The West Somerset Railway – Plus More

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Richard Morris. Following the opening of the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1845 there were soon thoughts about connecting it to the West Somerset and North Devon coastal towns. These discussions didn't get very far until Mr Brunel was engaged. In 1862 a railway was constructed…

That Was The Year That Was 1972

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Geoff Plumb. Geoff Plumb returns with another of his popular “That Was the Year That Was” series of presentations. With his usual excellent standard of railway photography, this time it’s the turn of 1972 and we can expect the presentation to include more of Geoff’s many…

Sir Nigel Gresley, His Life and Work

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Simon Martin. Following on from last year's lecture on Edward Thompson, we now turn our attention to his predecessor's work and designs, using fresh sources of primary information compared alongside previously conceived and published research. We can review his work and see in a fresh light…

AGM and German Steam

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

The Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch AGM followed by a presentation by George Howe. Details to follow. Doors open 13:30 for a 14:00 start.

Remembering my Lines

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Colin Brading. 'Remembering My Lines' is a personal 'photographic potpourri' of many and varied railway themes. On a wide-ranging journey, Colin will share favourite scenes, places and images that span from his early years with notebooks on platforms to the present-day, reflecting a life-long passion for…

Memories of a Gorleston Spotter (Part 1)

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A presentation by Chris Wright for the Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch. From the presenter, in his own words: Chris Wright grew up in the 1950s and 60s in the Norfolk seaside town of Gorleston-on-Sea. His talk covers memories of early days spotting in Norfolk: on holidays with the family, and numerous school holiday…

Hitchin & Potton Snippets

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by George Howe. This replaces the previously advertised presentation. In the words of the presenter = I moved to Potton in August 1952, aged 10, into a railway cottage next to the Bedford to Cambridge branch, very near to Potton Station. I met some new friends and…

Colchester in the Age of Steam

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Dave Goodyear. Colchester has much to interest the railway enthusiast and historian. Within its original borough boundaries it had a major junction, three stations and associated goods yards, a motive power depot and a quay tramway. Passenger traffic included large numbers of holiday trains to the…

Travels Around Ukraine by Steam

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City branch presentation by Michael Smyth. Pictures from three trips to the Ukraine in 1993, 1999 and 2002. These illustrate Russian designed steam locomotives at work and explains the American influence of the 1930s. More importantly it aims to give an insight into the history, geography and normal life, in…

Through Kirton Tunnel – Sheffield to Cleethorpes

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

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 his poetry. Doors open 13:30

Another Western European Miscellany

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by Rob Freeman. I will be showing a variety of themes from various countries from my collection of modern traction photos that I have been taking for the last 40 years or so. There will be scenes from France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland.…

The History of the 125 High Speed Train 1975-2023

HTC Welwyn Digswell Village Church Hall, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A Hitchin & Welwyn Garden City Branch presentation by Richard Morris. The Inter City 125 High Speed Trains were introduced to the Great British public in 1975 after the Advanced Passenger Train project stalled a bit. The HSTs were intended to be a stop-gap, but ended up forming the core Inter City fleet for Britain's…