Railways
The Railway Group comprises members that are interested in various aspects of Railway history and Railway modelling. One of our main aims is to visit, as a group, various railway heritage sites, museums, etc in the spring and the summer.
Meetings are now held held in members' properties at 10.00 am on the first Wednesday of the month.
If you are interested in joining the Group please contact the Groups Administrator
Next Meeting
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 3rd April when we will visit STEAM - The Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon
Future Visits
We are currently planning the following programme and visits for 2024:
- April 3rd, Visit to STEAM- The Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon
- May 1st, Visit to West Somerset Railway
- October, the London Overground
- TBD Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway
- TBD Northampton and Lamport Raillway
PAST MEETINGS AND VISITS:
On 6th March we had an excellent presentation on the Quintishill Raiway Museum by a visitor from the Leamington u3a Transport Group. This illustrated the responsibility borne by Railway Signalmen and the importance of adhering to Railway Regulations.
On 7th February we visited the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. This was a very interesting and informative visit showing how various modes of transport have developed over the last two centuries
On 6th December we had an enjoyable day out on the Cotswold Line to Hereford where we visited the Cathedral to view the Mappa Mundi and celebrate Christmas with a festive lunch at Weatherspoons
On 1st November we travelled the length of the Elizabeth Line for a second interesting day on this new line. This time we travelled to the end of both the Heathrow and Shenfield arms of this line, complementing our trip last year to the end of the Abbey Wood branch.
At our May meeting we visited one of our members' homes where he showed his large number of precision models including stationary engines, traction engines and gauge 1 and 3 locomotives and rolling stock. Many were working models and a demonstration of a working gauge 1 loco was given. He also demonstrated his CNC equipment which can machine parts to extremely impressive levels of detail. All very impressive.
On Saturday 12th August we visited the Great Central Railway, the only dual track main line heritage railway in the UK Arriving at Rothley, we enjoyed the tradition of a bacon sandwich before travelling to Loughborough where we took a guided tour of the locomotive shed before returning by the heritage diesel service to Quorn and Woodhouse where we viewed the exhibits of the Classic Vehicles Gala day. After lunch we completed a most interesting day by travelling by steam to Leicester North and returning to Rothley for the journey home.
On Wednesday 5th July we visited the Swanage Heritage Railway. Travelling by National Rail from Winchester to Wareham we then joinedthe Swanage Railways heritage diesel sevice to visit the Museum to Corfe Castle outlining the history and restoration of the line. We then travelled behind the restored Battle of Britain class steam loco, Manston, to Swanage. This service also included the restored ex Devon Belle Pullman Observation car. After a fish and chip lunch and a walk along the sea front we returned by heritage diesel and steam completing a thoroughly enjoyable visit.
On Saturday 4th March we visited the Pendon Model Railway Exhibition. This recaptures railway scenes from the English counryside as it was in the 1920's and 1930's. We were all astounded by the level of detail before retiring to the local hostelry for an excellent lunch
On the 14th November we visited the Eizabeth Line to experience this new and exciting line across London. Commencing at Hanborough and onward via Oxford we then travelled on one of the new Elizabeth Line through trains all the way from the Western end of the line at Reading to the eastern end at Abbey Wood, returning to Canary Wharf for a longer break where the area was enjoyed by all and the sun even made a brief appearance.
We then returned to Reading and then back to Oxford from where we made our separate ways home. It made a great day out. The new trains were pretty fast and quiet and it was a great experience to cross London without changing. Photos courtesy John P. Click on an image for a full size image.
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On the 4th May we visited the Dean Forest Railway, a typical branch line, where we rode the line twice, on both a steam hauled service and a Diesel Multiple Unit. You can see the ex GWR Prairie tank engine taking on water and the view of the line from the DMU cab in the photos. We also visited the loco restoration works with a very informative volunteer guide.
Past Programme
We have visited the Gloucester & Warwickshire Railway, the Watercress line at Alresford in Hampshire, and the London Transport museum in Acton, London. Shortly before Covid we visited the Severn Valley Railway and the Bluebell Line. See below for more details.
At our group meetings we have had a talk about the coming of the railway in south west London and the demise of the asparagus fields. A talk on Barry scrapyard that one of our members visited in the late ninety seventies. And several film screenings on various railway topics.
Videos viewed include the Cotswold line with some interesting footage of the old Witney station, now sadly gone to development. We have also viewed a series of videos on the history of steam in the 1900's.
On 29th July 2019 we made a very enjoyable visit to the Bluebell Line in East Sussex, one of the oldest Heritage Railway in the UK. Many of the locomotives and items of rolling stock were inherited direct from British Railways.
Tuesday the 7th May 2019 saw six members of the railway Group make their way north to the Shropshire countryside and the Severn Valley Railway. This was organised by Peter who did a sterling job in organising this trip.
We embarked on the 10.00 train, steam hauled to Highley, and visited the engine shed – partook of much needed refreshment and looked at the locomotives on display. Three of our number also had a guided tour of King Georges the Vs Royal coach.
Boarding the train once more at 12.00 we made our way to the end of the line at Bridgnorth, a fine solidly built station, that included a pub, where one of our number imbibed in the local brew. Lunch being taken we alighted another steam hauled train back to Kidderminster, from whence we started. We were lucky with the weather and a pleasant car journey was made to a particularly delightful Heritage Railway
(Photos courtesy of John P)
New Members Welcome
Click on a picture below to see it full-size with more details.