The slides had been taken on rail tours during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and Godfrey provided images of a wide variety of rolling stock seen in each area - mainly steam, some electric, as little diesel as possible - interspersed with spectacular views of scenery and sunsets. There were the inevitable runpasts showing off smart trains in full steam, but also scenes of awful dereliction in some railway yards. Both passenger and freight trains were seen - the latter often incorporating the rail tour coaches - as were industrials, employed in brick/cement works and sugar plantations in India for example, and engines on static display in museums or like the Beyer Peacock by the roadside between Harare and Bulawayo. Two final shots, one of a monorail, the other of an elephant-powered train - both in India - concluded an interesting evening with excellent slides from an engaging speaker.


Thursday 11th October 2007
Glasgow in the 1950s
Hugh Gould
14:00 - 16:30

The Branch held its very first afternoon indoor meeting on 11 October - in Wimbledon rather than Croydon - and we were delighted to welcome Society President Hugh Gould with his illustrated talk "Glasgow in the 1950s".

Hugh was brought up in the Glasgow suburbs so it was with some pride and a twinkle in his eye that he began his talk with a tour of the town, its hills, green spaces and, of course, railway lines. He decided early on that he wanted to join the railway and had already undertaken station duties in the holidays by the time he signed up with BR. Hugh's engaging story of this early part of his life as a railway enthusiast and train guard was well told, without notes, and well illustrated by his own photographs converted into slides for him by another Society member.


Monday 1st October 2007
A Kentish Conflict.
The South Eastern Railway v The London, Chatham and Dover Railway in the late Nineteenth Century.
Neil Lloyd

On 1 October, Branch member Neil Lloyd brought us his presentation "A Kentish Conflict", a history of the development of the railways in Kent. This fascinating story of aggressive rivalry between the South Eastern Railway and the London Chatham and Dover (formerly East Kent) Railway and (from 1873) their respective Chairmen, Watkin and Forbes, has been covered many times. However, the political twists and turns, missed opportunities, expansionist schemes - some executed, some failed - to capture the traffic between London, Kent and the Continent, financial collapse of the LCDR and eventual amalgamation of the two companies under a joint Managing Committee to become the South Eastern & Chatham Railway bear a further telling.

Neil took the story through Southern Railway days and further expansion of the network in Kent and on to the present day which has seen the completion of Britain's first main line for a century across the county. Much of his presentation would not have been new to many in the audience but few would have left the meeting without having learnt about, or been reminded of, some aspect of this crucial part of railway history.


Monday 3rd September 2007
The Greenwich Underwater Railway 1888.
Clive Chambers

For our first meeting of the new season, on 3 September, we welcomed Clive Chambers (not Colin as advertised in the August RO) who brought us an intriguing story of "The Greenwich Underwater Railway 1888".

The railway was, in fact, a vehicular or horse ferry (depending on which map you read) which operated in the late 1880s connecting the southern tip of the Isle of Dogs and Greenwich across the River Thames in South East London. It followed the route of an earlier passenger ferry, not to be confused with another ferry a little to the East which, in its last years, was operated by the Great Eastern Railway and conveyed passengers between the GER's North Greenwich Station and "South" Greenwich. The vehicular ferry comprised a landing stage on each of the North and South sides of the River. These travelled down and up the bank on standard gauge railway track on a 1:10 incline to compensate for the rise and fall of the tide when meeting the boat which connected the two landings. Little is known of how the landing stages and ferry boat looked and worked but that has not stopped Clive from producing drawings of them. Slides of these are included in his talk, as are photographs of excavations by Clive and colleagues which have revealed the site and remains of the boilerhouse, boiler and steam pipes which powered the landing stage on the Greenwich side.

The site is now buried under concrete and new build but the ramp and rusty rails can still be seen at low tide - a few hundred yards West of the Cutty Sark. The ferry was not a success and lasted only about three years. Clive's active involvement in trying to piece together the operation and his huge enthusiasm in telling the tale are the ideal ingredients for bringing it back to life, if only for an evening.


Monday 6th August 2007
Trip to East London Line and Docklands Light Railway

On 6 August another small group spent a most enjoyable and informative evening on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), having first travelled on the London Underground's East London Line from New Cross Gate to Whitechapel. This section is due for closure in December as part of the planned extension of the Line and upgrading to heavy rail.

