‘The Ramblings of a Railwayman’, by Geoff Burch, 6th January 2026
6th January 2026 Meeting.
For our January Zoom meeting our guest speaker was Geoff Burch with his presentation "The Ramblings of a Railwayman".
Geoff started his spotting days in the "pen" at Brookwood. From there he started moving further afield such as to Reading and then sheds and stations around London in search of more locos of the classes he had seen closer to home. However, it was after his first cab visit at Woking, of 777 'Sir Lamiel' no less, that he decided that a career on the railways was for him.
He signed on as a cleaner at Guildford shed and had graduated up to fireman by the end of SR steam. We were treated to the intricacies of the preparing, running, and disposal of a steam locomotive.
We had a detailed run on the Guildford to Horsham line and back, including the last trains. Geoff also pointed out the numerous movies that had been shot at picturesque Baynards Station. We were introduced to some of the Guildford shed staff and then came the fateful last day of SR steam when Geoff's duty was to help take 73118 and 73155 on their final journey in steam from the shed to Salisbury. USA Tank 30072 was the final loco to leave. The talk concluded with some shots of the Guildford shed site post closure, followed by a Q & A session.
A fascinating and insightful show!
Rob Freeman, Branch Committee Member