletions, movements and modifications to lists of preserved railway rolling stock, regularly updated.
Haulage Highlights
Seasonal services, relief trains, special events and unusual routes, mostly with diesel traction.
Query Corner
Written queries and answers are published here and in The Railway Observer
“Our” Locos
A number of locomotives have proudly carried The Railway Observer nameplate or been associated with the Society. No, we don't own these locomotives, but they are thought of as "ours".
TOPS Reference Data
The Society maintains several datasets of TOPS data for Cl.01/5, Cl.89, Cl.97 and Cl.98 Locomotives, Depot Codes and Locomotive Pool Codes, all of which are regularly updated.
NEW - John Knight's Database of Railway Photography
John Knight is a picture researcher. His database of southern and western England records details of 172,000 images published in 6,500 books.
This RCTS Feature initially opens on an interactive map. When you zoom in, each yellow dot represents a camera location. The background can be changed between contemporary maps, satellite images, and historical Ordnance Survey maps - including the detailed 1:10,560 Series. The dot has a reference number for subsequent searches. Please allow a few seconds for the map to load fully.
There are several other tabs alongside the map. One is the User Guide which explains what data is available and how to undertake searches.
Other tabs are lists of books, authors, photographers, railway companies, locomotive classes, and the like. All are searchable.
NB. The database is an index only. For copyright reasons, the photographs are not reproduced, but there are live links to where each book is currently available to purchase. Usually these are second-hand booksellers.
The RCTS Digital Archive
Photographs
Over 57,000 images are available to purchase as prints or as digital downloads.
The archive also includes many thousands of non-RCTS copyright images. They are available for people to view only online for their personal researches. Users must register (i.e. obtain a Readers' Card) and sign in to gain access.
Publications
A complete collection of the Society's magazine The Railway Observer is available to read online and to purchase as PDF downloads. 1928-2011 is publicly available from the archive; 2012 onwards restricted via the Members' Area.
Many of the Society's publications are available on a similar basis, including definitive series such as Locomotives of the LNER, Locomotives of the GWR, and Locomotives of the Southern. Also locomotive and coaching stock books.
Shop
The items listed below are currently available to purchase, some at sale prices. Click on the product images to read full details of each item.
RCTS members are advised to use the Shop pages in the Member's Area to gain access to exclusive products and special discounts.
Shipping is charged on the whole order. There is a flat rate of £4 for UK addresses, or 40% of the order value for non-UK address, calculated as the basket is added to.
Payment can be made by credit/debit card into the Society's Paypal account. You do not need your own Paypal account to use this service.
Second-hand books are sold by the Library. The list of books available is updated regularly, and is not limited to RCTS publications.
RCTS Publications
RCTS has been a renowned publisher of definitive books on locomotives and other railway subjects since 1935. The books are available online and trade enquiries are welcome. Many are now out of print but you can find a bibliography of all books by following More about RCTS Publications below.
Become an author? Click the button to find out more.
New printing technology means that it has become economic to republish some of the back catalogue, a process that is underway. If you cannot wait, copies are available to view at the Society's library at Leatherhead and second-hand copies may be available to purchase from there.
Featured publications
Categories
Locomotives of the LNER
The definitive series - originally published in 19 parts 1963-1994 - is now available again, in eight volumes.
- Book orders are fulfilled globally by Amazon. The links below point to the Amazon UK shop. In other countries, search Amazon using "Locomotives of the LNER".
- PDF downloads are fulfilled by a separate RCTS online shop at https://archive.rcts.org.uk/rcts-shop/
Volume 1
Cover: Hardback
Price: £18
Volume 1
Cover: Softback
Price: £12
Volume 2
Cover: Softback
Price: £24
Volume 3
Cover: Softback
Price: £21
Volume 4&5
Cover: Softback
Price: £24
Volume 6
Cover: Softback
Price: £24
Volume 7&8
Cover: Softback
Price: £18
Volume 9
Cover: Softback
Price: £18
Volume 10
Cover: Softback
Price: £18