We joined the DLR at Shadwell for a journey to King George V station to view the portals of the tunnels (the boring of which has been completed) which will carry an extension of the DLR system under the Thames between there and Woolwich Arsenal. Retracing our steps to Poplar, we journeyed to Stratford, checking along the way on progress on a new station, Langdon Park, being installed between All Saints and Devons Road stations and making use of the new DLR platform at Stratford, the first of two being provided there.

We found time to watch the operation of a class 313 emu in service with Silverlink on the North London Line, which now terminates at Stratford, before travelling to Lewisham, at the southern extremity of the DLR, and thence to our respective homes.


Monday 9th July 2007
Observation Evening at Clapham Junction

On 9 July a small group of Branch members could be found sheltering from the torrential rain on Clapham Junction station in the evening rush hour. We soon cut short our observations and joined a Silverlink service to Willesden Junction High level in search of the two new stations planned for the West London Line. There was no sign whatever of Imperial Wharf station, which is proposed to be built north of the Thames between Clapham Junction and West Brompton, but we were delighted to see that the new Shepherds Bush station between Kensington Olympia and Willesden Junction was well advanced.


Monday 4th June 2007
'The Greenwich Park Branch' - Walk led by Don Kennedy

Branch summer outdoor activities began on 4 June when we were joined by members of the Branch Line Society on a fascinating walk led by Don Kennedy to follow what remains of the LCDR/SER Greenwich Park branch in south London which was closed to passenger services 1 January 1917 and not reopened.


Tuesday 15th May 2007
'The Bluebell Railway Story' - Chris White

For the final meeting of the year, on 15 May, we welcomed Chris White, Infrastructure Director of the Bluebell Railway PLC for his excellent powerpoint presentation on "The Bluebell Railway Story".

After an introduction to the Railway which included descriptions of the structure of the organisation comprising the Bluebell Railway PLC, the Preservation Society and the Trust, and of the ways in which income is raised and spent, Chris proceeded to the subject which most of the audience had come to hear about: the Northern Extension project which will take the line on to East Grinstead. Chris described the project and, in some detail, the problems which the Railway was working to overcome to make it a reality: securing ownership of Imberhorne Cutting, removing the 130,000 cubic metres of domestic waste and clay capping currently filling the Cutting, completing restoration of Imberhorne Viaduct, providing the new Bluebell Railway station and layout at East Grinstead, preparing the trackbed and track to the new station and, not least, raising the funds. Progress was continuing and the masterplan for the project envisaged Bluebell Railway trains running into East Grinstead within two years. Finally, Chris mentioned the increasing burden of legislation on the Railway and the continual fight to maintain the Railway's market position against increasing competition.


Monday 2nd April 2007
'In my own back yard' - Les Dench

On 2 April Les Dench travelled up from Brighton to give us his slide presentation "In my own back yard". Les began recording the passing scene in and beyond Brighton in 1960. His selection of slides, while favouring his audience's enthusiasm for trains, reflected his wide interest in all forms of transport on rails, roads and water. The rail scene was marked by images of the changes that have taken place at Brighton station and in other well known railway locations in the area and of the variety of train company liveries and logos seen at the station in recent years.

This very enjoyable and nostalgic evening was brought to a close by a photographic visit to the Bluebell Railway for the final closure of the line in 1958 and its reopening in August 1960, neatly preparing us for our next Branch meeting.


Monday 5th March 2007
AGM and Members Slides

The Branch meeting on 5 March attracted our best AGM attendance so far. It began with a short tribute by Chris Meredith to former Branch member C.J. (Chris) Gammell who, sadly, had died in February. Formal proceedings saw the re-election of Geoff Lipscombe, Brian Lewis and Peter Wilson as, respectively, Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary. Jeremy Harrison, Hans Paymans and Bob Prescott were re-elected to fill other committee posts.

After conclusion of the the formal business, it was on to members' slides. Chris Meredith produced a small selection of the "where was this taken?" variety which generated plenty of audience participation and a few surprising answers. He was followed by Bob Rusbridge with an absorbing record of his visits with railway groups to a number of French heritage lines during 1980 and 1982. A successful evening was concluded by Geoff Brockett who, with excellent slides and informative commentary, showed us what he had been up to around the rail network during 2006.


February 2008